Identifying Orchestral Music with Harp

[auk_kestrel_music]

Hi there,

Can anybody help me?

I'm trying to identify a piece with a prominent arpeggiated harp part (or two) at the beginning. It's for I think a large orchestra, and builds from soft and repetitive and graceful to grand and loud with full brass etc at the end. I believe it's by a Russian composer and sounds like Tschaikovsky, although I'm not sure. I thought was called Nights Over the Bridge of Moscow or something like that but no such piece exists as far as I can find. I believe it's in C major, modulating the whole thing into A minor mid way through, and in 2/2 (although the harp part conspicuously plays quaver sextuplets), the chords being C Am Dm G7, chords change every half bar. A lovely melody starting in the cellos goes like this (if it's in C):
C B A G F D C
(1 &2 & 3 & 4& 1)
Can anyone help me satisfy my curiosity? I just HAVE to hear it!
Seb

[vinteuil]

A similar piece (but not exactly what you've described) is the first piece, Vyšehrad ( http://imslp.org/wiki/Vyšehrad,_JB_1:11 ... ,_Bedřich) ) from Smetana's Má Vlast

[panda]

Could it be the Pas de Deux (no 15) from Act 2 of Nutcracker? This has two harps (although it's in G major the harmonic scheme is the same).

[Melodia]

If your "C B A G F D C" is descending, it's almost surely the Tchaikovsky mentioned above. The title you got might have been from a music video, or some sort of 'theme' CD that renames things.

[sbeckmesser]

The full score here at IMSLP lists the Tchaikovsky as No. 14.

http://imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/1 ... ._445_.pdf

--Sixtus