Catrin Finch is undoubtedly gifted and technically proficient on her instrument, and her appointment as royal harpist to the Prince of Wales surely indicates a rapid ascent in her budding career.
Yet her reputation as one of the world's finest classical harpists is difficult to assess from this confused crossover CD, her American debut.
The rare moments when she is allowed to play by herself give inklings of her abilities, particularly of her sensitive touch and subtle phrasing.
However, her presentation is stifled by the heavy-handed arrangements of Karl Jenkins (Diamond Music, Adiemus), which include as many trendy styles and gimmicks as he can steal to sound au courant.
New age froth, bland fusion pop, and facile rhythm tracks are jumbled in his pretentious potpourri, and Finch's playing is largely overwhelmed by the surrounding chaos, even though she is the featured performer.
Miscalculation is not the word to convey how Jenkins has failed Finch, though self-promotion and crass manipulation are terms that adequately describe his modus operandi and suggest why this disc is a meretricious product.
Discerning harp fans willing to give Finch a chance to reveal herself may have to wait for her to part company with her arranger before her talents can be fairly judged.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mountain DanceDave Grusin | Catrin Finch | Play | 04:49 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | Harpers BizarreKarl Jenkins | Catrin Finch | Play | 03:13 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | JamesLyle Mays, Pat Metheny | Catrin Finch | Play | 02:19 | 5 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | ThingamujigKarl Jenkins | Catrin Finch | Play | 02:25 | 5 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | Over the Stone: IV. Crossing the Stone | Karl Jenkins, Catrin Finch | Play | 04:17 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | Violin Partita No. 3 in E Major, BWV 1006: I. Preludio (Arr. M. Grandjany for Harp) | Karl Jenkins, Catrin Finch | Play | 03:59 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | Electric Counterpoint: III. Fast (Arr. for Harp, Bass Guitar & Percussion) | Karl Jenkins, Catrin Finch | Play | 04:24 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | Over the Stone: II. Eternal Dream | Catrin Finch | Play | 04:47 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 9 | Solomon, HWV 67: Arrival of the Queen of Sheba (Arr. K. Jenkins) | Karl Jenkins, Catrin Finch | Play | 03:31 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 10 | Over the Stone: VI. Café Vamp Latino | Karl Jenkins, Catrin Finch | Play | 04:52 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 11 | Spain (Arr. K. Jenkins) | Karl Jenkins, Catrin Finch | Play | 03:25 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 12 | Buenos Aires Hora Cero (Arr. K. Jenkins) | Karl Jenkins, Catrin Finch | Play | 04:56 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 13 | Suite bergamasque, L. 75: III. Clair de lune (Arr. for Harp & Narrator) | Catrin Finch | Play | 06:05 | 13 MB | 0 MB |
| 14 | Ave Maria (Arr. K. Jenkins) | Karl Jenkins | Play | 04:26 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 15 | Suo gan (Arr. K. Jenkins) | Karl Jenkins, Catrin Finch | Play | 03:27 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 16 | Palladio: I. Allegretto (Dance Mix Version) | Karl Jenkins, Catrin Finch | Play | 03:13 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 64 mins | 147 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Johann Sebastian Bach | Composer |
| 2 | Terrance Barber | Counter Tenor (Vocal) |
| 3 | Terrance L. Barber Jr. | Counter Tenor (Vocal) |
| 4 | City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra | Orchestra, Performer |
| 5 | Paul Clarvis | Drums (Snare), Percussion, Tabla |
| 6 | Helen Connolly | Associate Producer, Executive Producer |
| 7 | Chick Corea | Composer |
| 8 | Laurence Cottle | Bass, Guitar (Bass) |
| 9 | Claude Debussy | Composer |
| 10 | Caryl Ebenezer | Soprano (Vocal), Vocals |
| 11 | Catrin Finch | Electric Harp, Harp, Liner Notes, Primary Artist |
| 12 | Charles Gounod | Composer |
| 13 | Dave Grusin | Composer |
| 14 | Rose Hillier | Penny Whistle |
| 15 | Rosie Hillier | Penny Whistle |
| 16 | Gavin Horsley | Bass (Vocal) |
| 17 | Kevin Horsley | Bass (Vocal) |
| 18 | Michael Hradisky | Engineer, Recording |
| 19 | Carl Jenkins | Composer |
| 20 | Jody Barratt Jenkins | Cymbals, Editing, Engineer, Handclapping, Mixing, Percussion, Percussion Programming, Piano, Producer, Programming, Remixing, Sound Design, Synthesizer Programming, Taps |
| 21 | Jody K. Jenkins | Clapping, Cymbals, Editing, Engineer, Mixing, Percussion, Piano, Producer, Programming, Remixing, Sound Design, Synthesizer, Synthesizer Programming, Taps |
| 22 | Karl Jenkins | Arranger, Composer, Conductor, Producer |
| 23 | Eric Jordan | Engineer, Mixing |
| 24 | Erik Jordan | Engineer, Mixing |
| 25 | Laura Kszan | Packaging Manager |
| 26 | Kevin Kyle | Tenor (Vocal) |
| 27 | François Limer | Voices |
| 28 | Lyle Mays | Composer |
| 29 | Pat Metheny | Composer |
| 30 | Bill Phelps | Photography |
| 31 | Astor Piazzolla | Composer |
| 32 | Adam Pollock | Product Manager |
| 33 | Steve Price | Mixing |
| 34 | Steve Reich | Composer |
| 35 | Annie Roseberry | Executive Producer |
| 36 | Rosie Roseberry | Executive Producer |
| 37 | Phyllis Schlomovitz | Transcription |
| 38 | Roxanne Slimak | Art Direction |
| 39 | Ray Staff | Mastering |
| 40 | John Luard Timperley | Engineer, Recording |
| 41 | Traditional | Composer |
| 42 | Guy Wiffen | Engineer, Mixing, Recording |
| 43 | Hywel Wigley | Engineer, Mixing, Recording |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |