Help: Songs for two voices, male/female

Subject: Help: Songs for two voices, male/female
From: Fortunato
Date: 03 Dec 99 - 11:20 AM

Friends,

Please sift your memories for good composed folk and/or traditional songs for singing by two voices and recommend them. Male tenor/baritone and female alto. If you know recordings/artist/album name, etc. that would be most helpful. I am familiar with Robin and Linda Williams and Ian and Sylvia of course, but don't hesitate to recommend their songs if they are favorites, I don't know them all.

Thanks for your time, and happy holidays! Fortunato

Subject: RE: Help: Songs for two voices, male/female
From: Night Owl
Date: 03 Dec 99 - 11:40 AM

Wondering if you're familiar with Atwater/Donnelly???Recently went to a couple of their concerts....traditional mountain (Appalachian) music. Will look for their website address when I get home from work. Old favorites of mine, with voices in the ranges you described, are Jean and Lee Schilling from Cosby, Tennessee. "Folk and/or Traditional songs.." sums up our entire history...any way to be more specific in what you're interested in????

Subject: RE: Help: Songs for two voices, male/female
From: catspaw49
Date: 03 Dec 99 - 11:50 AM

Hey Owl....Jean and Lee also host the best dulcimer fest in the country!!!

And FORT--I was going to ask the same thing. Are you looking for App or kinda' Carter family stuff? I too like Robin and Linda Williams. Which reminds me. They had one a long while back that I can't seem to find. I don't remember the title or I'd buy the album if its on one. I remember a line, "It takes a mighty long time, to get a true love off your mind, And I remember her from fifteen years ago." Beautiful harmonies. Any ideas for me? Anybody?

I would also think that in that vein, you might do "Hard Times" which harmonizes beautifully...or "Sweetest Gift" or some of the other gospelly numbers.

Spaw

Subject: RE: Help: Songs for two voices, male/female
From: Jacob Bloom
Date: 03 Dec 99 - 12:13 PM

"Marblehead Morning", as recorded by Mary McCaslin and Jim Ringer.

Subject: RE: Help: Songs for two voices, male/female
From: Midchuck
Date: 03 Dec 99 - 12:23 PM

McCaslin and Ringer "Bramble and the Rose" album - if you can find it.

any Jody Stecher and Kate Brislin but especially "Heart Songs" (all Utah Phillips' older stuff)

any Tom Russell that he has Katy Moffat with him on - esp. "The Long Way Around."

some of Skip Gorman's cowboy records where he has Connie Dover helping out.

but Ian and Sylvia will forever define male/female duet singing - for people my age, anyway.

Subject: RE: Help: Songs for two voices, male/female
From: Fortunato
Date: 03 Dec 99 - 12:26 PM

NightOwl, catspaw49

Yes we're doing some Carter Family Tunes, Appalachian spoken here. Can't be too much more specific cause this is for fun and would like to try stuff I wouldn't think of myself, you know?

Subject: RE: Help: Songs for two voices, male/female
From: Áine
Date: 03 Dec 99 - 04:20 PM

How about Tecumseh Valley by Townes Van Zandt? Nanci Griffith and Arlo Guthrie did a lovely duet with that song on her Other Voices Other Rooms CD.

-- Áine

Subject: RE: Help: Songs for two voices, male/female
From: folk1234
Date: 03 Dec 99 - 05:59 PM

Dear Fortunato:
Check out any of the Cathy Barton & Dave Para albums and for pure, simple, and absolutely pleasing harmony our good friends Sandy and Caroline Paton can't be beat. Or for the best of both, listen to the Golden Ring Series. Happy harmonies

Subject: RE: Help: Songs for two voices, male/female
From: jabo
Date: 03 Dec 99 - 07:23 PM

What about some of the old Dolly & Porter harmonies??

Subject: RE: Help: Songs for two voices, male/female
From: Mudjack
Date: 03 Dec 99 - 07:40 PM

Midchuck, you've been reading my mind. My oh my, you have good musical taste.
You might find Ailene and Aikin (sp) Thomas from about ten years ago to add to the list.
Mudjack

Subject: RE: Help: Songs for two voices, male/female
From: Big Mick
Date: 03 Dec 99 - 08:31 PM

Our own Foster and Alison do "As I Roved Out" as a male female harmony. Works very well. Another is "The Widow's Walk", which is about a woman fretting about her love at sea.

Big Mick

Subject: RE: Help: Songs for two voices, male/female
From: Stewie
Date: 03 Dec 99 - 08:36 PM

On the country side, John Prine's latest album 'In Spite of Ourselves' consists of duets with his favourite female singers on some of his favourite country songs - Iris Dement, Lucinda Williams, Dolores Keane, Emmylou Harris, Trisha Yearwood and others. It's produced by Prine and Jim Rooney.

Subject: RE: Help: Songs for two voices, male/female
From: bunkerhill
Date: 03 Dec 99 - 09:14 PM

Had the same thought, Stewie. But should the "In Spite of Ourselves" title cut come with a warning that it's schoolboy/frat-house humor or be proclaimed as a new genre, country-rugby? Can anyone come up with the title of the Eric Bogle song with the refrain "don't try to make sense of it at all?" Although it's done by two men (Bogle and ? John Renbourne), and it seems to be a difficult song, I think it would lend itself to a male-female duet.

Subject: RE: Help: Songs for two voices, male/female
From: Barbara
Date: 04 Dec 99 - 03:39 AM

Check out Linden Lea threads -- lovely two part harmony on that tune arr by Ralph Vaughn Williams; The White Cockade is a Copper family two part song, a lot of theirs are two parts. My folks sing Whispering Hope and He Walks in the Garden Alone as well as less gospel type hymns. Tell Me Why is the basic archtypal couple song.
Blessings,
Barbara

Subject: RE: Help: Songs for two voices, male/female
From: Jeremiah McCaw
Date: 04 Dec 99 - 04:07 AM

Ian & Sylvia, as you say. In particular, their version of Dylan's "Tomorrow Is a Long Time". I've done it as a solo a number of times, but I always feel that the female voice NEEDS to be there, and I seldom have the opportunity to do it that way. Sylvia's counter-melodies may have ruined me for all time!

Subject: RE: Help: Songs for two voices, male/female
From: dwditty
Date: 04 Dec 99 - 09:03 AM

Check out Gillian Welch. Her album with Annabelle on it has some great duets.

DW

Subject: RE: Help: Songs for two voices, male/female
From: Night Owl
Date: 04 Dec 99 - 09:32 AM

Hi Barbara....do you have the lyrics for "Tell Me Why"...didn't find it in the DT. Think its the song I was "hearing" in the "I See The Moon" thread.

Subject: RE: Help: Songs for two voices, male/female
From: Shimbo Darktree
Date: 04 Dec 99 - 10:43 AM

Some thoughts:

"Katy Dear" (not in DT, surprisingly enough)
About a guy and girl who kill themselves because they do not
have permission to marry - good cheery stuff!
"Banks of the Condamine" (in the DT, also surprisingly)
Australian song about shearer who is going shearing, and his
girl who also wants to go.
Forerunners of the above, like "The Cruel War is Raging"
(not in DT, at least not under that title) - similar story.

Happy singing
Shimbo

Subject: RE: Help: Songs for two voices, male/female
From: Barbara
Date: 04 Dec 99 - 12:08 PM

Tell me why the stars do shine
Tell me why the ivy twines
Tell me why the sky's so blue,
And I will tell you just why I love you

Because God made the stars to shine
Because God made the ivy twine
Because God made the sky so blue
Because God made you, that's why I love you

There's a third verse too, that I can't quite remember at the moment, that ends "He picked you out from all the rest/ Because God made you, I love you the best." I'm sure someone will know. I think half the world must have sung this at camp or in scouts or some such.
Can't think why it's not in DT. (unless it's a copyright problem).
Blessings,
Barbara

Subject: RE: Help: Songs for two voices, male/female
From: NancyK
Date: 04 Dec 99 - 12:23 PM

I'm surprised nobody has yet mentioned Magpie (Greg Artzner and Terry Leonino). They've been singing harmony together for many years and have quite a few recordings. Have fun! --Nancy

Subject: RE: Help: Songs for two voices, male/female
From:
Date: 04 Dec 99 - 12:44 PM

Bruce Guthro and Heather Rankin did a beautiful rendition of The Water is Wide for a TV Special called Celtic Electric.

Heather Rankin (from the Rankin Family), also did a song on their Grey Dusk of Eve 5 cut CD, which was called An Téid Thu Leam, a Mh&argrave;iri. This is meant to be an ANSWER shong. She sang six verses, but each alternate verse was meant to be sung by the other sex. It starts off with the man asking if the girl would return with him to his home with the high mountains, and trees, etc. And she says no, for different reasons in each verse. Until the last verse, where she finally says yes.

The song was not meant to be sung this way, but it works beautifully that way. Originally, the song was started, then the man sang about 4 or 5 verses extolling his home, and then the girl replied that she would not leave her home, her family, or her friends, until the end. The original song had 12 verses in total. It's a beautiful song. Too bad it doesn't get sung often in the form of a duet.

Hmmmm. I wonder if I can convince Alasdair to sing it with either Cathy Anne or Mairi.

Subject: RE: Help: Songs for two voices, male/female
From: Barry Finn
Date: 04 Dec 99 - 02:09 PM

Gary & Vera Aspy have a couple LP's "A Taste Of Honeypot" & "Seeing Double" both on Topic, 'King Cotton' is my favorite of there's. Tim Hart & Maddy Prior do some nice stuff together (of course IMHO anything Maddy's envolved in turns to gold, as well as above mentioned Dolores Keane). William Pint & Felicia Dale do some very nice sea related stuff together, they have a number of stuff out on Waterbug, they also have a web site you can check them out at. The West Indian sea music lends itself perfectly to a women's alto & a man's tenor or/and baritone - see Lomax's collection "Deep River Of Song 1935" Barry

Subject: RE: Help: Songs for two voices, male/female
From: Night Owl
Date: 04 Dec 99 - 03:11 PM

Barbara...thanks...that's the song...third verse= < Created you for me to love> < He picked you out from all the rest> Other songs for two voices........."Jenny Jenkins" and "Soldier John"...in which she buys him all his fancy clothes so they can be married, but in the last verse he decides his clothes are too "fine" to marry her.

Subject: RE: Help: Songs for two voices, male/female
From: Night Owl
Date: 04 Dec 99 - 03:16 PM

try that again...(forgot how to do line breaks and not sure why the posting is missing lines)....."I really think that God above; Created you for me to love; He picked you out from all the rest; Because he knew that; I loved you the best." Don't know why the rest of the previous posting is italics...??????

Subject: RE: Help: Songs for two voices, male/female
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 04 Dec 99 - 07:30 PM

Gary and Vera Aspey were on my mind too, but for 'The coal and Albert Berry', a fantastic song, from the point of view of the miner and the coal.....

Also anything by a Kentish (UK) group, now defunct, called Tundra - can't recall their names, but did local sea and lover stuff like 'You Pretty maids of Greenwich', 'Lady of Rochester castle' (one I used to do and if you find the lyrics please......?), 'Admiral Benbow', and 'As I was awalking'

Hope you find something.

LTS

Subject: RE: Help: Songs for two voices, male/female
From: Pixie
Date: 05 Dec 99 - 09:58 AM

Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum on "The Oak and the Laurel" Cd (Rounder Records 1995)has some amazing and beautiful harmonies, with pared-down production, covering original, traditional and even an Everly Brothers tune....definitely worth checking out....also (not to everyone's taste), try some of the George Jones/Tammy Wynette duets.

Pixie

Subject: Lyr Add: MY DEAREST DEAR
From: bunkerhill
Date: 05 Dec 99 - 12:40 PM

Male voice laments and female responds in a song Jean Ritchie set to Star of the County Down. Odd, but I have the lyrics, not the title, so excuse me if I'm putting down something that's already in DT:

(Male) The time has come my dearest dear; for you and I to part;
And can't you see the pain and woe; of my poor troubled heart.
(Female) My dearest dear now dry your tears; for I hate to see you cry;
The best of friends must oft times part; and now it is you and I
(M) Don't you recall that starry night; when you gave to me your hand;
And you swore that if you married were; that I would be the man
(F) Oh I recall that starry night; when I gave my hand to you;
And I would gladly have been your wife; if only you'd proven true;
(M) Take back those cruel words my love; I cannot from you depart;
And can't you see, my dearest dear; you are breaking my poor heart
(F) For when I'm dead and in my grave; and you stand a-mourning here;
The birds will sing from every tree you are my dearest dear.

A teacher gave me this as a time-keeping exercise to play the male's lamenting verse in waltz time and the response in march time.

HTML line breaks added --JoeClone, 10-Nov-01.