Deep River of Song: South Carolina: Got the Keys to the Kingdom
Various Artists
Rounder Records
Live
Natalie MacMaster
Rounder Records
Cambridge-based Rounder Records has always prided itself on presenting the widest variety of traditional folk and roots music in North America. That difficult but admirable goal is represented by two of the label's June releases: One a live, two-disc set from Cape Breton fiddle player Natalie MacMaster, the other a compilation of 1930s aluminum and acetate recordings of spirituals and work songs from a tiny enclave of African Americans in South Carolina.
While the artists on the two discs are separated by nearly 70 years, thousands of miles and completely different ethnic backgrounds, they share one crucial trait: Passion for their music and their heritage. And that passion, that deep understanding of where they came from and where they are headed, overflows on both releases.
The first MacMaster disc contains a concert at the Living Arts Center in Mississauga, Ontario. During the show she's supported by a six-piece band; together they move beyond the confines of Atlantic Canadian tradition and explore other world cultures. At times the music has a hokey, New Age feel to it, but MacMaster's boundless energy and immense talent shine through.
The second MacMaster CD represents a spirited square dance at Glencoe Mills Hall on Cape Breton. Backed only by piano player Joel Chiasson and guitarist Dave MacIsaac, MacMaster's fiddle is even more intense. You can almost feel the heat generated by the players and dancers in the tiny wooden hall.
Got the Keys to the Kingdom, meanwhile, includes 29 songs recorded by legendary ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax between 1934-39 for the Library of Congress. The focal point of the recordings is the Gullah culture, an isolated, unique Creole tradition located at Murrell's Inlet in South Carolina.
Like MacMaster, the singers pour their emotions into their music; many of the performers, incarcerated in the Reid State Prison Farm, channel their frustrations and shattered hopes through their voices. It is a vibrant, if sometimes heart-wrenching, snapshot of African-American life in the early 20th century.
Both collections of folk music, from Cape Breton and from South Carolina, are faithful representations of folk life. They crackle with energy and vitality.
){kind=small}
