The lever harp, also known as the Celtic harp and by various names in Celtic languages, has quite a distinctive sound as compared with the usual concert harp. Traditionally strung with wire (harpist Lauren Scott uses several different strings here for greater timbral range), it has a sharp, brilliant tone that resonates only slightly. It's not common in the classical repertory, and this release may attract listeners curious about it. Scott offers compositions of her own, in a sort of ambient pictorial style that maximizes ...
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The lever harp, also known as the Celtic harp and by various names in Celtic languages, has quite a distinctive sound as compared with the usual concert harp. Traditionally strung with wire (harpist Lauren Scott uses several different strings here for greater timbral range), it has a sharp, brilliant tone that resonates only slightly. It's not common in the classical repertory, and this release may attract listeners curious about it. Scott offers compositions of her own, in a sort of ambient pictorial style that maximizes the sounds the instrument is capable of producing, and she adds extended techniques such as percussion and note-bending that are layered on more heavily as a composition proceeds: these are mixed with contemporary works. Listeners may be surprised to see the names of John Cage and Peter Maxwell Davies on the program, but Cage's In a Landscape (the piece that inspired Scott to make the recording), originally for piano and an homage to Satie, and Maxwell Davies' Farewell to Stromness,...
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