On 22 and 24 May Gemma New conducts the Antipodean debut of Thomas Adès’ chamber orchestra version of The Origin of the Harp with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in Wellington and Christchurch. New previously conducted the German premiere of the orchestration of the 1994 work with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig in October 2024.
Based on a painting by Daniel Maclise, The Origin of the Harp takes as its subject the mock Celtic legend of a water nymph who falls for a mortal, the two separated by their respective element. The Gods, pitying her, intervene and turn her into a harp, her weeping becoming the gentle music of wind across strings; Maclise’s painting catches this moment of metamorphosis. The 9-minute piece is cast in four unbroken parts.
The first version was created for an ensemble of ten players from the Hallé Orchestra. Adès conjures the mythic atmosphere with breathy clarinets, glassy string harmonics and an array of unusual percussion instruments. The magical transformation is suggested by fluid, filigree passages in the winds; the harp’s sudden manifestation is suggested by a blizzard of pizzicato strings.
Adès recalls, when writing the piece, that “I was just figuring out my harmonic language, and the seeds of some bigger pieces are all in there, like my first opera Powder Her Face.” Timothy Fisher, writing ahead of a 2025 performance of this version from Adès and the London Symphony Orchestra, has likened the subtle, atmospheric storytelling, put at the service of a mythical subject, to the work of one of Adès’ great heroes, Jean Sibelius.
The orchestration was commissioned by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and Aspen Music Festival and School; it premiered with Adès and Scottish Chamber Orchestra in April 2024. The New Zealand Symphony previously gave the national premiere of Adès’ Polaris with James MacMillan in 2017.