Esprit de Louve

Évélina Simon, harp. Self-released, 2023.

Also of note this month is Évélina Simon’s earthy Esprit de Louve (Wolf Spirit). At the outset we hear the sounds of nature, birds high in the canopy, and a wolf’s yawning howl far in the distance. Simon’s original music is filled with soulfulness, the harp interweaving between a breathy and intense soprano and a crystalline flute. The “ensemble” is so intricately solidified, it’s hard to believe it’s one artist. Of particular note is her medley of Bruine d’Irlande/My Lagan Love. Simon has a sixth sense when phrasing for maximum impact, making the tender longing palpable. As in Le Choix De La Louve (The Wolf’s Choice) the arpeggios build tension underscored by light drumming, then lead to a native-American-influenced Hurle À La Lune (Howling at the Moon) with a stamping heaviness that will lift the hairs on the back of the neck. It is a sensual walk in the woods. 

Prima

Zarina Zaradna, harp. Self-released, 2023.

One of the portraits in Polish harpist Zarina Zaradna’s Prima shows her sitting in front of her harp holding her stuffed teddy bear. That’s when the full impact of this 13-year-old’s boundless talent hits full force. Her list of accomplishments is legion, but truly it’s the quality of her playing that makes this album so wonderful. Beginning with an exciting rendition of Deborah Henson-Conant’s Baroque Flamenco—replete with a throaty Olé—to the patriotic Mazurka of Feliks Nowowiejski, a highly dramatic Sonata by Sophia Dussek to a set of increasingly demanding variations based on Paganini Caprice No. 24 by Mikhail Mchedelov, Zaradna plays with utmost mastery and style. Favorites include a ponderous and emotionally effectual Mozart’s Lacrimosa as well as a frothy waltz by Marie-Auguste Massacrié-Durand, all lightness and joy. This is a young harpist to watch, and, of course, listen to