The old
time music examples of “Barbary Allen” and the two arrangements of “Soldier’s
Joy” all have different qualities. “Barbary Allen” defies the standard formula
for present day popular music with its length of well over the three minutes
and a wide vocal range. Additionally, the lack of instrumentation and repetitive
melodic pattern throughout gives it similarities to that of a work song. Even
further, performer Jean Ritchie discusses not needing to write down these “old
songs” and knowing them like “butter churning chants.” The two recordings of “Soldier’s
Joy” carry the same meaning but have very different deliveries. Tommy Jarrell
plays his instrumental only version at the army bases while the Skillet Lickers
perform it with lyrics at rural house parties. One reason for this could be
that the words contain a rather dark message about morphine and alcohol while
the instrumentals lines are rather cheerful. When comparing these three
recordings it is evident which one would be considered the most “commercial” of
the three. The Skillet Lickers “Soldier’s Joy” is under three minutes and also contains
a short comedic segment in which the performers pick at a stereotype of
themselves.
The
recording of “Coo Coo” by Dink Roberts and “Stagolee” by Mississippi John Hurt
have several musical similarities. Both incorporate call and response form with
a string instrument as well as polyrhythmic textures. The lyrics however are
quite different between the two songs. Roberts, who learned “Coo Coo” nearly 65
years before the recording, sings a song about conversing with an independent
women. Hurt, on the other hand, sings about the “bad man” Stack O Lee (black)
who kills a white man because he stole his hat. It is interesting to think
about Hurt’s motives with “Stagolee.” As a black man himself, is he endorsing
the “bad man” black image that many white Americans believed after the abolition
of slavery, or is he trying to exemplify what characteristics should really
define a “bad man” in order to prove that being black is not synonymous with “bad.”
The
Latin influence on American popular music is fascinating. “La Cumparsita”
performed by Carlos Gardel (with guitar accompaniment and lyrics about betrayed
love) and the arrangement without lyrics performed by Francisco Canaro, both
paint a beautiful imagery of two people dancing a tango. The instrumental version
of Canaro seems to have a stronger sense of pulse, which results in more
dramatic articulations at the time of the arrastres (or drags). The Afro-Cuban
Rumba example of “Enigue Nigue” is resembled in the work of Pedrito Martinez,
who I recently go to see perform live. I feel like I should see his group again
now that I know more about the history of Afro-Cuban music, including the
purpose of the montuno and the story of the guaguanco dance. The last example
of “La Negra” and the origins of the Mariachi style from the Mexican state of
Jalisco is striking a chord with me right now. Over the summer I was fortunate
enough to get to travel to Puerto Vallarta and had the pleasure of experiencing
music all over the beautiful town. Today a terrible hurricane is going to
approach the western coastline of Mexico, including much of Jalisco. My heart
breaks as I listen to this music right now even though the melodies are normally
uplifting and happy. One thing that is evident in the recordings and in the
live performances is how the Latin culture approaches music making as a social endeavor.
It is even evident in the names of the bands; The Pedrito Martinez Group.
The
last few listening examples focus on music that achieved popularity in the
American music industry in the 19th and early 20th
centuries. Stephen Foster’s “Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair”, with a Westernized
favorable formal structure of AABA, gained most of its fame well after its
release. After listening to the suggested recording by Thomas Hampson and
several others, I find it impressive that a song can withstand the test of time
and be applied in so many different contexts (Looney Tunes, the Flinstones, Sam
Cooke). The other song mentioned in the text, “After the Ball”, managed to find
immediate star power. I believe this was due to the publishing date. “Jeanie
with the Light Brown Hair”, published in 1854, was nearly forty years before “After
the Ball” in 1892. The sheet music industry was much stronger in 1892 with the
immersion of Tin Pan Alley and other technologies that were developed.
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