Sonneck Society for American Music
Bulletin, Volume XXIII, no. 3 (Fall 1997)
Reviews of Recorded Material
Edited by Ann Sears, Wheaton College
Lick It Up!
Maison de Soul MdS-1058, 1995. One compact disc. (No lyrics.)
C'est dans le Sang Cadjin. It's In the Cajun Blood: Continuing the Cajun
Tradition
Al Berard & Errol Verret. Swallow SW 6114-2, 1994. One compact disc. (With English lyrics.)
Cajun Memories
D.L. Menard. Swallow SW 6125-2, 1995. One compact disc. (With French and English lyrics.)
Chris Ardoin and Double Clutchin'.
Movin' On Up
Keith Frank. Maison de Soul MdS 1055-2, 1995. One compact disc. (No lyrics.)
The age of the artists featured on these recordings range from sixteen-year-old Chris Ardoin and
twenty-four-year-old Keith Frank, to the middle-aged, All Berard and Errol Verret, to the elder
statesman, sixty-five-year-old D.L. Menard. Lick It Up! is a wonderful integration of classic
zydeco and Beau Jocque' snouveau zydeco style, in which the bass drum is hit twice on the backbeat.
Unlike Beau Jocque, whose style has revolutionized zydeco, vocalist and accordion player Chris
Ardoin doesn't let this technique overwhelm the music. Chris's musical family includes brother
Sean, father Lawrence, cousin Alphonse, and stretches back to legendary accordion player Amede Ardoin.
Ardoin's band Double Clutchin' is a family project, evolving from Lawrence Ardoin and his French Zydeco
Band. Most songs on this release are originals and are typical of the latest generation of zydeco. Zydeco
is a dance usic, and there are lots of references to good times and partying:
"We're gonna have a good time. We gonna party down, y'all, with Double Clutchin' and me." The
opening song "Good Times" has an easy but propulsive pace, like a horse at a walk. Ardoin says the band is
going to Opelousas, Thibodeaux, Like Charles, Plaisance, and Texas, the geography of the Cajuns and Black
Creoles. The band is going to "et 'em on the floor" with cowboy boots and Stetson hats. Most of the lyrics
on the disc are English, although "I Need You Now" is fully bilingual, featuring French verses and English
choruses with French and English spoken comments among the band members. In zydeco the banter is as important
as the lyrics, live and on recordings. Each musician solos on "Play that Thang," as Chris urges them to
make it kind of funky." One of the best pieces is the classic improvisational about the mythical Uncle Bud
that includes the line "Zydeco didn't start with Beau Jocque." "I Wonder" is an exceptional slow blues number, worthy
of Clifton Chenier.
In his cover photo Keith Frank looks like the shy but eager boy-next-door, with a Cajun accordion strapped
over one shoulder. The diatonic accordion gives Frank's music a smaller, more intimate sound than Ardoin's.
Frank's band is another family enterprise, with sister Jennifer on bass and brother Brad on drums. Father Preston
Frank is also a well-known zydeco accordion player. Keith got his start in Preston's band where he played
drums, guitar, bass, and rubboard, a typical apprenticeship. Movin' On Up! contains more slow tempo
songs than Ardoin's disc, such as the song "Pieces to My Heart," a conventional rhythm & blues song. "Have
Mercy" begins with a simple accordion phrase, but is quickly joined by drums, bass, and rubboard to establish
an irresistible dance rhythm. The invitation "Anybody Wanta Party?" parts with the wonderfully nonsensical "Hit
me, Pink!" Hit be bad! Boogie, boogie, boogie!" and continues with a geographic catalog. "Opelousas is
the place to get on down!" is repeated with Eunice, Lawtell, Ville Platte, Lebeau, Carencro, and Lafayette.
All but one composition is by Frank; the exception being Bob Marley's "Rebel," credited on the notes to "B.
Marlay." Frank even employs the them from The Coaster's classic song "Poison IVy" into his "Take It to the
Highway." Unfortunately, only two songs are sung in French, "Bernadette C'est My "Tit Creole" and the oddly-
named "Mr. Sneaky." Frank's influence is being felt beyond Louisiana. As described in an articlee in the January
20, 1996, Billboard, the tile song "Movin On Up!" has been popular as far away as Connecticut, where
it has gotten air play. One disastrous trend continues in both of these recordings: neither contains a single
waltz. The younger zydeco musicians neglect it, and this may be the beginning of the end for the Creole
waltz. Of the younger generation only Geno Delafose, son of hte late, great John
Delafose, regularly performs and records waltzes.
Al Berard is the organizer and leader of the Basin Brothers Band. Errol Verret played accordion for Beausoleil
on three releases in the early to mid=1980s. He is now a regular part of the Basin Brothers Band. Of the
eighteen trakcs on C'est dans le Sang Cadjin all but three are originals by Berrard and Verret. All
instruments are played by the two; Berrard is heard on fiddle, guitar, mandolin, "T-fer" (triangle or "petit fer")
and snare drum on one cut, and Verret handles accordion and guitar. An exception is the closing cut, "Harmonica's
Waltz," composed and played by Micket Guidry. Berard effectively uses mandolin on several songs, especially
"Waltz of the North and South." Berard performs all the vocals, with harmony vocals by his wife Karleen on the
"Fais Do-do Waltz." Though reasonably competent for an untrained singer, Berard's vocals are at times overly
earnest and sentimental. There are six instrumentals which shine, such as the snappy "Levee Breakdown Two-Step."
The accordion work on "J'ai passe devant ta porte" also stands out. There is a lot of Cajun pride running
through C'est dans le sang Cadjin/It's in the Cajun Blood, subtitled "Continuing the Cajun Tradition."
D.L. Menard is something of an anomaly in Cajun music. Cajun music's best known living composer didn't hear a
Cajun band until he was sixteen. Menard's composition "La Porte en Arriere," or "The Back Door," is second only
to "Jolie Blonde" in its popularity and recognizability. He counts his greatest musical influence as country singer and
composer Hank Williams. His early musical influences were his father's harmonica playing and a battery-operated radio tuned
to a Del Rio, Texas, station. The Menard family moved from the country to Erath, Louisiana, when D.L. was sixteen. Within a year,
Menard had bought his first guitar from Sears, and begun playing regularly with Elias Badeaux and the Louisiana Aces.
Menard's recordings on Cajun Memories are closer to country music in feel, with his percussive style
guitar and voice at the fore. Producer and musician Terry Huval, leader of the Jambalaya Cajun Band, plays violin and
occasional dobro guitar. Outstanding newcomer Horace Trahan adds Cajun accordion. There are no drums or bass on
these acoustic recordings, giving them a rough, austere feel. There are some studio tricks here,
however, with double fiddles from Terry Huval on "It's Just the Angels That Are Crying," and Menard doing lead
and backup vocals on "Where the Money Goes." All but three songs on this release are original compositions
by Menard, one by his wife. These are songs of arduous everyday life, of money, gambling, drinking, death, love,
gossip, working far from family, and loss. One oddity on this, and some other recent Swallow releases, is English song
titles on the cover and inster and French lyrics on the recording. French song titles are given prominence with
the printed lyrics, though English titles are included. Lyrics are printed in
both French and English.
The life of Cajun and zydeco music is still the life of the people. Music and dance provide the glue in social occasions
all over south Louisiana and southeast Texas, at trail rides, church fairs, local festivals, weddings, in night clubs and on
porches. For every Beau Jocque or Beau Soleil who performs in New York and Los Angeles, there are a dozen or more groups unknown
outside of the state. Many of them are part-time musicians with regular day jobs. They may be furniture salesmen, chair
builders, or high school and college students, but their commitment to the music runs deep. These bands issue few recordings
but are still successful because they are part of the fabric of local culture. As regular visitors to south Louisiana from all over
the country prove, the music is now part of the culture of the nation.
--Jim Hobbs
Loyola University, New Orleans
Gay American Composers
Robert Helps: Homage Rachmaninoff, Homage Faur; Lee Hoiby: I Was There; Lou Harrison: Serenade
for Berry Freemen and Franco Assetto; Chester Biscardi: Invitation to Desire and Tango; Ned
Rorem: from The Nantucket Songs; David Del Tredici: Fantasy Pieces; Robert Maggio: Desire
Movement; Conrad Cummings: In the Department of Love; William Hibbard: Bass Trombone, Bass Clarinet,
Harp; Jerry Hunt: Lattice; Chris DeBlasio: Walt Whitman in 1989. Composers Recordings, Inc.,
CD-721, 1996. One compact disc.
This disc provides an entry into the study of the issues (or possibly non-issues) of gender and sexuality in music of gay composers
by means of the composers' statements, which are included in the richly informative liner notes.
Although the essays, including photos and biographies, song texts, and bibliography, are an excellent introducton to
gender as a methodology for approaching the study of music, the compact disc could stand alone on the
excellence of its performances.
Robert Helps plays his own compositions in a sparkling introduction and conclusion to the disc
(Homage Rachmaninoff and Homage Faur). A somer note is sounded in composer Chris
DeBlasio's Walt Whitman in 1989, performed by the composer at the piano and baritone
Michael Dash, both of whom died of AIDS subsequent to the work's premiere. In the liner notes,
poet Philip Brass, who wrote the song's text, has included a tribute to DeBlasio and
Dash in his explanation of the work. Other composers represented on the disc are Lee Hoiby,
Chester Biscardi, Ned Rorem, David Del Tredici, Robert Maggio, Conrad Cummings, William
Hibbard, and Jerry Hunt.
All selections originally having been recorded for previous releases by CRI, the quality
is consistently excellent. This is particularly demonstrated by the intimate, crisp sound of Lou
Harrison's suling (Indonesian flute) with gamelan in his Serenade for Betty Freeman and
Franco Assetto. The disc's variety of genres also includes a string quartet
(performed by Kronos), art songs, and chamber music. According to Joseph R. Dalton, the
disc's producer, CRI hopes to release a collection of music by lesbian American composers
at a later date.
--Virginia Giglio
Desertscapes: A Portrait of American Women Composers
Maggie Payne: Desertscapes (1991); Alice Countryman: Concert for
Marimba (1989); Paula Diehl: On Wisdom (1983); Prosper the
Word (1982); Jeanne Ellison Shaffer: Boats and Candles; Adele Berk:
Rx for 3 (1984); Elizabeth Faw Hayden Pizer: Elegy in Amber
(1993). Slavok Radio Symphony and Chorus; Moyzes String Quartet, MMC Recordings, Ltd.,
CD-721, 1997. One compact disc.
Desertscapes is the title of Maggie Payne's hypnotic and seamless choral work based on
four visual images: "Pyramid Lake," "Death Valley," "Bryce Canyon," and "Devil's Playground/
Kelso Dunes." The liner notes explain that Alice Country man uses Alaskan and Eskimo folk material
in her compositions, but my ethnomusicologist's ear does not pick up any such reference
in Concerto for Marimba, Strings and Woodwinds. On the other hand, Elizabeth Faw Hayden
Pizer's Elegy in Amber (In Memoriam Leonard Bernstein) is replete with Bernstein's musical
ideas, used by permission from the Bernstein estate. A better name for this compact disc might
be "Contemporary Music of American Women Composers" since all compositions were composed
after 1983 (with the possible exception of Jean Ellison Shaffer's Boats and Candles,
which is undated).
In the performances of Paula Diehl's On Wisdom and Prosper the Word, the diction
is so unclear that I had difficulty figuring out the language origin of the text. It would have
been helpful if, for this and for Boats and Candles (soprano, flute, and string quartet by
Jeanne Ellison Shaffer), the song texts had been included in the liner notes. Adele Berk's
Rx for 3 is a good prescription in an otherwise lugubrious setting. The viola,
clarinet, and piano contribute a bright and interesting performance of Berk's counterpoint.
--Virginia Giglio
Boca Raton, Florida
20th Century Works for Cello and Piano
Paul Hindemith: Sonata, Op. 11, No. 3 (1919, rev. 1921); Elinor Armer: Recollections
and Revel (1978); Seymour Shifrin: Sonata (1948); Paul Turok: Sonata, Op. 50;
Darius Milhaud: Sonata (1959). Hampton-Schwartz Duo. Music and Arts CD 903, 1996. One compact
disc.
Cellist Bonnie Hampton and pianist Nathan Schwartz have championed new American music in many contexts --
as individual soloists, as faculty members at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music,
and as members of the Naumburg Award-winging Francesco Trio as well as the Hampton-Schwartz Duo. Moreover,
the husband-wife team has commissioned or premiered numerous new works, including the Armer and Turok pieces
on this disc.
Californian Elinor Armer (b. 1939) is on the faculty at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and a founding
member of the Bay Area contemporary music series Composers, Inc. Writin in 1978, Recollections and Revel
is intended to suggest a variety of interpersonal relationships between two people. Recollections is more
serious and somber in a lyric style while Revel is more capricious, with instrumental effects such as trills,
tremolos, glissandi and ponticello occurring in a "free-flotaing, unmeasured fantasy," according to the
composer.
Shifrin's Sonata (1948) is his first important work and was composed after an intensive study of the
Beethoven cello-piano works. The dark brooding intensity of the slow movement is relieved by a Scherzo in fugal
style. All movements are related through thematic transformation, and the work's compact structure and brusque
gestures make this the most memorable work on the disc. By comparison, Turok's Sonata (1984) seems to be
the most self-conciously awkward work on the disc. An uncomfortable combination of too many influences, the
piece does not achieve its own individuality, and even a committed performance by Hampton and Schwartz does not
convince the listener.
Even considering the important works by Hindemith and Milhaud, the selections on this disc are too similar. All
are nearly tonal, motivically generated, make obvious use of counterpoint, etc. Certainly all are played
convincingly and with great panache by Hampton and Schwartz, but one wishes for more variety of styles.
The recorded sound is excellent, and the notes, while not extensive, are informative and to the point.
--Douglas Moore
Williams College
Notes in Passing
Richard Robbins: The Proprietor (Original Film Soundtrack). Harry Rabinowitz, conductor. Tristar
WK36797, 1996. One compact disc.
If you haven't seen the Merchant Ivory Productions Film The Proprietor, this film score will make you wish
you had. It will also make you realize how significantly music contributes to the opulent effect of the
Merchant Ivory film style. Composer Richard Robbins continues the standard of writing which has gotten him Oscar
nominations for other Merchant Ivory films (The Remains of Day and Howard's End) with romantic, singeable melodies
and lush orchestration, interspersing familiar tunes such as "If I Didn't Care" and "Will the Circle Be
Unbroken" with his original material. The sequence of pieces in the soundtrack creates a convincingly unified
suite, although Nell Carter's rendition of "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" on the final cut is a little
surprising. The change from the rich, nostalgic orchestral writing at the beginning of the disc to the echoes
of sparsely accompanied gospel and country & western at the end is jarring but effective.
Le Souvenir: Canadian Songs for Parlour and Stage. Sally Dibblee, soprano, Russel Braun, baritone,
and Carolyn Maule, piano. Centerdiscs CMC-CD 5696, 1996. One compact disc.
This disc presents a collection of Canadian songs by twenty-two different composers from the eighteenth through
the early twentieth cneturies; the only piece well known in the United States is Ernest Seitz's "The World is
Waiting for the Sunrise." A joint project of the Canadian Music Centre and the Canadian Musical Heritage Society,
it presents two young Canadian singers who are beginning to make impressive reputations for themselves. Sally
Dibblee, soprano, has appeared with several Canadian opera groups and symphonies, and Richard Braun, baritone,
made his Metropolitan Opera nad Salzburg Festival Opera debuts in 1995. The music ranges from the frankly sentimental
or comic to the heroically operatic and both French and English texts. The diversity of musical style here
is a good parallel to music in the United States during the same period of history. The performers sing with
excellent diction and good intonation. Pianist Carolyn Maule provides solid support for solo songs and the
occasional duet. Concise but informative liner notes by John Beckwith include texts of all the pieces.
Unfortunately complete enjoyment of this disc is hampered by poor engineering.
Recording apparently took place in a cathedral, and the reverberation muffles the real presence of
the voices and the piano. That's regrettable, because this is an interesting and enlightening
anthology.
Sweet and Low-Down: Songs by George Gershwin. Benjamin Sears, voice, Bradford Connor, piano.
Oakton Recordings, CD: ORDC0004, 1997. One compact disc.
Benjamin Sears and Bradford Connor are at it again! They continue their exploration of American song with a new
disc containing twenty-two songs Gershwin wrote with lyricists Ira Gershwin, Otto Harbach, Oscar Hammerstein II,
Irving Caesar, B.G. DeSylva, Murray Roth, Gus Kahn, Desmond Carter, and Jack Green. Several of these pieces have never
before been recorded, such as "That Lost Barber Shop Chord," "Midnight Bells," "Pepita," "You and I (In Old
Versailles)," and "Across the Sea." The sound quality of this disc is good and it is easy to hear the nuances of the
lyrics. Benjamin Sears sings with crystal clear diction and obvious affection for the material. Bradford Conner's
piano arrangments reflect his admiration of George Gershwin. Written by the artists, the liner notes are
impeccable, reflecting the conscientious scholarship which turns up the previously unrecorded material which appears on
all their discs.
Peace in the Valley: A Country Music Journey Through Gospel. Arista, ARDV 18821-2, 1997. One compact disc.
This is a good sampler for those who are interested in country or gospel music but may not want to collect discs by each
artist. Twelve difference arrangements by Diamond Rio, BR5-49, Pam Tillis, Alan Jackson, Blackhawk, Tammy Graham, Lee Roy
Parnell, Brett James, Steve Wariner, Brooks & Dunn, Radney Foster, and Michelle Wright allude to many musical styles:
Celtic, bluegrass, blues, and real, old-fashioned country. The most honestly gospel cut is Tammy Graham's "Peace in the Valley"
(shades of Tennesee Earne Ford!); and Brett James does a nice arrangement of an old favorite, "What a Friend we Have in Jesus."
An unusual folky version of "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded" will seem rather odd to those who know the Bach chorale harmonization
best, but somehow it fits this mix.
Star of Wonder: A Country Christmas Collection. Arista, 07822-18822-2, 1996. One compact disc.
The twelve individual arrangements on this disc are performed by Arista artists Alan Jackson, Steve
Wariner, The Tractors, Radney Foster, Blackhawk, Lee Roy Rarnell, Tammy Graham, Brooks & Dunn, BR5-49, Brett
James, Michelle Wright, and Diamond Rio. The choice of songs includes Christmas favorites ("Rudolph the Red Nosed
Reindeer," "White Christmas"), carols ("It Came Upon a Midnight Clear," "What Child is This"), some bluesy
renditions ("Rockin' Round the Christmas Tree"), and some new songs. The Peace in the Valley gospel anthology
is a better disc, but if you must hear country music at Christmas time, this will do very nicely.
The Angelic Sounds of Christmas. Cecilia Brauer, armonica and harmoniu, Judith Blegen, soprano, and
Raymond Gniewek, violin. Cecila Brauer, 1996. One compact disc.
This most unusual Christmas offering showcases the armonica, Benjamin Franklin's improved form of musical glasses
which he developed after first hearing musical glasses during a visit to England in 1761. The instrument enjoyed
a period of popularity in America, but was more influential in Europe where it inspired Mozart, among other
composers. The otherworldly sound of the armonica is heard in solo pieces as well as accompaniment to
arrangements of traditional Christmas favorites for soprano, violin, or both accompanied by the armonica. The combination
of vilin and armonica is especially lovely. The artists are of the highest caliber. Cecilia Bauer has been orchestra
pianist at the Metropolitan Opera since 1972; her brother Raymond Gniewek has been concertmaster of the Metropolitan
Opera Orchestra since 1957. Judith Blegen, a leading soprano of the Metropolitan Opera, has appeared with orchestras and
in the great opera houses around the world. In 1992 Brauer made history at the Metropolitan Opera when she introduced the
armonica in the Met's new production of Lucia di Lammermoor as originally scored by Donizetti. For more information
about the disc please contact Cecilia Brauer, P.O. Box 644, Merrick, New York 11566-0611.
--Ann Sears
Wheaton College
Updated 1/06/98