Music-Essentials

April 30, 2012

"The Greatest Backporch Shows Ever"

If you like traditional "backporch music" you may really like the Transatlantic Sessions series. It's a BBC production in which American, Irish and British musicians get together and sing the most beautiful folk and country songs. In the mid 1990's the first season aired and included such great names as Emmylou Harris, Iris Dement and John Martyn. Unfortunately I didn't get to watch it until I discovered the series many years later on Youtube. In the meantime several series had followed the first one.

In 2007 they decided to record another series and once again were able to get some of the finest musicians to join them (Ricky Scaggs, Roseanne Cash and James Taylor among others). Last year they recorded the 5th series, and once again were able to produce something magnificent. The great part of the series are the many duets by musicians that have never sung together before, but are able to make your heart melt. Below are some of my favorite songs from different series.

John Martyn & Kathy Matea - May You Never

Iris Dement & Emmylou Harris - Our Town

Amos Lee, Sarah Jarosz & Alison Krauss - Clear Blue Eyes

April 8, 2012

Folk Song Collectors

As a little girl my aunt taught me a beautiful German folk song. The song "Es waren zwei Koningskinder" tells the tale of a prince and princess who wanted to be together, but both tragically died as they tried to swim towards each other on a large river. It must have been about 25 years ago when my aunt taught me this song, but it stuck with me ever since.

German Folk Song - "Es waren zwei Koningskinder"

Despite its beauty, folk music seems to be something of the past and many folk songs have disappeared with time. Thankfully, John Lomax shared my love and appreciation for traditional folk music. During the 1930's and 40's he traveled extensively throughout the United States and recorded thousands of these hidden treasures. Lomax visited small towns in the Apalachian mountains to hear old British and Irish folk songs, and went to prisons in the South to discover black folk music.

It was in one these prisons in the early 1930's that Lomax discovered Leadbelly, a black outlaw who had been in prison before and who was now charged with attempted homicide. It was said that thanks to Lomax, Leadbelly was able to leave prison earlier. Right after he was released from prison, the two of them traveled throughout the US to let Americans hear "negro music". In the video below you can see the real Lomax and Leadbelly and hear part of Leadbelly's most famous song "Goodnight Irene"

John Lomax: Leadbelly - "Goodnight Irene"

John's son Alan Lomax accompanied his father during many of his travels and decided at a young age that he would follow in his fathers footsteps. Alan Lomax not only traveled the US to find folk songs, but he also visited several European countries. He continued to collect folk songs until the 1980's, and eventually recorded many songs for the US Library of Congress. This year Alan Lomax's entire collection was made open to the public. On the website Cultural Equity 17,000 recordings collected by Alan and his father can be heard. Let's hope that through this website, traditional folk music will never completely disappear.

Alan Lomax

March 19, 2012

Some of Today's Best New Musicians (According To Me)

I have had little inspiration to write lately, but did listen to some great music. In this blog post I will present some of today's best musicians (according to me). All of them use old music styles in a very modern way. Most of them have started performing only recently. I hope you like them as much as I do.

Alabama Shakes - "Hold On" (USA)

Folka Dots - "Black Crow" (USA)

Caro Emerald - "That Man" (The Netherlands)

C.W. Stoneking - Jungle Lullaby (Australia)