BS: New Englander in search of roots

Subject: New Englander in search of roots
From: GUEST,eric royer
Date: 07 Oct 00 - 10:39 AM

hi, I've played music for most of my life, grew up here in New England, and like most people around here my age I have little idea what traditional music from this area is like. I grew up getting 99% of my musical influences from recordings, and when I did see live music it didn't seem to have anything to do with my area, even if the players were local. I guess I an just curious, and have been asking around about this. I find this topic a little sad. My parents are French Canadian, we lived in Haverhill Mass, but all I heard as a kid was Jonny Cash & Chuck Berry (both great). I know that before recordings took hold there must have been a "sound" or "sounds" from Haverhill Mass. This seems like it must be a pretty universal subject and has most likely been beaten into the ground a long time ago, but it's on my mind right now, maby 'cause I'm expecting a child in January. Makes you think a lot.

Subject: RE: BS: New Englander in search of roots
From: kendall
Date: 07 Oct 00 - 11:00 AM

Springfield Mountain was the first song made in America. Is that close enough to Haverhill?

Subject: RE: BS: New Englander in search of roots
From: GUEST,eric royer
Date: 07 Oct 00 - 11:03 AM

sure about that?

Subject: RE: BS: New Englander in search of roots
From: catspaw49
Date: 07 Oct 00 - 11:07 AM

Sandy and Caroline Paton have collected music of NE for many years. Try the website for FOLK-LEGACY RECORDS and I think you'll find some of what you're looking for.

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: New Englander in search of roots
From: okthen
Date: 07 Oct 00 - 03:43 PM

dear eric royer

i live near Haverhill Suffolk u.k.

in case your interested Haver in old english means corn so haverhill means hill of corn, nothing to do with your question but is the only interesting thing about Haverhill, suffolk, u.k.

cheers

bill

Subject: RE: BS: New Englander in search of roots
From: GUEST,Giac, not at home
Date: 07 Oct 00 - 04:26 PM

okthen: in that case, does "haversack" mean corn sack? A-maize-ing ~;o). Do people still use the term haversack?

Oops, sorry, didn't mean to hijack the thread.

Giac

Subject: RE: BS: New Englander in search of roots
From: Sandy Paton
Date: 07 Oct 00 - 04:49 PM

There are a number of excellent printed collections of songs and ballads collected in New England. Check at your local library for the various books by Helen Hartness Flanders (and check out Margaret MacArthur's fine recordings of traditional New England traditional music, much of which she has drawn from Mrs. Flanders' work). Also, look at Eloise Hubbard Linscott's "Folksongs of Old New England." Printed collections from the lumber camps abound, such as Franz Rickaby's Ballads and Songs of the Shanty Boys, Phillips Barry's The Maine Woods Songster (although both of these are pretty hard to find). The songs and ballads of Carrie Grover, a great "informant" from Maine, are available in A Heritage of Songs, which I strongly recommend. Also look for Eckstorm and Smyth's Minstrelsy of Maine and Barry, Eckstorm, and Smyth's: British Ballads from Maine. This should point you toward some of the available printed sources.

Skip Gorman recorded a number of fiddle tunes popular in New England (plus a couple of ringers that he wrote himself) on his Folk-Legacy cassette: New Englander's Choice. I compiled a CD from my own field collectanea for New World Records, which they elected to title "Brave Boys" and described as "New England Traditions in Folk Music," even though several of the numbers included were collected in the Adirondacks and Catskills of upstate New York. This CD is also available from Folk-Legacy. Some of the material included on the recent CD drawn from the Frank and Anne Warner collection and titled Her Bright Smile Haunts Me Still comes from their collecting in New Hampshire and upstate New York, too. This is also available from Folk-Legacy, although it doesn't appear on our web site as yet, you could ask for it by title. It was produced by Appleseed, and we carry it. Look at CLICK HERE. I've lost my Joe Offer Handy-Dandy Instruction Sheet on making "blickies" myself, so I'm crossing my fingers that this will work for you. (Are you watching over me, angel Joe?)

I trust someone else, more familiar with the New England instrumental tradition than I, will give you a list of recordings available of, for instance, Dudley Laufman and the Canterbury Orchestra, Harvey Tolman, etc. You might also want to find a CD of the Word of Mouth Chorus (is that the proper name of the group?) presenting New England Shape Note singing.

Most importantly, I hope someone (Margaret, are you there?) can do a blue clicky thing to help you reach Margaret MacArthur to order some of her recordings, especially the most recent CD: Ballads Thrice Twisted. Highly recommended.

Shucks, there's a whole slew of stuff available! It's just a little harder to locate than Johnny Cash's stuff.

Sandy

Subject: RE: BS: New Englander in search of roots
From: paddymac
Date: 07 Oct 00 - 05:03 PM

Slight Creep alert!!

In re "Corn" hill. I'm not sure about current usage, but the word "corn" was traditionally used on the east side of the pond as a collective noun for grains. The usage here in kevin's "off-shore" zone refers specifically to Zea mays (maize?). In numerous records from An Gorta Mor, the corn sent from here was referred to as "Indian corn".

Subject: RE: BS: New Englander in search of roots
From: Pinetop Slim
Date: 07 Oct 00 - 05:11 PM

For a taste of French Canadian instrumental folk music as it was played -- and danced to -- in New England mill villages, check out the monthly quadrilles at the Blackstone River Theater in Cumberland, R.I. There's a theater website, but I don't have a link handy.

Subject: RE: BS: New Englander in search of roots
From: catspaw49
Date: 07 Oct 00 - 05:12 PM

Oh great Folk Fogey (who pays no attention to the fact that I had already linked Folk-Legacy), your smallest wish is my command..............

The Margaret MacArthur Homepage with Info on Ordering

Spaw --- lowly unnoticed pissant

Subject: RE: BS: New Englander in search of roots
From: Sandy Paton
Date: 07 Oct 00 - 05:53 PM

With friends like 'Spaw, who needs cyberskills? Thanks, oh noble pissant; I'm in your debt. Another Larrivee sound-hole is in the mail. I'd overlooked the blicky previously posted.

Grandpa Sandy

Subject: RE: BS: New Englander in search of roots
From: GUEST,eric royer
Date: 07 Oct 00 - 10:21 PM

Wow, thank you all!! I was planning to go to the Boston Public Library on Monday already, now I have some titles to look for. The thing at the Blackstone River Theater sounds cool too. I'm a banjo player and one thing that started me thinking about this wondering why the heck they were making so many banjos here in Boston 100 years or so ago. I don't figure they were shipping them all down to Virginia were they? I know there are books on this too, I need to start reading ...