Welsh harpist Catrin Finch’s new album Notes To Self marks her first collection of solo compositions in a decade. Finch will release the album on Feb. 27 on the bendigedig, a label run in partnership between ARC Music International Ltd and Mwldan. Finch also begins a U.K. solo tour of the new compositions on the album on Feb. 27.
A press release describes the album as “a musical autobiography charting [Finch’s] experiences, emotions, and introspections. Accompanied by letters [to her thirteen-year-old self] that illuminate the profound stories behind each composition, the album weaves together themes of vulnerability, expectation, transformation, and the unpredictability of a life lived under the public eye.” Finch says in the introduction to the album liner notes, “Life has taken me on an incredible journey through unexpected waters and winding paths, filled with triumphs, trials and transformations. The one thing that has carried me through it all, is my harp. It is my constant, my steadfast companion, and playing music is the way I know how to fluently communicate my very being.”
Former Royal Harpist to H.R.H. The Prince of Wales, Finch is currently Head of Harp at The Royal Academy of Music, London. Her award-winning international collaborations include artists such as kora maestros Seckou Keita (Senegal) and Toumani Diabaté (Mali), Colombian joropo cowboy virtuosos Cimarron, and Irish classical violinist Aoife Ní Bhriain. In her classical career, Finch has performed with major orchestras around the world, including the New York Philharmonic, the Royal Philharmonic, the Boston Pops, the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, and the English Chamber Orchestra.
The album will be available on CD, and also on a limited edition run of 180 gram baby blue vinyl, as well as streaming on all digital platforms. Visit Finch’s website to pre-order Notes To Self and for tour dates throughout 2026. Learn more about Finch in the March-April 2020 issue of Harp Column. Watch her introduce her album below.
