The second best harpist in the world is from Tarragona

In the last supplement of ARA Camp de Tarragona, last April, we published an interview with the harpist from Espluga de Francolí, Anna Amigó Vilalta, just two days before she participated in the semifinal of the World Harp Competition, in the Dutch town of Utrecht. Her proposal, very different from the rest of her thirteen competitors, convinced the jury and she became one of the three finalists. The next day she achieved second place in what is considered the world championship of the harp.

Amigó, with her Celtic harp and the work Sang de dona (Woman's Blood), which draws from Catalan songbooks and difficult stories starring women, such as Caterina d’Alió, the Lady of Reus, or Blancaflor and Filomena, stood out among classical harps and more academic proposals. As they announced her name as the third finalist, she was thinking of one of her competitors – now a friend – who came from Mexico, had to pay for her plane ticket across the Atlantic, and was out of the final. Without having fully grasped the magnitude of the achievement in the Netherlands, in recent weeks there has been an avalanche of more than deserved interviews and reports for this self-taught artist, who did not learn to play the harp until she was almost thirty, even though she dreamed of doing so from a very young age. And it wasn't until six years ago that she began the path of professionalization in music.

On May 9th, I was able to enjoy the harp and voice of the Espluga native in an ideal setting to listen to Sang de dona: the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Montserrat de Montferri, Jujol's modernist gem, surrounded by vineyards in the heart of the Alt Camp. In this region, Sang de dona was also born, specifically in a residence at the Convent de les Arts, with production by Eduard Iniesta. Now come intense months for Anna, as the world subtitle will open doors for her. If you go to one of her concerts, besides enjoying a unique show, you can buy the small gem that is the CD, which includes the physical disc, the book with illustrated songs, texts, and points of view from the author and other artists. A small work of art.