The Harp - tonight, BBC4

Subject: The Harp - tonight, BBC4
From: Jack Blandiver
Date: 04 Apr 08 - 12:32 PM

Just spotted this tonight 9.00, BBC4

The Harp - Harpist Catrin Finch embarks on a musical journey to discover the ancient and varied history of the harp in Wales and the wider world. With Alan Stivell and Carlo Orosco

Repeats at 1.20am, which is just as well as at 9 we'll be watching the final of Torchwood on BBC2. Looks nice a nice night on BBC4 actually, from Transatlantic Sessions at 7.30 and Sacred Music at 8.00 - Byrd and Tallis indeed, which means watching Eastenders at 10.00 on BBC3...

Subject: RE: The Harp - tonight, BBC4
From: GUEST,Dr Price
Date: 04 Apr 08 - 04:43 PM

Just switched on - what superb stuff! Catrin Finch, Robin Huw Bowen, Llio Rhudderch, Alan Stivell, harps from South America... Radio Times made it a CHOICE, and how! Worth every penny of the licence fee!

Subject: RE: The Harp - tonight, BBC4
From: The Borchester Echo
Date: 04 Apr 08 - 04:53 PM

The Spanish dancer accompanied by the harpist with the long nails to get a bright sound was brilliant. And who knew it was Marie Antoinette who reintroduced the harp to France, bringing one with her in her luggage from Austria?

Catrin Finch having a go on the Venezuelan harp where the string colouring is different was very brave. It's repeated at 01.00 so I think I'll be staying up.

Subject: RE: The Harp - tonight, BBC4
From: Jim McLean
Date: 04 Apr 08 - 05:18 PM

Does anyone remember Maggie Hewitt from the sixties?

Subject: RE: The Harp - tonight, BBC4
From: melodeonboy
Date: 04 Apr 08 - 06:09 PM

Fascinating stuff! And it'd taken me the previous hour or so to come back to earth after watching Julie Fowlis on the Transatlantic Sessions.

It's getting to the stage where I'm declining invitations to go out of a Friday 'cos there's so much good stuff on BBC4.

Subject: RE: The Harp - tonight, BBC4
From: Bonnie Shaljean
Date: 06 Apr 08 - 05:18 AM

Finally watched the tape of this last night - yes, great stuff. Catrin is an absolutely stunning player, so credit to her for not taking advantage of her spotlight-position and showing off.

A huge bouquet of skunk cabbage, however, to whoever controlled the camera shots. That Spanish dancer was fascinating - and did we get to see him dance? I mean SEE him, in a full-body view? Yes, for about three seconds (no exaggeration). The rest of the far-too-few shots were of a disembodied face bouncing up and down, a hand, a pair of feet. It's one of my pet peeves (happens all the time to Irish dancers too) to be subjected to the director's Artistic Vision obscuring the real vision of the talent on display. And what makes them assume we need to see up everyone's nostrils?

I also think there should have been a representation of the modern Irish harp as it is now played, because there really has been a revolution in the trad style. It is now highly ornamented, which was pioneered by Maire ní Chathasaigh though it has many exponents these days. Paul Dooley on metal-strung harp was wonderful, as always, but I would like to have heard him do some Irish music, and not just the Welsh ap Huw material which we had already heard. The late 20th-century revival in Ireland was pretty much ignored. There's a huge amount happening in Scotland too, which was likewise passed by.

Also would have enjoyed a taste of the fab jazz harpist Deborah Henson Conant (hipharp.com) who is really taking it to new levels. (She can sing too. And I mean sing.)

It was super to hear the Welsh triple ringing out, though I would have liked to have heard Robin Huw Bowen actually get to play, perhaps for Welsh dancers to complement the Spanish one. There's a strong history of Welsh harpers accompanying dancers and it would have been interesting to see. They went to all the trouble to film Robin and then left in the talk but edited out his music (I presume he would have played at some point during his interview, sitting as he was right next to his instrument).

Still, you can't cram everything into an hour, and what we did see was marvelous. I loved the non-mainstream harps, which always deserve more exposure - those South Americans really rock.

Please, sir, I want some more -

Subject: RE: The Harp - tonight, BBC4
From: Mr Happy
Date: 06 Apr 08 - 06:15 AM

Great prog, echo all above.

More about Catrin here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catrin_Finch

Subject: RE: The Harp - tonight, BBC4
From: Jack Blandiver
Date: 06 Apr 08 - 06:36 AM

No Harpo though...

Subject: RE: The Harp - tonight, BBC4
From: Waddon Pete
Date: 06 Apr 08 - 09:33 AM

It was, indeed, an excellent programme.

Best wishes,

Peter