Daily album review 11: The sharply drawn watercolours of harpist Valérie Milot

It’s tempting to dismiss the harp as a wishy-washy instrument — a fact not helped when an album is entitled Aquarelles. But harpist Valérie Milot is a much more hefty artist than that.

Milot, born and raised in Trois-Rivières, Québec and who polished up her artistry with Rita Costanzi in New York City, is a great Canadian talent.

Her latest album for the Analekta label is a mix of well-roatsted chestnuts (such as Erik Satie’s three Gymnopédies, the Clair de lune by Claude Debussy and Franz Liszt’s Third Liebestraüme) and slightly newer repertoire for harp, including the wonderfully evocative Pour le tombeau d’Orphée by the late Dutch composer Marius Flothuis (1914-2001).

Aquarelles (watercolours) imply blotchy, blurred edges and under-saturated colour, which so doesn’t do justice to Milot’s playing. There is a powerful sense of rhythm and articulation to her incredibly nimble fingers, yet she also manages to find the right degree of atmospheric wash that we associate with the instrument.

This is muscular sweetness and virile sensitivity, which make for particularly compelling listening.

For all the album details, click here.

And here is Milot with the final piece on the album, Zaragoza, from the second Spanish Suite by Isaac Albéniz:

John Terauds