Harpblog

Edmar Castaneda's new album: Double Portion

 

Marcella Carboni and Elisabetta Antonini: Nuance

 

 

Marcella Carboni and Elisabetta Antonini have released a great new harp + vocals album, in jazz style: 'Nuance'. Find out more in their press release, below!

New CD from Yann Honoré and Dominig Bouchaud

 

Dominig Bouchaud and Yann Honoré have been a duo for some years now. Their music is rooted in Breton and Celtic traditional styles, and they particularly explore this repertoire's minimalist dimensions. Now, they have a new CD out: L'arbre noir for lever harp and fretless bass!

 

 

They'll launch the CD on December 13th in Quimper (see invitation below), and you can buy it as from now from Keltia Musique.

Download Invitation l'arbre noir

Dibedoup - Breton songs for children

 

For those of you who read French, here's an interesting article about a Breton music project for children, devised by Breton harper and singer Yann Bertrand. While researching traditional Breton songs, Yann was unable to find many specifically written for children - so he composed his own. The project, "Dibedoup", includes a CD now available from Coop Breizh. The recording is a collaboration between Yann and the Beninese musician Euloge Hountondji, fusing jazz and African elements with the traditional Breton sounds - it's a fine example of how traditional music is constantly travelling, and carving new roles for itself. Read the article from Musique Breton here.

 Download Yann Bertrand Musique Breton

Classical tribute to Simon & Garfunkel from Valérie Milot and Antoine Bareil

 

 

Here's another great CD idea (and another) from Valérie Milot. She and violinist Antoine Bareil have just released a classical tribute to Simon & Garfunkel, "Old Friends". The disc consists of Antoine's unique arrangements for harp, violin and they are also joined by Christian Prévost (violin), Marjolaine Goulet (French horn) and Dominic Girard (double bass).

You can download it on iTunes or buy it here.

 

 

New CD out from the Atlantic Harp Duo!

Nicely in time for our USA-French collaboration Le Festival de la Harpe, which takes place in Princeton this weekend, the two Americans in Paris who are the Atlantic Harp Duo have released their latest CD!

 

"A Journey with Chopin & Sand" is a masterly illustration of the intertwined lives of Frederic Chopin and his lover, French authoress George Sand, through music of the period written or transcribed for two harps.

It's now available to buy on the duo's new website, or via CD Baby.

Kong hou music

 

Jakez has just added an interesting new CD to his iPod - traditional Chinese music for konghou, by Jin Zhang. The works are performed by kong hou students from the Shenyang Conservatory of Music - their teacher is Mrs He Hong. Here's a link to find out more.

Jakez trying out the kong hou during his recent trip to China

Whisky and butterflies - new music from harpist-composers

This morning, good news from two fantastic harpist-composers.

Firstly, Ailie Robertson's new album Traditional Spirits (a terrific concept about music and whisky) is now available from Ailie's website, and on iTunes. The album has been reviewed in the Scotland on Sunday newspaper:

 

 

 

"Young Scottish maestro Ailie Robertson has fine taste - in 11 tracks with titles like Boiling Point, The Cooperage, The Angel's Share and Amber Gold, she devotes her latest album to whisky.

Cast around the old Gaelic air Ho Ro Mo Bhobag an Dram (The Favourite Dram), she has composed and arranged everything else in the suite for her harp, plus classy fiddles, guitar, sax, whistles and piano, bass and percussion, all performed with modern, imaginative and fluidly adventurous creativity."

If you're  in Scotland on Saturday June 4th, there is also another chance to hear the Traditional Spirits programme performed, at the Glenkinchie Distillery in East Lothian. The evening will begin with a tour of the distillery, followed by whisky tasting, and then the concert. All proceeds from the event will go towards supporting 'Love Oliver', a charity that helps fund research into childhood cancers. It also aims to provide practical help to families on Ward 2 at Edinburgh's Royal Hospital for Sick Children.

Tickets are available by emailing ailie.robertson@gmail.com.

Secondly, Eleanor Turner has uploaded two of her compositions to YouTube, including a work I've always loved and whenever I've had the chance, I've gone on to anyone who'll listen about how more people should play it. I REALLY LOVE THIS PIECE...MORE PEOPLE SHOULD PLAY IT...etc.

 

You can also buy a CD of Eleanor's own excellent recording of the work with Keziah Thomas, here.

 

Blue Harp in 'United Kingdom of Ipanema'

Andy Summers of The Police and Brazilian bossa nova king Roberto Menescal have released a new DVD, United Kingdom of Ipanema. It features Cristina Braga on the blue harp and her partner Ricardo Meideiros on bass guitar!

Watch a DVD clip here.

Of course, you can enjoy Brazilian blue harp on Cristina and Ricardo's other albums, including the latest release Harpa Bossa, all about bossa nova and traditional Brazilian music.

 

Istanbul and the harp

Istanbul was European Capital of Culture in 2010. With the support of the European Capital of Culture Agency, The Turkish Association for the Art of the Harp launched a special focus on the harp - In Tune With The Harp. In Tune With The Harp ran from March to November 2010 and was followed by the extensive festival that was the Istanbul Harp Encounter in December. The projects were in memory of Turkish harpist Ceren Necipoğlu, who was a passenger on the Air France Flight 447 from Rio to Paris, which disappeared over the Atlantic in the early hours of June 1st, 2009.

Şirin Pancaroğlu, one of Turkey's leading harpists and president of the Turkish Association for the Art of the Harp, has now released an album of Turkish solo and chamber music on Kalan Müzik, Istanbul'un Ses Telleri, 'Vibrations of Istanbul'. Another project supported by the European Capital of Culture Agency, the album is a musical collaboration about Istanbul, and features new works specially commissioned for the purpose from Hasan Uçarsu, Özkan Manav, Turgay Erdener, Mahir Cetiz, Arda Agoşyan and Barış Peker. The instrumentation strikes a good balance between well-known combinations (like Cetiz's 'Early Morning' for flute, viola and harp, Uçarsu's 'Deserted Children' for flute and harp or 'Pigeons', a harp solo by Barış Peker), and music involving classical Turkish instruments: Agoşyan's 'The Basilica' for harp, doublebass and kemençe, and Erdener's 'The Trees of Istanbul', a quartet for harp, kemençe, kanun and ud. These last two pieces are particularly beautiful, exemplifying a line quoted by Ates Orga in the CD booklet's essay about the harp in Istanbul: "Istanbul's greatest virtue is its people's ability to see the city through both Western and Eastern eyes."