The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #170702   Message #4128252
Posted By: Joe Offer
06-Dec-21 - 08:22 PM
Thread Name: 2021 Obit: Lani Herrmann, RIP
Subject: RE: 2021 Obit: Lani Herrmann, RIP
It was a delight to know Lani. She was known all over, but especially in the San Francisco Folk Music Club and the Folklore Society of Greater Washington. I understand she did at least some of the music notation for Professor Bronson on The Traditional Tunes of the Child Ballads when she was a graduate student under Bronson (I may be wrong - I see no acknowledgement in Bronson. She also did a lot of work with Gale Huntington on Sam Henry's Songs of the People. She did the musical transcription with an unusual practice - she put the key signature an octave lower on the staff. I asked her why she did this and the got a little defensive, and I never did get a full answer on that. It certainly was interesting, and I still wonder why she did it that way. She certainly was an interesting person, and I feel privileged to have known her.
Here's som4 interesting information about Cal: https://marquistopscientists.com/2019/08/20/cal-herrmann/
Lani and Cal both have Facebook pages, and both have interesting photos from their younger days. I've only known Lani for 25 years. It was interesting to see photos from long before that.
-Joe-

Lani singing "Clementine": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnzFoDEPO1U