REVIEW: 4 Girls 4 Harps at St Nicholas’ Chapel, King’s Lynn Festival
A Journey Around the World has never sounded so beautiful until 4 Girls 4 Harps took attendees of their St Nicholas’ Chapel concert along for their international ‘tour’ on Monday.
The harp quartet showcased their irrefutable ability to transport their audience to another place during their stunning King’s Lynn Festival set.
The night began in London with their version of Handel’s La Rejouissance from Music for the Royal Fireworks, and as the harpists soon explained, through the Middle East, Russia, Africa, Europe and India.
Having only previously heard a single harp being played in amongst an orchestra, it was a real treat to experience the intricacies of this beautiful and versatile instrument.
There was a combination of familiar pieces and ones which were perhaps less recognisable, but for me this worked well to compare works which I had previously known when they were played by a full orchestra.
There was never a moment where I felt the group were missing a different instrument – the range of genres and sounds they covered was incredible.
Pieces which had been commissioned by 4 Girls 4 Harps gave the evening a further flavour of how the harps can work together in unison but also stand out individually.
St Nicholas’ Chapel was a perfect setting for the concert, as its natural acoustics boosted the sounds without need for microphones – which one concertgoer described as ‘how it was intended to be heard’.
Harriet Adie, one quarter of the group, introduced the evening by lauding the rainy weather which she said they believed had helped bring the crowds in – which must have been in their hundreds.
It was also interesting to discover that one of the event’s sponsors – harp string manufacturers Bow Brand – are based in Lynn, which gave the concert a special connection to the town.
A Journey Around the World was a stunning evening of harp music, which took the audience overseas – and made some of them, myself included, not want to return.
By Rebekah Chilvers
