Last weekend it was time again for the Dutch Harp Festival: the program was built around the theme 'Night of a 1000 strings'. Deep into the night, Tivoli Vredenburg in Utrecht was transformed into harp heaven, where the instrument could be heard in all sorts of different forms and combinations. This year, the 'World Harp Competition' took place ahead of the festival evening. This allowed competitors to also enjoy everything the festival had to offer. The first prize and audience prize went to Kevin le Pennec (Breton harp & vocals), the second prize went to Amy Nam (harp & poetry) and the third prize to Ariel Sol (harp & live technology).
Visitors got a taste of 'a 1000 strings' at the beginning of the evening, at the festival's opening in the Pandora hall, where on small stages, several artists introduced themselves with a performance. Juanjo Corbalán quartet with rousing South American rhythms and Miriam Adefris & dancer Yvonne Smink with electronically amplified harp and hypnotic dance jumps really stood out in their mini-performances. Artistic director Remy van Kesteren then initiated a joint improvisation. High and low throughout the hall, every artist contributed their part, the audience was completely overwhelmed with different harp sounds from all corners. After this atmospheric and connecting opening, 'the night of a 1000 strings' could not wait any longer.
What immediately stood out upon arrival at the harp festival floor of Tivoli Vredenburg was the relaxed and casual atmosphere. It was easy for visitors to move from room to room to catch a bit of a performance here and there.
The Spanish harpist Angélica Salvi completely put her audience in a trance with repetitive patterns. Next to her instrument, she had set up a table full of electronics. She alternately operated her electronic switches and played the strings of her harp. Salvi used all sorts of effects like reverb, echo and delays, as well as all sorts of odd objects with which she extracted crackling, ticking or sweeping sounds from her harp. The harpist was all calm behind her instrument and 'in control', it was beautiful to see how she became absorbed in her playing and organically combined harp & electronics. As a listener, your thoughts drifted dreamily, through the repeating minimalist motifs. Sometimes you'd startle as an unexpected new sound was added.With Juanjo Corbalán quartet (winner of the World Harp Competition 2022), the roof came off. The Paraguayan harpist captivated his listeners with swinging rhythms and wild glissandos. Combined with the saxophonist in his quartet, the whole thing had a playful vibe. In no time, the entire room was dancing along.Moving on to Remy van Kesteren + ADAM quartet. Various works from Kesteren's repertoire were performed in combination with the string quartet, a beautiful addition to the sound. Van Kesteren played his Reus 49 harp surrounded by all sorts of keys and extra pedals for electronic effects. Add slowly changing visuals to that and the experience was complete. It was nice to recognize songs from the most recent album 'Muses', such as Avril 14th (Aphex Twin) and Crown (Kendrick Lamar). The harpist was visibly enjoying himself behind his instrument, setting a relaxed stage atmosphere that resulted in a listening pleasure for the audience.
The harpist from New York, Brandee Younger, took the stage in a bright orange dress with golden pumps and then sat down behind a gleaming blue Camac harp, with abstract patterns on the soundboard. Together with her drummer (Allan Mednard) and bassist (Rashaan Carter), she performed a program with her own work and songs by Alice Coltrane, Dorothy Ashby and Stevie Wonder, among others. She moved audiences with the self-written song 'Unrest', which she composed during the covid period, where the harpist mainly created sounds of protest in the lower register of her instrument. In the second part, Mednard let loose on his drums in a minutes-long solo, it went from big to small, and moved the room.In between, Younger told personal anecdotes about the works she performed, including about Dorothy Ashby's contribution to Stevie Wonder's song 'If it's Magic'. Where other harpists didn't dare venture regarding pedal work, Ashby made sure it worked. Younger brought out the magical melody beautifully in her version with jazzy arpeggios, and in accordance with Stevie Wonder's lyrics, the audience asked itself: 'Why can't we make it everlasting'.After an evening and night full of impressions, with certainly more than a thousand strings, there is one thing left to do: mark April 18, 2026 in your calendar for the next edition!
Door naar Remy van Kesteren + ADAM quartet. Verschillende werken uit van Kesterens repertoire werden in combinatie met het strijkkwartet uitgevoerd, een mooie toevoeging aan de klank. Van Kesteren bespeelde zijn Reus 49 harp met daaromheen allerlei keys en extra pedalen voor elektronische effecten. Voeg daar nog traag veranderende visuals aan toe en de ervaring was compleet. Leuk was om nummers te herkennen uit het meest recente album ‘Muses’, zoals Avril 14th (Aphex Twin) en Crown (Kendrick Lamar). De harpist zat zichtbaar te genieten achter zijn instrument, hij zette hiermee een onspannen podium-sfeer neer, wat resulteerde in een luistergenot voor het publiek.
De uit New York overgekomen harpist Brandee Younger betrad het podium in een fel oranje jurk met gouden pumps en nam vervolgens plaats achter een glimmende blauwe Camac harp, met abstracte patronen op de klankkast. Samen met haar drummer (Allan Mednard) en bassist (Rashaan Carter) speelde ze een programma met eigen werk en nummers van onder andere Alice Coltrane, Dorothy Ashby en Stevie Wonder. Ze ontroerde met het zelfgeschreven nummer ‘Unrest’, wat ze componeerde in de covid periode, waarbij de harpist voornamelijk in het lagere register van haar instrument klanken van protest creëerde. In het tweede deel ging Mednard los op zijn drums in een minutenlange solo, het ging van groot naar klein, en beroerde de zaal.
Tussendoor vertelde Younger persoonlijke anekdotes bij de werken die ze speelde, onder andere over de bijdrage van Dorothy Ashby aan het nummer ‘If it’s Magic’ van Stevie Wonder. Waar andere harpisten het niet aandurfden wat betreft pedaalwerk, zorgde Ashby ervoor dat het wel klopte. Younger bracht in haar versie met jazzy arpeggio’s, prachtig de magische melodie naar voren, en conform de tekst van Stevie Wonder vroeg het publiek zich af: ‘Why can’t we make it everlasting’.
Na een avond en nacht vol indrukken, met zeker meer dan duizend snaren, rest er één ding om te doen: noteer 18 april 2026 in de agenda voor de volgende editie!
