(including reviews of original release on Dunelm)

IAN MILNES (independent review):
When I received this CD for review, I thought what a pleasant surprise to have a harp music CD! It was an even greater pleasant surprise to hear it: this CD is simply brilliant! Rachel Dent is an absolutely outstanding harpist, her selected programme seeming to display all possible aspects of her sensitive musicianship and harp technique to full advantage. Ronald Frost's superb organ playing and sympathetic accompanying technique has been well known for several decades, and his contribution in three of the items shows his outstanding sensitivity in working with other musicians; the way the two artists play together is riveting. Jim Pattison's recorded balance in these duo items can't be faulted and I was amazed at how well the recording of two such different instruments has come off. The acoustics of St. Ann's Church in Manchester have been caught to great advantage in producing an absolutely splendid sound throughout this CD of 69¼ minutes duration.

The order of the programme is really well balanced, with several solo harp items between each of the three for harp and organ. Handel's “Concerto in B flat, Op.4, No.6, transcribed for harp and organ by Rachel Dent, is delightful, full of expression especially in the lovely central slow movement. The outer movements exhibit some really lively playing that enables the harpist to engage in some wonderfully delicate finger work in the quieter fast passages. I particularly liked the Welsh composer John Thomas's
”The Minstrel's Adieu to his Native Land” (and useful to have Moore's poem in the booklet), a 9-minute long set of variations in which is displayed a remarkable range of feeling and harp technique in this moving performance. Every item on this CD has memorable qualities! To select just a few more: I should mention the sonorous chords and glittering arpeggios in the second John Thomas piece (“Watching the wheat”). The brilliant performance of David Watkins' exciting “Fire Dance”; the stately aspects of Croft's piece; Handel's “Chaconne in C”, splendidly controlled; the magical harmonies in Tournier's “Etude”; the catchy rhythms of Roger Nichols' piece; the wide range of atmospheres in William Matthias' “Sante Fe” Suite. The other two of the three works for harp and organ (Grandjany and Ravanello) contain some lovely quiet passages.

The CD booklet is first rate, with excellent notes on the music by Ronald Frost, biographies, photos of Rachel Dent and a lovely photo of a Waterlily, Chatsworth, Derbyshire by Jim Pattison on the front cover, plus a note that the title, “Awake O harp” was inspired by Psalm 108 verse 2.

A revelation of harp playing! Very highly recommended.
Ian Milnes

LIGHT MUSIC SOCIETY:
“Awake, O harp” is the title of a harp music CD from Divine Art (ddv24138) played by the talented young harpist Rachel Dent, in three cases with the discreet accompaniment of Manchester organist Ronald Frost: Miss Dent's own transcription of Handel's Harp Concerto; the charming, if static, Prelude-Berceuse by Oreste Ravanello (1871-1938) and the expansive Aria in Classic Style by French harpist Marcel Grandjany, owing something to Handel, who also figures, with his English contemporary William Croft, among the disc's solo harp pieces.

Naturally enough, we hear music by several harpist composers: two pieces by John Thomas, Queen Victoria's harpist, on Welsh tunes, actual or imagined and one each by Grandjany, Marcel Tournier and David Watkins. Watkin's lively Latin American imaginative “Fire Dance” comes from his Petite Suite .

Not dissimilar is William Matthias' Santa Fe Suite, especially its finale (and best movement) “Sun Dance”. Cheshire-born Roger Nichol's Impromptu is attractive, bright and rhythmic. Most of the music is light and colourful, performances are accomplished and the recording, originally by Dunelm Records in 2004, very natural. Warmly recommended.
Philip Scowcroft

MUSICWEB (1):
What an unexpectedly versatile instrument the harp is! Obviously there are limits to the variety of sound of which it is capable, but the variety of music here is a tribute to both the instrument and the skill of the player. That is emphasized here by the inclusion of three duets for the unlikely combination of harp and organ. The two pieces written specifically for these instruments work best - Grandjany's gravely beautiful Aria and Ravanello's Prelude-Berceuse . Despite the expectations you may have after reading the comment in the booklet that Ravanello was the “Italian Reger”, this is a relatively short but very attractive piece in an uncomplex style. The longest duet is the arrangement of Handel's Harp Concerto. This is a wonderful and often played work, but the translation of the string parts for the organ tends at times to result in a muddy and unattractive texture far removed from the clarity of the original. Both players do all they can for it, but this is an item I do not expect to return to often. 

The solo harp items vary greatly. The arrangements of music by Croft and Handel are a clear success as music and, like everything on the disc, in terms of performance. John Thomas, a composition pupil of Cipriani Potter, became harpist to Queen Victoria and later Edward VII and was praised by Liszt, Berlioz and Rossini. The two items included here are both sets of decorative variations, the first on an original melody, and the second one of his set of “Welsh Melodies arranged for the harp”, the whole of which have been recorded on two very enjoyable discs by Elinor Bennett for Sain. Whilst not surprisingly there is a strong display element in both sets, these are atmospheric and charming pieces. The items by Tournier, Watkins and Nichols put the instrument through its expected paces. They are pleasant and entertaining if hardly gripping. The final item, however, William Mathias's Santa Fe Suite , is distinctly more interesting in every way. It was inspired by a visit to New Mexico, its three movements being entitled Landscape , Nocturne and Sun Dance . It manages to avoid the usual gestures of harp writing, and to say something new in each movement. It is may not be one of this composer's major works, but it is nonetheless clearly the product of a major composer. For me at least this item would be sufficient reason to buy the disc, but, with the exception of the Concerto, the rest is also worth repeated listening. The recording of the solo harp is admirable although the somewhat dry sound of this church and its organ does nothing to help the combination of instruments to work. This is nonetheless a winningly off-beat collection of pieces, very well played, which should be attractive to anyone with an understandable desire to obey the psalmist's instruction to “awake the harp”.
John Sheppard

MIDWEST RECORD :
The problem with the wide body of harp records is that any dingbat thinks she can play and be a new age star.  So much the better when you come across a harpist like Dent who is really is on top of her game and delivers so much just playing solo that you don't realize you are only listening to 10 fingers at work.  A wide ranging set that is unified by a Celtic veneer, this is a tasty, classy recording that provides a great break from the noise of the world around us.  Simply delightful.
Chris Spector

 MUSICWEB (2):
This is a pleasing programme from a young harpist who is making a name for herself as soloist and freelance player. Handel is here and harp maestro Grandjany, some Welsh bardic strains and some contemporary repertoire to complete a relatively wide-ranging conspectus. Her Handel is accomplished and buoyant though the spatial separation between her harp and the organ at St. Ann, Manchester, played by Ronald Frost is unbridgeable in this recording and we get a rather askew perspective. Her arpeggio playing in the Tournier is fine, and she launches into the virtuoso decoration and variations of Thomas' Minstrel's Adieu with convincing confidence and relish. The Grandjany is a very beautiful piece, well deserving of recordings, though it is explicitly Handelian – the organ accompaniment here is very discreet.

David Watkins' Fire Dance won first prize at the International Competition of the Northern California Harpists' Association in 1961 – it's fiery and splendidly written for the instrument. It's good to hear the Croft; I'm obviously not up with the latest Purcellian research because I've always known the Croft Ground as the Harpsichord Ground by Purcell (I first heard it played, I think, by Robert Woolley). Its transformation into organ guise is successful and fluent. Roger Nichols wrote his Impromptu in 1972 and it's a fine piece, rolling with arpeggios, very mobile and full of fancy and colour. It's good to be acquainted with Oreste Ravanello (1871-1938), sometime organist of St. Mark's Venice, whose Prelude-Berceuse is full of teasing wit, though I think the overpowering pedal note from the organ is overdone – or is magnified by the recording. Mathias's Santa Fe Suite is an evocative one – full of wind shudder, nocturnal impasse and cascading Spanishry in the Sun – rhythmic and pliant.

The notes cover the programme reliably; the recording has some ambient noise in the church acoustic and, as I said, the spatial problems between instruments haven't been satisfactorily resolved. Still, don't necessarily let that put you off if you want to follow Rachel Dent's choice of repertoire.
Jonathan Woolf

LIVERPOOL DAILY POST:
Harpist Rachel Dent became well-known in the North West following her Northern College training, and now her recital of harp music, recorded in St Anne's Church, Manchester, has been reissued with organist Ronald Frost partnering on the Handel Harp Concerto, and two other pieces.

This is an enjoyable recital, released by Divine Art, and many will be attracted by the Santa Fe Suite of William Mathias.
Peter Spaull

BRAILLE MUSIC MAGAZINE:
Awake O Harp looks to be an intriguing way to feature solo music for harp, alongside joint contributions from both harp and organ. The Handel concerto was an obvious choice; however, with the harp closely recorded and the sound of the organ some considerable distance away, the match is less than a happy one. Ensemble and tuning could have been better and, perhaps, there might have been a different solution by using another venue - Manchester is not short of possibilities - where both instruments could have worked more effectively. The solo harp music is certainly worth hearing.
Roger Firman

[note: we accept the reviewer's comments with good grace but don't see how the organ of St. Ann's Church (where Ronald Frost is based) could 'work more effectively' at some other location...)