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| Getting
Back to your Roots |
| Last
Saturday night at
North Curry village
hall amply demonstrated
what being local is
all about. Roots Quartet
singers Yvette Staelens
and Michelle Hicks
(yes, there's just
two of them!) filled
the hall with beautiful
melodies, gorgeous
harmonies and a fascinating
insight into local
Somerset history,
ably demonstrating
in this high-tech
world, the sheer beauty
and power of the unaccompanied
voice ...as well as
revealing an amazing
legacy of Somerset
folk song. |
| Performing
with Somerset's Village
Touring scheme Take
Art! they introduced
their audience to
three fascinating
and formidable local
women from history:
singers Mrs Overd
of Langpor and Lucy
White and Louie Hooper
from Westport, Hambridge.
In 1904 these women
provided Cecil Sharp,
a collector of songs
with literally hundreds
of folk songs, some
of which were sad,
some happy and some
downright rude! |
| Murmurs
of recognition could
be heard in the audience
as Roots Quartet introduced
traditional songs
of long ago, with
everyone enthusiastically
joining in the choruses.
The chill factor was
raised by degrees
when Yvette sang the
tragic 'Mary on the
Well Moor' as the
wind howled outside
and provided the large
audience with added
atmosphere and goose
bumps! Michelle sang
'Rosemary Lane' which
was so controversial
at the time that it
could not be published! |
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| Roots
Quartet's fabulous
rendition of 'The
Crabfish Song' (versions
of which come from
as far as from Korea
to Langport) brought
laughter and a few
embarrassed giggles
as the song described
what happens when
you put a crab in
a 'po' under your
bed and then your
wife needs to 'go'
in the night. The
rest can be left to
the imagination, but
for the full details
you'll need to go
and see the show. |
Jane
Jonas |
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