Dilettante Music

Henry Cowell's Aeolian Harp, HC 370 is the best known of his piano string pieces. In these works, the pianist is instructed to strum with the left hand directly on the strings of a grand piano, controlling the chords played by silently pressing down the necessary keys with the right hand. The pedals are used to control the duration of the chords. Cowell provides detailed instructions as how to play Aeolian Harp: some notes are plucked singly, others are played behind the dampers, and in some cases chords are played in front of the row of pins that hold the strings onto the soundboard. In every instance, Cowell specifies that the strings must be "swept by the flesh of the finger" and this produces a soft, attractive sound not unlike that of an autoharp. The breeze of a stiff wind activates a true aeolian harp, producing an ethereal tone quite unlike Cowell's piano piece.

He claimed that Aeolian Harp was the earliest of his piano string pieces and indicated at times that it pre-dated 1920. However, in his 1963 Folkways recording of the piece, he dates it to 1923. The manuscript is undated, but if the 1923 date is correct, than Cowell did have one earlier piano string piece he'd likely forgotten about, entitled The Sword of Oblivion, HC 367 (1920 - 1922).

AMP first published Aeolian Harp as a piece of sheet music in 1930. In 1931, Cowell used it as the harmonic background to the song "How Old Is This Song?" HC 477. In 1942, he further arranged the melody and chords, combined as a work by that same title for violin and piano, for violinist Joseph Szigeti, but also known as Celestial Violin, HC 477a. In 1950, Szigeti decided to surprise Cowell by having this arrangement published by Peer International. However, AMP took Peer to court over the copyright to the original Aeolian Harp and won its case. Peer was forced to withdraw this arrangement from its catalog.

Although its rich, sonorous texture suggests complexity of execution, Aeolian Harp is surprisingly easy to play. That, and the appealing mood that the piece sets, has helped to establish Aeolian Harp as one of Henry Cowell's most popular piano pieces. ~ All Music Guide