4 Girls take classical concert harp out of the shadows and put it centre stage in Newbury

Newbury Spring Festival: 4 Girls 4 Harps at St Mary’s Church, Kintbury on Sunday, May 8. Review by LIN WILKINSON

FORMED in 2000, 4 Girls 4 Harps have taken the classical concert harp out of the shadows and put it centre stage.

Original members Harriet Adie, who writes and arranges for the ensemble, and Keziah Thomas, both playing Italian gold harps, were joined by Jean Kelly and Louisa Duggan, playing American Lyon and Healy harps. All combined superb musicianship with a relaxed and friendly presentation.

The harp is an ancient instrument dating from the third millennium BC, but in the very early 19th-century seven foot pedals were added to the instrument, making it complex to play, but allowing players to access the chromatic scale, to play in any key, and lending the instrument great resonance. This allowed a much expanded choice of repertoire.

The innovative programme included some unashamed crowd-pleasers, the harp bringing a new dimension to this well-known music. There was a spirited start with La Réjouissance from Handel’s Royal Fireworks, and two hornpipes from his Water Music, the harps’ jewel-like notes and ravishing interweave of sounds on show.

Three entr’acts from Bizet’s Carmen included percussive effects made by striking the long soundboard with the hands. In quiet passages, the harps gave a more plaintive sound than the more usual full orchestra, but conjured fiery excitement when required.

The Mazurka from Khachaturian’s Masquerade was very much in the style of 20th-century film scores. In the extract from Rimsky-Korsakov’s Sheherazade, the harps were slow, lilting and romantic, the flavour of Russian folk song ever-present. As stringed instruments, the harps gave a dynamic account of Manuel de Falla’s flamenco pieces and we saw the full range of musical emotion in the extracts from Massenet’s life of Manon.

Perhaps most interesting was Elemental, a contemporary four-section piece composed by Harriet Adie in 2012. Written specifically for the harp, it optimised the wide tonal and sonic qualities of the instrument, with the blend of sounds counterpointed by staccato sections and luscious glissandos.

The encore was the jolly clog dance from La Fille Mal Gardée, complete with sound effects.

Wonderful stuff.