“The Nightingale” is one of my most-requested songs – one of those songs that comes out whole, that just seems like a simple statement of truth.
I wrote it in memory of my mother’s voice – and since I published it years ago, harpists all over the world now play it, and thanks to Google Alerts, my inbox drops links to performances once or twice a week – little gifts I enjoy as I watch performances, from beginners in their bedrooms to students in dorm rooms, to professionals on television shows.
I’ve seen it performed on a Tedx stage, in ensemble, with harp and cello, with handbells. On tiny toy harps, and on concert grand instruments, and I’ve collected a few of those videos below.
The Original Recording
This was my original recording of this piece. If you listen at about 2:00 minutes in, you can hear an echo of my mother’s voice. I wanted to create my own experience for the listener, although I had to use my own voice for this section that is basically what she called “vocalese” – a kind of humming without words, that was one of my most emotional memories of her voice.
Behind-the-Scenes Video
This is a short “Behind the Scenes” clip about “The Nightingale” produced by Rick DiGregorio from my DVD project “Invention & Alchemy.”
Sheet Music for Harp Players (Lever & Pedal)
A few years back, I published an arrangement of “The Nightingale” and now it’s my most highly covered song on YouTube (and I love seeing other people’s YouTube performances of it!).
One thing I’m proud of about this downloadable arrangement of the piece is that it includes THREE versions of the piece for instrumental players (for beginner to intermediate) and TWO ADDITIONAL versions for singer and harp.
That lets players choose the arrangement that’s best for them – or play them all – or start with the simplest and then work up to the concert version. The download comes with all 7 versions. And then YOU can upload your performance to YouTube, too, like the videos you’ll see at the end of this post.
Chamber Ensemble & The Nightingale
I often perform “The Nightingale” Solo or with full symphony, but here’s a version with chamber ensemble
YouTube Performances of “The Nightingale”
Here are some of the many covers of this song on YouTube:
If you play “The Nightingale,” I encourage you to record it and post your video on YouTube. List me as composer in the title and I’ll get an alert – and I’ll thoroughly enjoy your performance. That I know!
Harp & Deer… Olga Pasuk, Harp
Harp & Cello Duet. Talia Cheung, Harp. Lewis Tang, Cello.
Christy-Lyn sings and plays “The Nightingale”
Here’s a version on a Latvian instrument called the Kokle, which has a sound similar to the harp.
Voor Deborah!!!! By Mariefleur in the Netherlands. Love this!
Harp Plus, University of Nevada, Reno. UNR harp ensemble: Tara Arnold, Sushi Aquino, Brittany Iverson, with guest artist alto MaryAnne Stashevsky-Ashley.
With harp and PAN-FLUTE – the sound is gorgeous with Sebastian Pachel (Panflöte) and Jana Maria Pachel (Harfe)
Athy ElectricHarper, from Argentina, Buenos Aires performing at the MAGIACELTICA Festival in Italy 2011
This video is from a Romanian television show featuring a Harp-Cello duo (Mladen Spasinovici, cello & Roxana Moisanu, harp)
Here it is performed by Sachiko Komiya.
On harp & clarinet …
On Celtic Harp… Do you know her name so we can add it?
With harp & Bass with Anne Kox-Schindelin and Stefan Hergenröder
Do you know her name so we can add it here?
This is an archive post ~ originally published April 24, 2013 and updated in 2019
PROJECTS & PERFORMANCES:
FOR HARPISTS:
- Join Hip Harp Academy
- Harp Time Live (FREE Weekly Playalong)
- FREE Resources
Would anyone out there be able to translate the comments made after that exquisite harp/cello version of The Nightingale? I’d love to know what they’re saying!
I’d love to know, too!
This segment is actually from a Romanian television program. Referring to the conversation after the piece, they start off by complementing the musicians, “beautiful sounds, superb playing, lovely piece.” They go on to talk a little bit about it and it’s composer. “She is a contemporary, non-conforming harpist, and yet the piece is so romantic. What a difference from how we view the composer. It was so romantic, beautiful, and poetic. It touched our hearts. Music is such a miracle!”
Thank you so much for post my version Deborah… love your music… and on this piece we can listen your heart in each note… Thank you a lot. All the best from Argentina.
Here’s another version made by my friends and me, totally free of harp, but lots of other instruments 😉 Sadly, there’s no video, just sound, since this is a multitrack recording: https://soundcloud.com/butatowanis-drums-dreams/the-nightingale
Deborah, you might vaguely remember us from your last concert in Lübeck, Germany (seems like centuries ago), because we asked about playing this one and “Congratulations”. Thank you for all your wondeful music.
Greetings from Germany
Karl Anders
Trying to set this up for Violin and Harp any help
Is appreciated
Hi Janet! It’s very easy: just choose whichever of the Harp & Voice versions your violinist likes best. Then the violin plays the voice part and you play the harp part. How does that sound? Let me know how it goes! – DHC
Can this beautiful piece be played on a 26 string lever harp?
YES! I actually tested it out and you can play a version of it on a harp as small as 17 strings (!) I can’t guarantee you can do it from the sheet music but that’s why I created a CLASS called “One Song: The Nightingale” that shows you how to take the piece apart to play it with YOUR skills on YOUR harp.
And at the time I’m writing this, you can still join the Beta Team for that class and get the class for half-price while I’m developing all the videos: https://www.hipharp.com/academy/1song-nightingale/
I’m so glad you love it and I look forward to hearing YOUR version!
Deborah