Tag Archives: Dawn Landes

In concert – Dawn Landes @ Komedia (Studio), Brighton

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Dawn Landes (vocals, guitar) @ Komedia (Studio), Brighton, 8 September 2024

by John Earls. Photo (c) John Earls

Dawn Landes’ The Liberated Woman’s Songbook is a remarkable album and project. It is Landes’ re-imagining of the book of the same title, originally published by folk singer, guitar teacher and author Jerry Silverman in 1971.

The night before this performance it was the subject of a major concert at London Barbican’s Milton Hall, where Landes was joined a number of special guests including folk legend Peggy Seeger and poet Jackie Kay.

Tonight it was a central (but by no means exclusive) feature of this solo acoustic set at the much smaller Studio space of Brighton’s Komedia. Telling the stories and highlighting the voices of women through songs spanning over 200 years, this section of the evening had the feel of the best kind of musical history lesson.

Hard is the Fortune of All Womankind, a traditional ballad from 1830, is the earliest of the collection  and was deeply affecting, as was The Housewife’s Lament (1866), whose lyrics come from the diary of a woman named Sarah A. Price in Ottawa, Illinois. She had seven children, all of whom died in her lifetime.

Bread and Roses (1912) was one of the songs for which Landes was ably joined by Sylvie Lewis. Along with The Mill Mother’s Lament (1929) – “Let’s stand together workers and have a union here”  – and Florence Reece’s Which Side Are You On (1931), it emphasised that many of these songs are not just based on women’s liberation but workers’ and trade union rights also. This was apposite given that the annual meeting of the Trades Union Congress was taking place just up the road (in which I declare an interest as an attendee).

This may all sound rather earnest, but whilst the seriousness of the issues was never diminished, there was plenty of humour throughout the evening. This was helpfully illustrated by this section’s ending with Meredith Tax’s adaptation of the children’s song There was a Young Woman Who Swallowed a Lie (1970). These songs and these women still need to be heard.

This Liberated Woman’s section of the performance was bookended by songs from some of Landes’ other albums. The show opened with Bluebird, from the album of the same name celebrating its 10th anniversary, which set the tone perfectly. From the start it was clear this was going to be intimate, beautiful and ultimately joyous.

Heel Toe was captivating and smoky, Wind and Rain – “Hands up if you’ve had enough” – was fabulous, and there was an absolutely cracking version of Why They Name Whiskey After Men.

Dawn Landes has a gorgeous voice. The singing was clear and expressive, the guitar plucking deft and there were even some sparkling golden boots (“glitter makes things better!”) which were removed at times for some barefoot stomping or appended with tambourine.

All in all one genuinely got the sense that after the excitement of the previous night’s extravaganza this smaller club outing was a back to basics affair. Landes seemed to enjoy it and absolutely held the room.

John Earls is Director of Research at Unite the Union and tweets / updates his ‘X’ content at @john_earls

Published post no.2,296 – Tuesday 10 September 2024

Road Trip

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Featured recording: Aurora Orchestra – Road Trip (Warner Classics)
road-trip

In which London’s Aurora Orchestra head for the open prairies of America, sampling folk and pop song in between modern classical music from John Adams, Charles Ives and Aaron Copland. The folk and pop arrangements are done by Nico Muhly.

What’s the music like?

Very accessible. There are folk tunes arranged by Nico Muhly, who has worked with US bands like Grizzly Bear in the past, as well as establishing himself as a talented composer blending a love of old church music with a tuneful modern style, and the orchestra’s viola player Max Baillie,

The classical pieces are nicely contrasted – from the hectic Chamber Symphony by Adams to the luminous Appalachian Spring, Copland’s ballet. This features American folk tunes in fresh, open-air orchestral scoring, peaking with an arrangement of the song Simple Gifts.

Added to these we have a piece by Ives, The Housatonic at Stockbridge, taken from his Three Places In New England. Ives is incredibly difficult to describe, as he operates with so many different orchestral styles, but there are always tunes – and the slow beginning to this piece brings a tear to the eye.

Does it all work?

By and large, yes. The performances are excellent, expertly marshalled by Nicholas Collon, and are closely recorded to get the intimacy of the Copland in particular. The Adams is brisk and punchy – a good listen while running, no doubt! – and has bags of rhythmic interest. The Ives is unlike anything else, though, packing into its short duration a lifetime’s worth of feeling.

Sam Amidon and Dawn Landes sings the folksongs well but I found Nico Muhly’s orchestrations had too much going on – in part a deliberate tactic from the composer – but the ear was often distracted from the tunes themselves. The subjects are a bit macabre, too – especially The Brown Girl, with its dark tales of death and divorce.

Is it recommended?

Yes, overall. The Aurora Orchestra do these sort of themed presentations very well, and as a starting point for modern American music this can be either self-contained or open out into further exploration of the composers on the disc.

Listen on Spotify