As for making arrangements, I always keep a critical eye and ear on this process. I used to be very skeptical about making arrangements of music which was meant for another instrument.
In the past few years (also through the music of Philip Glass) I learned though, that there are pieces out there that have the possibility to be stretched along the spectrum of sounds and can be taken into a different sound world. I always keep the original scores in mind, but when I have the feeling a certain piece could possibly also have been written for the harp, then for me the adventure starts to discover if this is truly the case and if it can convince myself and my audience.
I have transcribed several pieces for harp, mostly from piano and guitar scores. Music by Britten, Fauré, de Falla, Scarlatti and Bach – to name a few. When I arrange the music it is often a puzzle which starts with finding the right fingerings for the harp. Then looking for the right sounds, adding certain effects to create a wider sound spectrum. Also sometimes it is better to change the octaves in which the music is written, in order to reach a brighter, or darker sound.
This is a great process and it can take a long time until I finally realize ‘this isn’t going to work as well as I was hoping for’. In that case, it disappears into the closet. But when it does work (and I believe both project with the music of Glass and now with the music by Einaudi have worked very well on the harp for my feeling) it is a wonderful feeling of accomplishment and enrichment.