Volume I, Number 3
Happy New Year, and best wishes to all for a great one to come. Here's a rather interim-ish edition of the Gazette till we get some proper new feature stories.
Here's Neal Hellman's musical whereabouts for the forseeable future...
April 26, 27, 28
Ozark Folk Life Center
Mountain View, Arkansas
Contact: Elliot Hancock -- (501) 269-3851
May 10, 11, 12
Glen Rose Music Festival
Glen Rose, Texas
Contact: Dana Hamilton -- (817) 275-3872
July 28 - August 2
Augusta Heritage Center - Dulcimer Week
Davis & Elkins College
Elkins, West Virginia
Contact: Margo Blevin -- (304) 637-1245
Appearing in DIRTY LINEN Issue #61 - December 1995/January 1996
Shelley Phillips and Friends
Pavane
Gourd Music GM 119 (1995)
William Coulter and Friends
Celtic Crossing
Gourd Music GM 121 (1995)
On Pavane, Shelley Phillips plays harp, recorders, oboe, English horn, and pennywhistle. Her music seems to come from a dignified, enchanted place where classical music is light on its feet and folk dances are gracious and aristocratic. Although the sound of her ensemble is lyrical and sensuous, there is a steel core running through it, like the discipline that informs a ballet dancer's every move. Phillips calls the sound "music from my own private imaginary Renaissance." She has taken the spare sound of Renaissance music and extended it to dance tunes from Brittany, twentieth century classical music, and one contemporary guitar composition.
On the lovely and graceful Celtic Crossing, William coulter has arranged largely traditional Celtic melodies for steel string acoustic guitar. His ensemble includes fiddle, flute, cello, piano, and traditional Irish wind instruments. As on other Gourd recordings, there is a touch of the conservatory in this approach. Unlike those guitars who bring out the carnality or the gutsiness of the guitar, Coulter's sound seems to reside in the mind and spirit. His playing is technically superb and sensitive. The other musicians, who include Barry Phillips and Shelley Phillips, play with a marvelous responsiveness to each other and to Coulter.
Reviewed by Anne Killheffer (New Haven, CT)
By Roger Hall
For those who have enjoyed listening to arrangements of William Coulter and Barry Phillips, here is a songbook containing all 42 titles featured on their two recordings.
The introductory essay in the songbook is taken from Daniel W. Patterson's excellent book, The Shaker Spiritual. The essay was edited by Gail Rich. The notes to the music were written by Neal Hellman and Gail Rich.
Despite some errors in omissions, this songbook has much to recommend it, especially for guitarists and singers. The arrangements consist of different keys from the original tunes with the addition of guitar chord symbols above the staff. Helpful information for the acoustic guitarist is provided by William Coulter using suggested chord diagrams. The words are included with those tunes which have them, including the additional verses for Shaker hymns. Singers can easily use the collection without instrumental accompaniment, as is the custom with Shaker singing tradition.
Of the two accompanying recordings, the second one titled Tree of Life, is especially appealing and well worth listening to while using the songbook. The more you listen to them, the more the lovely arrangements stay with you.
For example, listen to the great pairing of two Massachusetts Shaker tunes: "Living Souls" and "Good Believer's Life." Or listen to a favorite song of mine, "Love Is Little." Actually all of them are appealing. Especially with such a wide assortment of instruments, including Barry Phillips (cello), William Coulter (guitar), Shelley Phillips (oboe, English horn, recorder, Celtic harp), Robin Petrie (hammered dulcimer), Neal Hellman (mountain dulcimer), Mike Marshall (mandolin), Esther Landau and Lars Johannesson (silver and wooden flutes), and best of all, Kaila Flexer on violin.
A marvelous ensemble of top notch musicians playing these beautiful Shaker tunes in equally beautiful arrangements.
The errors and omissions are common. "Simple Gifts" is called "the best known of all the Shaker hymns." It is more often classified as a dancing or "Quick Dance" song.
The date for "Mother Has Come With Her Beautiful Song" was given as 1877. Patterson lists the date as February 1887.
It might have been helpful to identify the source for each tune on the page it appears.
The songbook is useful for singers and instrumentalists. It is well worth adding to your Shaker collection, especially to go along with the two appealing recordings.
Read back copies of the Gourd Gazette:
Vol. I, No. 1 - includes Neal Hellman's elegiac baseball poem Autumnal Lament.
Email us at Gourd:
neal@gourd.comReturn to Gourd Music Home Page.
Last update: December 28, 1995.