covers
19 March | 2010
Last week I played at the Greenwich House in the west village with one of my “bands,” the Hudson Quartet, along with the wonderful singer Abigail Lennox. Among the galactical premieres we presented was a new setting of old gospel and old-time lyrics (text only, not tunes) that I wrote for string quartet and singer. I love these old hymns and songs, but I think I hear the words to be much darker than they sound in familiar recorded versions.
– A simple example – “I’ll Fly Away” :
Ralph Stanley (2005)
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Kanye West (2004)
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CAS (2010) — pdf score
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This stuff is just so traaaagic and rich… I just love certain simple turns of that language, like “when the shadows of this life are over” and “when I die hallelujah by and by”. Not complicated rhetoric here. But so beautiful.
Later I’m going to follow this up with another post that indexes some recorded covers of “Oh Death”, the song made famous by Ralph Stanley (and featured on O Brother Where Art Thou) but originally written about 1916 by Lloyd Chandler, a preacher from a region of western NC where some of my family is from.
Heading to Galapagos Art Space tonight, to sing the part of Praise Choir Girl #3 in Matt Marks’ pop opera The Little Death, vol. 1. Starring Matt Marks and Mellissa Hughes; with Ted Hearne, Jeff Gavett, Martha Cluver, and me. Directed by Rafael Gallegos. Produced with support from New Amsterdam Records, the number 3, and the letter M.
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