Lissa Schneckenburger is a fiddler originally from Maine and now based in Vermont. She's been playing and singing folk music since she was a girl, and this CD is the first of a pair that she's releasing to introduce people to the songs of New England. The music of the Northeast, Maine in particular, combines elements drawn from Celtic traditions of Maine and Quebec, British step dances, and various American forms. She researched the music of the American Downeast (the coast of Maine from Penobscot Bay to the Canadian border) while she was in college, and this set is the result, ten folk songs both familiar and obscure. "Jam on Gerry's Rock/Willie's" opens things up with a tune some may know from the singing of the Limelighters and other folk revival bands. It tells of a logger who dies while breaking up a logjam. (Lumber companies used to float fallen trees down a river to save on transportation costs. They often jammed up and made rivers impassable.) Schneckenburger's playing on "Willie's," the reel that follows the vocal, is quietly virtuosic, with restrained support from Irish folk star Sharon Shannon's button accordion. "Lumberman in Town/Go Ken Go" is a sprightly step dance, the tale of a man looking for romance after a hard week's work and being brushed off by the local women, He consoles himself by dancing a turn to "Go Ken Go." Schneckenburger's fiddle soars here and Dave Cory's banjo adds syncopated counter melody. The stately martial beat of "Harmony" introduces a spiritual song and while the expected harmonies are serene the song remains a bit unsettling. It sounds like the kind of song that's sung at a graveside, full of images of heaven leavened by the grief of separation. "Little Musgrove and Lady Barnswell" is one of the oldest ballads known, a wrenching tale of infidelity, revenge, and murder. The cello dominated arrangement is suitably dark and Schneckenburger sings with an understated drama. "The Drowsy Sleeper" is a variant of the suicide ballad "Silver Dagger" and closes the album on a dreamy, if fatalistic, note. The cellos supply a dark, woeful coda to this tale of hopeless love. This mostly downtempo collection is full of songs detailing the hard life of Downeast folks, but their quiet beauty is undeniable. Schneckenburger's voice is pure and clear, full of simple emotion, perfect for folk music. The playing of the backing musicians remains low-key and doleful throughout. Song is a perfect companion for late-night ruminations or heartbroken lovers.
© j. poet /TiVo