Royal Harp Strings—Claire Jones, harp; London Mozart Players & English Chamber Orchestra/Stuart Morley (Silva 6051)
Until 2013, the career trajectory of Welsh harpist Claire Jones had been straight up: performing for Queen Elizabeth at 16, official Harpist to the Prince of Wales from 2007-2011, and in 2012, playing at her own wedding to Royal Academy of Music classmate Chris Marshall. Then she was diagnosed with ME, or chronic fatigue syndrome, and so began a long struggle back from that misunderstood but nonetheless debilitating disease. Her 2015 disc, Journey: Harp to Sooth the Soul was a tribute to music which aided her recovery and some self-therapy continues on Royal Harp Strings, released this month, particularly in two pieces written by her husband: Heartstrings and especially Bluestone, inspired by long walks through Ms. Jones’s native Welsh countryside.
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