Notes to Self is Welsh harpist Catrin Finch’s most intimate work yet—a poignant “letter” to her 13-year-old self. Through eleven compositions, Finch explores themes of home, anxiety, and innocence with expert precision. A masterclass in emotional depth and musical intelligence; it’s one to cherish.
Celebrated Welsh harpist Catrin Finch’s first solo album in a decade is also her most heartfelt and personal. Notes To Self is a set of eleven compositions for harp dedicated to ‘Katy’, her 13-year-old self (the album notes for each song are a letter to ‘Katy’, adding depth and context to the music). Catrin uses the power of music and her seemingly endless prowess with the instrument that has accompanied her since she was five to celebrate a forty-year journey through music, a love of place, and a love of life.
The album begins with 13, a magical number for Catrin and the age of the past self she is addressing. Built from softly chiming notes, the music slowly blossoms into a pretty, delicately plucked melody with backing chords. There is an immediate sense of innocence about this opening tune that develops into a feeling of adventure and progress as the piece evolves into a more intricate arrangement, with dancing melodies and complex motifs.
More cautious in its approach but no less appealing is Adre, a love letter to home (Catrin grew up in Llanon, Cardigan Bay in West Wales) containing beautiful, luminous harp runs played at an easy tempo, with arpeggiating notes conjuring images of rolling waves and slowly moving marine life. The ultra-minimal percussion tapping in the background also helps keep the piece’s mood organic and maintain a sense of fundamental simplicity.
Contrasting this is Black Holes, a far stranger and more serious song – inspired by those scary childhood dreams about existence (Catrin writes: “You know the dream? The one when you’re falling into big black holes, and you can’t stop or get out, and the intense pressure of the dark space becomes so much, that eventually you wake up, feeling lost and alone?”)- beginning with eerie knocks and swirls, sounding like an argument behind a closed door in places. The mood lifts slightly with slowly played harp chords, but the underlying scrapes and a more urgent, distant part maintain unease. As the music continues, a sense of weightlessness pervades, accentuated by lower notes and a sparse, spiky piece of playing. The contrasting nature of the music here is reflected in the song’s notes, where Catrin writes to a thirteen-year-old ‘Katy’ about ‘stress and deep worry’, but notes that ‘most holes can be climbed out of’. Altogether, it feels like a big song, a journey into a not altogether unwelcome unknown.
Another standout is Clear Sky, an anomaly here in that it is performed on acoustic harp, giving the music a far more classical feel. The quicker decay of the notes gives the music a different character to some of the electric harp tracks, and a deliberately played, strong melody with a slow arpeggio backing maintains space and brings clarity to a lovely piece of music.
Occupying the anxiety and deep worry of Black Holes is Together Again, a song addressing change and anxiety around feelings; Catrin writes: “I know by now you’ve started to feel those feelings, and you aren’t sure what to make of them. You’re questioning whether they’re real or wrong. I’m here to tell you that they are indeed real, so very real, and they are the opposite of wrong. They make you and I who we are in so many facets of our life.” This unease is present throughout the music, but particularly at the beginning, where isolated notes jostle before a gentle melody takes hold. At the core is this reassuring solidity through the melody (Catrin, addressing the young ‘Katy’ in the song’s notes and talking of ‘those so very real feelings’ echoes this comforting presence), but low notes work with sharply played high strings at an increasing lick, suggesting some lingering disquiet. It is a gorgeous piece, full of depth, emotion and musical intelligence.
Shifting the mood again is Môr Arianrhod, a stunning, free-flowing piece of woven harp runs, with inquisitive lower notes that add a light, dreamlike character. With a less strong underlying melody than a lot of the music here, this one has the feel of an air, a less structured piece that swirls and develops textures as it moves. Images of flowing rivers and leaves blowing in the wind abound during a delightful piece that is my pick of the bunch.
It is well known that Catrin Finch is a gifted musician with an acute ear for melody, and Notes to Self is another example of how much variety and depth she can find within the realms of the harp. This album, just shy of an hour in length, flies by and is expertly put together, with ebbs and flows, light and shade and a range of emotions running through the strings. Adding the heartfelt letters accompanying each song in the notes to this just gives the music more emotional heft and completes the project. A beautiful work by one of the best in the business, Notes to Self is one to cherish.
Notes To Self (February 27th, 2026) bendigedig label
Pre-order Notes To Self on CD and limited edition Vinyl LP here
Stream/Pre-Save Notes To Self: https://found.ee/K1U8iz
Catrin Finch Notes To Self Tour Dates
27 February Mwldan, Aberteifi / Cardigan
28 February Liverpool Philharmonic Music Room
1 March Acapela, Cardiff
4 March Apex, Bury St Edmunds
15 March Wiltshire Music Centre, Bradford On Avon
20 March Wyeside, Llanfair Ym Muallt / Builth Wells
21 March Neuadd Dwyfor, Pwllheli
22 March Ucheldre, Holyhead
2 May Kings Place, London
15 May The Borough, Abergavenny
23 May Constantine Centre, Tolmen
4 June St George’s Bristol
Ticket Links: https://www.catrinfinch.com/