King Of The Harp

A solo recital on baroque harps may not appear to be that enticing a prospect on first thought but this is a most rewarding disk by Andrew lawrence-King. Titled The Harp Of Ludovico : Fantasias, Arias and Toccatas by Frescobaldi and his Predecessors, there is also music by Mudarra, De Milan, De Macque, Michi Dell'Arpa and Monteverdi. The Ludovico in question was the notable baroque harpist I believe. The harp possibly made its' way to Italy from Spain via Naples which was under Spanish rule for a long period. The music here is designed to be semi improvised, in both a melodic and rhythmic sense and Lawrence-King is harpist of choice in this kind of repertoire. Listening to this disk could be treated as a kind of superior chill out music to relax to but following Lawrence-King's own informative notes and paying closer attention is also a rewarding experience. It is an instrument capable of conjuring up all kinds of musical effects in the same way as any major keyboard instrument. The pieces are all in early baroque style and while they could be transcribed for larger forces, the solo harp is more than adequate.