Amid Wonder, a Circle Expands [5 pieces for Harp] Celtic Harp - Digital Sheet Music

Harp, Lever Harp - Level 3 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.1725157

By Harp Lane. Composed by Juan Maria Solare. This edition: pdf. 20th Century, Celtic, Classical, Contemporary, Irish, New Age. Score. 17 pages. Juan Maria Solare #1287712. Published by Juan Maria Solare (A0.1725157).

Juan María Solare: Amid Wonder, a Circle Expands
five pieces for solo harp (2025)

1. Before Growing, an Oak Sleeps [2'15"]
2. While Sleeping, a Stone Listens [2'30"]
3. After Listening, a Wren Warbles [2'30"]
4. Through Warbling, Haze Fades [2'15"]
5. In Fading, Horizons Grow [2'30"]

Introduction (Programme Note)

This cycle of five pieces for lever harp was conceived under the sign of chillceltic: serene, contemplative music tinged with archaic and animistic resonances.

Each piece bears a title that follows the same grammatical structure: an initial preposition, followed by a verb, a noun, and a second verb. For example: Before Growing, an Oak Sleeps.

The titles are further linked through syntactic circularity: the second verb of one title becomes the first verb of the next. In this way, a sequence of short poetic parables is formed, intertwined like the links of a single chain.

Both literary ideas—structural parallelism and circularity—find their echo in the music: (a) all the pieces share a similar architecture, and (b) the final chord of each one points directly toward the tonality of the next, as if each chord opened the door to the adjoining room.

The tonal plan follows a symmetry along the circle of fifths, with successive key signatures of five flats, three flats, no accidentals, two sharps, and five sharps.

The metric structure is likewise relatively symmetrical: ternary meters (6/8 and 9/8) at the edges, binary meter (4/4) in the second and fourth positions, and in the center an asymmetrical meter of 7/8.

Ultimately, these technical considerations (metric design and tonal plan) serve as mechanisms to secure maximum variety within self-imposed constraints: a gentle, expressive musical character, a solo instrument, and a predominantly diatonic harmonic world.

The result is a set of miniature pieces with an introspective atmosphere, which may be performed independently but reveal their full strength when approached as a cycle: a sonic circle expanding its horizons at every link.

The overall title of the work follows the same syntactic pattern and explicitly names the idea of circularity: Amid Wonder, a Circle Expands.

This cycle of solo harp works was composed in Bremen and Worpswede (Germany) between 11 and 23 September 2025. Its total duration is about 12 minutes. The recording (by Harp Lane) will be released gradually throughout 2026 on Spotify, YouTube, and other music platforms.

Juan María Solare
Bremen, September 2025.