Eleanor Turner - The Crown of Ariadne (2012)

Eleanor Turner is musician of exceptional skill, recognised internationally for the warmth and passion she has for her music. In 2010 Eleanor was a prizewinner in the Netherlands International Harp Competition, and then invited by Champs Hill Records to record an album of contemporary works for the harp.

The Crown of Ariadne features a carefully curated selection of works by contemporary composers from all over the world that puts a spotlight on their country of origin and demonstrate the full range of sound and effects which can be conjured from a harp.

Canadian composer Raymond Murray Schafer is perhaps most famous for his work in defining acoustic soundworlds, and The Crown of Ariadne Suite continues to show his expertise, using the harp both as a melodic and percussive instrument, alongside pre:recorded tape.

Japanese composer Toshiro Mayuzumi is a prolific film music composer for whom both cultural identity and his time studying works of Messiaen and Boulez form strong influences on his writing. His 1989 piece Rokudan is a haunting and melodic work, yet one which leaves the listener in no doubt of the technical abilities of the instrument.

Reminiscences of Tranquility by Israeli composer Yinam Leef was commissioned for the International Harp Competition in 2003 and the composer describes it as “a yearning for more delicate musical and emotional values”. By contrast, Sweet Blues is a beautiful, light, tuneful work from French harpist and composer Bernard Andrès.

Dutch viola player and self:taught composer Ig Henneman is “an artist incapable of remaining satisfied with any one style” to paraphrase a reviewer, and lists rock music with as much importance as classical in her influences for her often highly improvised works. Tratti per Arpa is a fascinating and exhilarating work by this self:taught composer.


"This was energetic stuff, performed with virtuosic passion from first note to last." Jury comment on Eleanor Turner, receiving the Peutz Audience Prize