Charlie's angel, with harp
Catrin Finch brings her Welsh pride to London
When Catrin Finch was dubbed Royal Harpist by Prince Charles in 2000, she received "a very mixed response" from her Welsh homeland. Then a couple of months ago, she married Hywel Wigley. Wigley's father Dafydd was for three decades the leader of Plaid Cymru, the "party" at the forefront of Welsh pride, which has looked askance at the English Charles' historical claim to the title of Prince of Wales.
"Obviously for Hywel [pronounced "Ho-el"] and his father it's been difficult, because they're very pleased for me that [the royal appointment] happened, but they can't be too pleased because they're not supposed to agree with the whole royal thing," says Finch by phone from her home near Cardiff. "But it's difficult to dislike Charles, really, because the only things he does here in Wales are good, positive things." That includes the bolstering of Welsh culture.
With Finch, Charles scored, not only a good deed but, a connection to a winsome virtuoso with confident technique. At 23, Finch has won competitions and performed with orchestras and alongside Welsh operatic baritone Bryn Terfel. The princely approbation also put Finch's career in high gear, helping to secure her a deal with Sony Records. The label recently released her debut album, Crossing the Stone.
Finch's family had a piano teacher coming to their home on the western coast of Wales when she and her two siblings were quite young. At age 6, Finch was taken to a recital featuring famed Spanish harpist Marisa Robles, to whom the young Finch declared her intention to learn the instrument. Shortly thereafter, she was given a Celtic harp, smaller and more limited than the concert harp and thus accessible to children. "In Wales, it's our national instrument," Finch notes. "Harpists are as common as pianists and violinists."
Equally popular are the weeklong festivals, called eisteddfods, in which Finch celebrated her native culture by way of folk tunes. Like many Welsh kids over the past few decades, she attended a school where Welsh was the primary language of instruction. By age 8, she'd outgrown the Celtic harp and the school's music teacher. Thus, she began eight years of four-hour round trips, every other week, for two-hour lessons on the full-sized classical concert harp with the renowned Elinor Bennett in northern Wales. Through Bennett she met Dafydd Wigley, the teacher's husband, and their son Hywel.
At 16, Finch entered the Purcell School in London, whose patron, Prince Charles, invited her and several of her fellow music students to perform at his 50th birthday party. After Purcell, she moved on to the Royal Academy of Music. Finch shared a flat with five other students in northwest London. Early one morning, "My roommate came in and said, 'Buckingham Palace is on the phone.'" After realizing that this wasn't a joke, Finch was able to accept her position as the first Royal Harpist since 1871.
The appointment meant that she had to be trained in palace decorum. One of her requisite six gigs per year for the Prince was the first anniversary of the creation of the Welsh Assembly. The entity, which serves as administrator of education and health care, is the closest her country has come to getting its own governing body.
For Sony's Crossing the Stone, Finch, brainstorming with Welsh producers, came up with a mixed bag that includes jazz, world and contemporary material which she has yet to integrate into her classical concert repertoire. In addition, there are tracks of Bach, Handel, Debussy and Welsh folk songs. "It's pushing the harp to its fullest capability in different fields," Finch explains. "I hate to be pigeonholed."
Being photographed for her album in fetching informal garb, including leather slacks, was also Finch's idea. "A way to appeal to people my age is to be just like them," she says. "And there's no reason why the harp can't be with the times and trendy, as it were."
music@creativeloafing.com
"Obviously for Hywel [pronounced "Ho-el"] and his father it's been difficult, because they're very pleased for me that [the royal appointment] happened, but they can't be too pleased because they're not supposed to agree with the whole royal thing," says Finch by phone from her home near Cardiff. "But it's difficult to dislike Charles, really, because the only things he does here in Wales are good, positive things." That includes the bolstering of Welsh culture.
With Finch, Charles scored, not only a good deed but, a connection to a winsome virtuoso with confident technique. At 23, Finch has won competitions and performed with orchestras and alongside Welsh operatic baritone Bryn Terfel. The princely approbation also put Finch's career in high gear, helping to secure her a deal with Sony Records. The label recently released her debut album, Crossing the Stone.
Finch's family had a piano teacher coming to their home on the western coast of Wales when she and her two siblings were quite young. At age 6, Finch was taken to a recital featuring famed Spanish harpist Marisa Robles, to whom the young Finch declared her intention to learn the instrument. Shortly thereafter, she was given a Celtic harp, smaller and more limited than the concert harp and thus accessible to children. "In Wales, it's our national instrument," Finch notes. "Harpists are as common as pianists and violinists."
Equally popular are the weeklong festivals, called eisteddfods, in which Finch celebrated her native culture by way of folk tunes. Like many Welsh kids over the past few decades, she attended a school where Welsh was the primary language of instruction. By age 8, she'd outgrown the Celtic harp and the school's music teacher. Thus, she began eight years of four-hour round trips, every other week, for two-hour lessons on the full-sized classical concert harp with the renowned Elinor Bennett in northern Wales. Through Bennett she met Dafydd Wigley, the teacher's husband, and their son Hywel.
At 16, Finch entered the Purcell School in London, whose patron, Prince Charles, invited her and several of her fellow music students to perform at his 50th birthday party. After Purcell, she moved on to the Royal Academy of Music. Finch shared a flat with five other students in northwest London. Early one morning, "My roommate came in and said, 'Buckingham Palace is on the phone.'" After realizing that this wasn't a joke, Finch was able to accept her position as the first Royal Harpist since 1871.
The appointment meant that she had to be trained in palace decorum. One of her requisite six gigs per year for the Prince was the first anniversary of the creation of the Welsh Assembly. The entity, which serves as administrator of education and health care, is the closest her country has come to getting its own governing body.
For Sony's Crossing the Stone, Finch, brainstorming with Welsh producers, came up with a mixed bag that includes jazz, world and contemporary material which she has yet to integrate into her classical concert repertoire. In addition, there are tracks of Bach, Handel, Debussy and Welsh folk songs. "It's pushing the harp to its fullest capability in different fields," Finch explains. "I hate to be pigeonholed."
Being photographed for her album in fetching informal garb, including leather slacks, was also Finch's idea. "A way to appeal to people my age is to be just like them," she says. "And there's no reason why the harp can't be with the times and trendy, as it were."
music@creativeloafing.com