“Expected Angelaires to Be Good; Reviewer Confirms” from the February 12, 1957 Door County Advocate
Expected Angelaires to Be Good; Reviewer Confirms
By Mrs. Vernon Graf
Last Friday afternoon aboard a bus flagged “Angelaires Harp Quintet” cargo valued at $25,000 and weighing nearly a ton arrived in Sturgeon Bay. The five beautiful instruments which constituted this unusual cargo were played Saturday evening at Sturgeon Bay high school auditorium by five equally beautiful young ladies. The Door County Community Concert association can be proud to have sponsored this Saturday concert, and last can be considered a red-letter day for the peninsula because never before has such music been heard here, nor is music like this likely to be heard again unless the Angelaires are asked for a return engagement.
Sensing that most of the audience knew little about the harp, one of the artists, Kathleen Haden, after the first group gave a brief but inclusive explanation which contributed greatly to one’s enjoyment of the program. These harps are all concert grands, made by Lyon and Healy Inc., of Chicago. Four of the harps were similarly decorated with carved patterns in curved lines, two of these in highly polished natural wood finish and the other two covered with gold leaf. The fifth, known as the Salzedo model, followed the more modernistic lines in natural finish.
Rich Chords Sounded
If someone should wonder “What can five harps do that one cannot do?” he may rest assured that a harp quintet is not merely a harp solo multiplied by five any more than a piano duo is a piano solo times two. The excellent arrangements used by the group seldom had two performers playing the same notes. The plurality of instruments produces great depth and sonority and permits interplay and crossing of melodies and counter melodies impossible to achieve with one instrument. Solo passages were freely passed around. Occasionally, as in the stately chords of the opening number of “Pavane” (sixteenth century Spanish Dance) three played the upper tones of the chord, corresponding to the treble parts of a mixed choir, and two played what would comprised the tenor and bass parts.
The high degree of artistry necessary for playing the harp well can be fully appreciated only when one realizes that both the volume and the color of the tone depend entirely upon the direct action of the fingers upon the strings. The pedals only produce sharps and flats. Some musicians consider harp playing the very highest form of artistry in the stringed instrument field. To the average person even the fact that each harpist must keep her own 47 strings in tune seems like a remarkable feat, and keeping five harps in tune with each other seems truly amazing. No less notable an achievement is the manner in which the performers keep their parts well-balanced and keep together without any apparent direction. Probably much of their proficiency as a group may be credited to their having been coached by the master harpist and teacher, Carlos Salzedo, to whom the leader of the group, Carol Baum has been an assistant instructor.
Lingering Tones
Well-suited to the harp was the Spanish music of the opening group. Playing close to the soundingboard produces tones very like those of the guitar so closely associated with music of Spain. Going back to the opening number, the lingering, undampened chord tones, at times resembling those of the organ, were most impressive. A generous sprinkling of the work of Salzedo, also a master composer of harp music, was likewise well-chosen. His music seems to show every variation of tone-color dynamics, and effect that can be brought forth from his instrument, even to the addition of a bit of percussion by tapping the sounding-board. A device known as the glissando, often used on the harp, produces possibly the most thrilling and pleasing effect of all. The pedal arrangement makes it possible to set up a wide variety of chord combinations, the glissando then being produced by running the fingers across the strings and back. This technique is particularly effective in modern harmonies such as those in Salzedo’s “Fraicheur.”
Because of the similarity in the sounds of the instruments, music of the age of the harpsichord and clavichord is very adaptable to the harp. This period was well represented by a beautiful performance of Bach’s Sixth French Suite.
People who prefer familiar music should have been well-provided with it, for the program included “Malaguena” (Lecuona); “On Wings of Song” (Mendelssohn) notable for its accompaniment which would seem to have been intended for the harp, and for delicate harmonics used in playing the melody; “Clair de lune” (Debussy); the old English folksong “Greensleeves”; a Stephen Foster Medley; “Black Magic” (Harold Arlen); “Holiday for Strings” (David Rose); and “Hallelujah” from “Hit the Deck” (Vincent Youmans).
Bach to Blues
The turn-out for this concert seemed unusually good, and the applause more hearty than usual. Incidentally, this reviewer often gets the impression that about half the audience must be sitting on its hands. Concert-goers should bear in mind that hearty applause tends to bring out artists’ best. After all, they are only human, and they respond to expressions of approval and appreciation just as anyone else does.
People seemed to be expecting this to be an outstanding concert, and they certainly were not disappointed. On the contrary, reactions indicate that the expectations were surpassed. It is significant and worthy of mention that a large number of young people of high school age and younger who were in the audience were particularly thrilled with it. Some people noted an extra large percentage of men present, which is not at all surprising. The lovely young ladies gave an added touch of glamour to the occasion by changing during intermission from their beautiful pale blue taffeta short evening gowns into equally attractive blue net dresses of similar design.
Because the Angelaires had to make a sizeable trip the next day in order to keep a concert date that night, encores were limited to one, which, being “St. Louis Blues,” made it literally a “Bach to Boogie” evening. There is no doubt that the musical bill of fare provided something for every taste, and that most people enjoyed every minute of it, and feel sorry to everyone who for one reason or another missed out on this musical feast.
Courtesy of the Door County Library Newspaper Archive
[The February 5, 1957 Door County Advocate, https://archive.co.door.wi.us/jsp/RcWebImageViewer.jsp?doc_id=1e8fc801-90a4-4104-8e86-19a1ea0947dc/wsbd0000/20141103/00001225&pg_seq=5, printed a photo of the quintet and listed their names. Searching their names, three obituaries turned up.
Kathleen Haden Battaglia, November 22, 1930 - March 23, 2023: https://www.tributearchive.com/obituaries/27583273/kathleen-haden-battaglia
Remembering Ruth Wickersham Papalia (1935–2019): https://harpcolumn.com/blog/remembering-ruth-wickersham-papalia-1935-2019
Remembering Joan Harrison Ceo; 1935–2015: https://harpcolumn.com/blog/remembering-joan-ceo ]
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