Harpist Lauren Scott: "An incredible sound world appeared"
Simon Mayo talks to Lauren Scott about her debut album, Beyond The Horizon.
This week’s Scala Radio Album of the Week is ‘Beyond the Horizon’ released on the Avie Records label. Simon Mayo spoke to the album’s composer and harpist, Lauren Scott.
All of the pieces from the album are exclusively played on the lever harp - an instrument Scott began playing at the age of six.
For those not already in the know, lever harps have between 20 and 40 strings, with pitch adjusted by the use of levers (!) instead of pedals.
Lauren trained professionally on a pedal harp but reverted to her childhood favourite for her debut album, “I rediscovered this instrument and found what a great sound it could have”. Rooted in the contemporary classical music scene, Lauren Scott described how, later in her career, she took pedal harp techniques and experimented with them on the lever harp.
“An incredible sound world appeared,” she explained to Simon. When I found pieces like the John Cage… I thought I’d have a go at writing and see what happens. It’s just such an incredible instrument to write for.”
Find out more about Beyond the Horizon from Avie Records
Listen back to Simon Mayo via Listen Again.