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Christala launched her Poetry Concerts at the Reigate Summer Music Festival 2004. The Poet & the Nightingale was a full evening’s celebration of the deep, abiding soul-link between twin-spirits of the arts - Poetry and Music. With the help of three other actors, and accompanied by four musicians (a pianist, a harpist and two flautists), Christala presented a veritable garland of 42 lovingly-chosen poems, varying in style from the deeply moving to the utterly hilarious, each speaking on themes inspired by the evening’s title and the whole celebrating poetic achievement from the 16th-century to the present day. The evening was held in a beautiful, once private manor-house, opening onto sculpted, terraced gardens and looking out over the green, rolling woodland of the North Downs. Evening elegance was followed by daytime informality with Christala opening the festival’s Lunchtime Concert Series with a performance of exclusively her own poetry, accompanied by the lively and versatile Café Musique duo, Clifford Gill and Catherine Lovering. The concerts formed a first step in Christala’s ambition to perform her poetry accompanied by live classical music either arranged or composed especially for it. Both performances received warm and enthusiastic responses from both local press and audiences alike … and the Poetry Concerts were on their way. Christala works with several professional harpists, each of whose sensitive accompaniment and interpretation beautifully complements her work. The harp pieces are mainly drawn from the classical repertoire, with a distinct Celtic influence. Christala and her harpists are very versatile and perform in a wide range of venues, both large & small and in settings both modern and period. A smaller harp is available for venues where a full-size concert harp is impractical. |
