Sarah Page harpist Barr Bros. interview

I first saw Sarah Pagé perform with musical friends and peers Brad and Andrew Barr, who I met through a deep devotion to their group The Slip, at likely the most beautiful venue in Canada the Black Sheep Inn in Wakefield, PQ. I had come to expect a stew of bop and post-bop sensibilities, classical modalities, indie rock idioms from the Barr Bros but Sarah's addition was a self-evident and awe striking compliment. Her grace, composure, elegance and formidable musical education were all readily apparent. She describes well in her own words how she was able to translate her classical pedigree into this ensemble that might be described amongst many other things as post-blues. 

Q: The story of your meeting Brad has been well told through the composition and introduction to Sarah Through The Walls. The story as it goes is that you were neighbours in Montreal who didn't know each other and Brad heard you practising a specific piece of presumably classical music on the harp and learned it on the guitar then came over and introduced himself and played back what you'd been playing. Is that essentially the story, I'd love to know which piece you were working on (ideally for what performance or context and a particularly good performance one might track down).

A: Brad and I had met a few times before he came over that afternoon and played Sarah Through the Wall for me. He had moved in next door a couple of weeks earlier and we had met briefly in the backyard we shared. We had spoken briefly about music and each had a vague idea of what the other did. I think it was summer and I had gone outside to take a break, and, seeing me, Brad came out with his guitar to show me the piece he’d just spent the day working on. Upon first hearing it, I didn’t recognize any part of it. At the time I was practicing many hours a day for a performance of the Mozart flute and harp concerto. That’s my best guess as to what Brad may have heard. There’s something in the accompaniment and the harmonies of Sarah Through The Walls that’s very reminiscent of Mozart but the melody is all his own. To this day I can’t identify what part of the Mozart concerto Brad may have heard and I still don’t recognize that theme.

Q: In the specific composition 'Sarah Through The Walls' is there an echo of that first piece you were practising or is the interplay between you and Brad at the end of the song something you've devised originally.

A: I really don’t hear an echo of whatever part of Mozart Brad was hearing. I often take pieces apart and loop sections, change tempos, isolate one hand and even change rhythms to learn a piece of music. Brad must have been hearing an already mutilated part of the concerto that morning. When he taught it back to me, I really didn’t recognize enough to be able to quote the concerto so I approached it as a new piece and the arrangement we’ve created is entirely our own.

Q: What was your impression of this curious man Brad Barr appearing at your door with guitar in tow. Beyond the personal level as you began to perform and collaborate with him as a musician what stood out about his distinctive talent whether as a guitarist, songwriter, composer, bandleader or otherwise.

A: The first time I met Brad, what struck me most was his humility. Being accustomed to spending a lot of time with some pretty macho guitarists and musicians, I wasn’t quite sure what to make of him at first. He is also so musically diverse that it’s hard to pin him down or categorize him. My first impressions of him as a musician were through Sarah Through The Walls and Ooh Belle so I was obviously struck with his virtuosity as a guitarist, songwriter, and particularly as a lyricist. I didn’t see him perform with The Slip until almost a year later and I’m still not quite sure what to make of him in that context. As a bandleader, Brad is quite easy to work with. He really helps me to explore my instrument and push it beyond its usual boundaries. There’s a lot of personal freedom and room for self-expression in that way but he also has very specific for how he wants his songs to sound so that saves a lot of guessing time.

Q: Can you tell me about your musical education from the earliest age, presumably the harp wasn't your first instrument or perhaps it was. Clearly you've invested a great deal in this incredibly difficult instrument, outside of the popular indie context what sort of ensembles do you play in and likewise what sort of composers and compositions are you called on to play with which you identify deeply (be as specific as possible)?

A: From the first time I saw Harpo Marx perform, I knew I wanted to play the harp. I often begged my parents, but as it’s such a rare and expensive instrument, that was never really an option and so I started playing the piano at the age of four. I had a teacher named Vida that I adored and I loved playing, performing and practicing. I quit after a few years though when she got married and moved home to Yugoslavia. I didn’t work well with her replacement who was too strict for me and so I stopped taking lessons. I picked up the guitar a couple of years later and started pursuing classical music the first time I heard Bach performed by Julian Bream. I was accepted into the music program at Vanier CEGEP where I met many of the musicians I still collaborate with today. In my last year, listening to a symphony in music history class one day, I heard a harp and remembered my childhood dream. I found a teacher and worked for 10 hours a day for several years to manage to learn the instrument. I studied performance at McGill and worked in orchestras for several years, all the while still playing in different contexts with friends I had made at Vanier. Moving from pursuing a classical career to a less conventional one wasn’t really a choice but a natural evolution of circumstances. The composers I’ve always felt most connected to have been Bach and Mahler. Listening to the solo instrumental music of Bach or performing a Mahler work with 200 other musicians have been the moments where I’ve been struck most acutely with the dignity of human suffering, the quietness of deep joy, the relief of surrender, and the universality of those states of being. My musical collaboration but more particularly my deep friendship with Lhasa DeSela was also an occasion where I was able to transcend the daily-ness of life. I still look back to her as a compass by which I judge the direction I’m going with music.

Q: Coming from a much more formal context you carry yourself with a grace that's suits the Barr Bros. posture - which I have always said extends to their approach to the stage, their respect for the stage prior to the first note- what parallels and what contrasts do you notice playing in concert halls and bars. Does one inform the other and vice versa?

A: I don’t feel like I have enough experience or enough distance to be able to see all the contrasts or similarities between the two contexts. It feels like two completely different situations on a musical level to me, but there’s something about the aspect of performing and being on stage in any context that feels like a continuous linear process where one thing is always contributing to the next. Everything that surrounds the moment of performance, the preparation, the emotional process, the intention, seems quite different to me but the performances themselves aren’t so far apart. Lately I’ve been enjoying performing in bars for the immediacy of the connection with the audience, but because of that experience I find I’m starting to be able to feel an audience even in seated silence better than I could before.