Music Review: Bielharz – ‘Beispiele 2’

Beispiele 2 Studien und Spielstucke fur Mehrere Lehrern

Review by Sally Willig

As we know, one of the joys of playing lyre is the experience of playing in community with others.  From the introduction to these pieces, Gerhard Beilharz explains that this collection was intended to satisfy the needs of lyre players of all levels to be able to play together.  In keeping with this intention, the composers who contributed to this collection made their arrangements accessible to all skill levels so that even a beginner could participate and enjoy the experience of ensemble playing. In Beispiele 2, we find a compilation of pieces from some of our most popular composers, namely, Christof-Andreas Lindenberg, Julius Knierim, Christian Giersch, Raimund Schwedeler, Gotthard Starke, Jan Nilsson, Lothar Reubke, and Pär Ahlbom.  Most of the pieces can be played either by single instruments (for example, one soprano lyre & one alto lyre), or by larger ensembles, with more lyres on each part.

The opening piece is Christof-Andreas Lindenberg’s “Explore the Lyre” for soprano and alto lyres, a lovely piece with moving arpeggiated lines and a recurring motif that seems to answer the arpeggiated melody.  There follows “Kanon Zu Ostinato” by Julius Knierim, which features a canon in D Major over an ostinato of the Tao tones.  It is suggested that the ostinato in this piece is accessible to beginner lyrists.  There follows a set of short pieces by Christian Giersch for soprano and alto lyre, including two Kanons that appear in a fairly straightforward way, suitable for all levels of lyre playing in their simplicity.  “Morgenstimmung” by Raimund Schwedeler, begins with a simple theme played in unison with soprano and alto lyre followed by more richly textured variations, and then ending with a final arpeggiated variation for soprano lyre(s).  Following this, Gotthard Starke gives us “Studie” for two soprano lyres.  There is also a small set of pieces from Jan Nilsson that makes use of other instruments in addition to the lyre: “Music für Leier und Klangspiel,” in which Klangspiel is the top voice over soprano lyre, and “Kanon”, in which the top voice is indicated for flute, the middle voice for violin, and the bottom voice for alto lyre. Another set of pieces by Lothar Reubke is written for three lyre voices. “Spielstuck für Klangspiel und Leiern” is written for Klangspiel in the top voice with lyre parts below.  “Übung fur Leirchoir” and “Speilstuck für drei Leiern” are for soprano and two alto lyres. “Tageslaute” by Pär Ahlbom, in which the sounds of each day of the week are compressed into short little pieces, is the final composition in the collection.  According to the introduction, it is thought that this piece was written for a special glockenspiel in the town hall in Västerås, Sweden.

Since I have played several of these pieces in ensembles over the years and received positive feedback from audiences, I can attest to what a wonderful collection this is. It is also very convenient to have these pieces together under one cover to draw from. 

Please note that this collection is currently on sale in our online Music Sales collection.