YORK contemporary harpist and composer Ruby Paul will premiere her new work in her Edinburgh Fringe debut on Monday evening. Sshe will introduce Encyclopedia Botanica, a series of 15 mood pieces for solo harp inspired by the flowers and plants of the British Isles.
“Each piece has the title of a wild flower, like ‘Poppy’ or ‘Daisy’c,” says Ruby. “They’re mainly very common flowers and plants, all the things I experienced and enjoyed in my childhood growing up on the Gower Peninsular, south of Swansea, near Caswell, about a mile from the sea.”
Ruby was the youngest of five children. “That’s the point when parents decide children should bring themselves up! My childhood wasn’t structured in any way by them!” she jokes. “I used to walk to school through the fields, about a mile’s walk, and as I got older I would roam further, going down to the beach and along the cliffs.
“Essentially, I was lucky enough to have the freedom of the countryside to play out, gathering bouquets, making daisy chains and rose-petal perfume, picking field mushrooms, and a love of wild flowers is with me to this day.” So much so that Ruby organises all her music engagements, such as weddings, into flower-named folders. The chance to premiere Encyclopedia Botanica in Edinburgh came initially at the invitation of the Festival of Spirituality and Peace. “The organisers asked me if I was interested in taking part and it occurred to me that these new pieces would be entirely appropriate,” says Ruby, whose concert will now straddle the Fringe and Spirituality festivals.