Susanne Martin tells how Californian CAROL ARBLASTER was told by God to take her harp onto the streets

Carol Arblaster

Cross Rhythms' archives are packed with article after article on Christian artists who write and play worship songs and use their music as evangelism. Yet, in the array of files it's not often that one comes across an American self-taught Celtic harpist who enchants listeners from idyllic palace gardens in Somerset. But this is what Carol Arblaster does everyday from outside her home in the Bishop's Palace gatehouse in Wells. She has already recorded two albums of the melodies she plays to tourists in the grounds. "We get to meet people from all over the world," she told me. "It's such a lovely place and on a nice summer's day you hear this haunting beautiful harp music and it draws people in like a magnet."

Carol was born and raised in Southern California. So, when she and husband Paul visited the Cross Rhythms studios the first question had to be, how did someone who grew up in California come to have a fascination for British heritage and the Celtic harp? "Well I didn't actually discover Celtic music till I moved up into Oregon in the '80s," she said. "I was Christmas shopping with my sister and we heard this most beautiful, beautiful music and we said, 'We've got to find what that is.' We just followed the sound of it to a music shop and they were playing an album by Patrick Ball, who was playing a wired strung Celtic harp. Patrick Ball is American but he plays the Celtic harp beautifully. We both thought we'd buy that album and share it. And so that was the first Celtic music I had."

In her days living in California Carol played and sang her own songs in pubs and clubs on guitar. She explained that she didn't even think about playing the harp until 1994 when she came across the instrument at a garage sale. "I was a kind of a garage sale junkie back then and I was always looking for a bargain," she explained. "I remember stopping at one and there was a little small harp for sale with a book to teach yourself to play the Celtic harp. Back then $125 dollars was quite a bit to spend at a garage sale. But I thought I'm just going to go ahead and try it. So I got that little thing and I hardly ever put it down. I'm sure I taught myself lots of bad habits because I only had a few lessons after that. Maybe some classical harp players would cringe watching my hand positions and such. But I've got along with the way I play."

It wasn't until 2003 that Carol and Paul travelled to England in search of a ministry to join and work with. The couple had holidayed in Britain many times and were captivated by the countryside. But it was when British-born Paul finished his job as a teacher in the US and was looking for the next thing to do that he started considering how he could work with a ministry and be in the place that he loved at the same time. After seeing an advert on the web for an opening with a small Gloucestershire ministry called Cutting Edge Ministries, he came over to England to see if this was the thing for him. Meanwhile, the Arblaster's old house had been sold and in the month that Paul was over prospecting in the UK, Carol awaited news in the shelter of a convent. It was a snowy day when Paul finally called to say that England was where they were meant to be. But this left Carol with a dilemma. Paul had his ministry to work with, but what was she going to do? It was then that she felt urged to pick up her Bible. "It's not normally good theology to drop open the Bible and put your finger down is it?" said Paul. "But in this case she felt led to do so."

"It was Isaiah that came to hand," added Carol. "I was flipping the pages and thinking, 'Okay, where am I supposed to look in here?' and it was like these words just popped out at me almost. It was, 'Take your harp, go out into the streets and sing many a song.' There is a bit more to the Scripture than that of course because for me it's out of context. But for me also, this is what was given to me at that moment when I asked that question, 'what am I going to do?' And I believe that was the answer. So, when we got over here we weren't exactly sure where we were going to settle and we ended up staying at a monastery, this time in Gloucester. We stayed there about eight weeks trying to feel our way where we were going to be in this country, because it was open to us where we thought our ministry would lead us. Then the name Wells came into my mind and so we started taking the harp out into Wells and onto the street."

While they were playing in the streets word got out that they were looking for permanent accommodation where they could work to earn their keep. The local bishop heard of their situation and offered them the position of gatekeepers at the Bishop's Palace. Paul said, "They said we could still carry on our ministry right outside the front door, but they said, 'You're going to look after things for us like security, and by the way we need the swans trained to ring the bell too.'" So that's what they did. Carol explained, "Wells is the smallest city in England, it's got a beautiful cathedral and the Bishop's Palace is less than a five minute walk away. It's a moated palace and since Victorian times there have been swans that live on the moat. There's a bell that hangs from our window at the gatehouse and the swans float up, ring the bell and then we have to feed them from our window. We toss the bread out to them. So it's actually been an attraction since Victorian times."

The part of the job they love best is to be playing Carol's harp music to the passers-by. She's recorded two independent albums already in Malmesbury, Wiltshire. 'Holy Thorn' (2003) is a collection of Carol's own harp versions of some classic hymns, which she often plays and sings on the streets. The second 2005 album 'Brendan Soul' is more adventurous, combining the artistic talents and historical knowledge of both Carol and Paul. "Paul had written some poetry about some of the Celtic saints and I thought that maybe I could put them to music," said the harpist/singer. "That's the way a lot of these songs came about, the words are written by Paul and then I wrote the music. There are a few traditional hymns on there too, and some instrumentals that I have done. The theme really is some of these Celtic saints like Brendan and Columba and Kevin." On the inside cover of the album Paul has also written some historical references that tell the inspiration behind his poetry.

Next for Carol is an instrumental album that she wrote while living in the gatehouse. "I've had a lot of people ask, when I've been out on the street playing and singing, if I have a CD that is just instrumental. I get asked by people who maybe do massage or sometimes students who are studying and like background music without words so they don't get distracted. So, I decided to take advantage of the lovely acoustics in the chapel there in the Bishop's Palace and someone from Bristol has been recording me playing all original songs over the last week. As soon as we can get them edited and put on CD then it will be an instrumental album. But, apart from that, I have got lyric songs already in process, of which Paul actually hasn't contributed any poetry. They're mostly songs that I've written since I've been at the gatehouse. So it's going to be fun and I'm hoping I can get some of the same musicians on that CD that were on 'Brendan Soul'. I don't know whether it will be finished by the end of the year; I might just get started in the autumn and finish next year."

As far as they can tell they will both be content living in Wells for the foreseeable future. "It's nice that we are just there at the gate," Carol said. "We can meet and speak to people and share our faith through the music and other ways. It's been a wonderful thing that the Lord has done for us by putting us there and it's such a privilege to be there." She concluded, "I have to say that God has done the most wonderful and exciting things in our lives, more than we would have ever dreamt or hoped for or expected. I would just like to encourage people not to be afraid and to just put themselves completely into his hands and to see if he does not reward that step of faith with so much more than they would have ever dreamt."