our story
harp and soul - is a creative practice active in the music and audio/visual sector | focusing on the expansion of art, the ongoing (harp) sound search in the 21st century & making global impact through an original sound mark ~ a butterfly effect ~ in a contemporary soundscape / music that turns out to be an universal expression of the human longing for the beauty of peace. How fortunate we are !
'There is a stunning soundtrack quality to Anne Vanschothorst's music, but that should be no surprise as she has been called upon to provide such to the visual arts.' ALL ABOUT JAZZ
'Anne's magic gives us a weird sonorous world with bizarre fauna and flora through poetic imagination.' KLASSIEK CENTRAAL
'Many of the miniatures remind me of Erik Satie — not that her music is in his style, but that both composers so thoroughly explore an artfully restricted sonic universe — in which chords and single melodic lines appear in alternation and at a pace slow enough to experience them almost as if they were sounding sculptures.' AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE
The sonic landscapes are a structured but dream-like realm of enchantment, a freely unfolding exotic sort of classical ambiance of mood and expressivity / a sort of post-ECM spaciousness \ her harp playing is authoritative, precise and expressive ; Anne's best work so far.' GAPPLEGATE
The harp and soul - creative label (The Hague - 2007) was founded by landscape music composer & harpist Anne Vanschothorst as a platform for the artist's music to take flight. The poetry of the harp has a specific dialect to Anne ; it empowers her identity & affirms the character of the harp and soul. This inventive, timeless, poetic, dreamy and mystical yet edgy sonic universe is where she locates her practice.
Since the beginning of her career, she wanted to produce her own music as a way to maintain greater artistic independence & freedom to go beyond conventions and (music) styles. This means that the label will oversee everything, from audiovisual recording to artistic direction / from concept to product and publication. Besides creating in .wav, .mp4, .png & .pdf formats, the harp and soul - studio produces also tangible art works such as sound sculptures, (music) books & CDs.
AV composes and records music and she works with 47strings and multi-media. The audio can be licensed, and altered into arranged (from solo to orchestra) or transcribed sheet music. — Hifi.nl qualifies the intimate sound recordings as hq audio engineering. / Anne's 'minimal harp' is often applied as the basis material of various audio/visual productions.
Traditional orchestral film-music may not always do the images justice, it can be too monumental or predominant. That's why the audio, that harp and soul - produces, has an acoustic harp basis to secure an authentic sound, because the harp speaks her own language. In other words : stilled music complements alternative art forms / especially created with 47strings = harp power ! harp and soul - music gives your concept an unique sound identity. A rich and impressive audio experience can be reached with a modern harp arrangement or sonic art. / Minimal harp mixed with electronic music, sounds of nature or spoken word are effective, contemporary and edgy, and leave room for the essence of the project. — The Dutch trade magazine for harpists qualifies therefore harp and soul - as an artistic inventive and innovative music label.
We love to work with you !
Audio/visual artists, film direcors, animators, (game) design studios, brands, poets, writers, painters, book illustrators, dancers, choreographers, remixers, radio makers, podcasters, scientists, researchers, universities, teachers, museums, curators (ao), have signed a (non) exclusive license agreement for the use of (pre) recorded audio in their (art) project with the intent to share & stage the content and express the harp and soul - sound through a platform : from online, app, event, rtv and 'in a room', to the (multi-media) production itself. The focus for our future creative concepts are on discovery and creating a strong (visual) language to bring delight and an inspiring conversation.
Feel free to get in touch regarding music licensing, and/or custom made music for your project.
As a composer and audio/visual producer i work at the harp and soul - studio / The label offers a boutique catalog of my music. In addition i can create custom audio. ♫♡
Anne Vanschothorst
rtv
internet
(movie) theater
festival
museum/gallery
in a room
education
research
(sonic) art/design
brand
spa/wellness
hospitality industry
work space
