William Dart finds some solace and joy in the seemingly infinite power of the human voice, from field recordings of folksingers and the vibrant Joni Mitchell to a new album from Scottish singer Alasdair Roberts with the Norwegian band Völvur.
Photo: Drag City Records
During these long weeks of lockdown, taking us from winter into spring, there’s been no shortage of downtime, occasionally in the most depressing sense of that word.
And when isolation does threaten to blur one’s resolve, there’s always consolation and a spiritual recharge to be found in music, particularly when it comes from that most ancient of music-makers, the human voice.
Scottish singer Alasdair Roberts records for Drag City Records along with the likes of Bill Callahan, Bonnie Prince Billy and the band Purple Mountains. And now he’s made the company’s roster even more exotic with his latest release, The Old Fabled River – a collection of eight songs with a band of six Norwegian musicians going by the name of Völvur.
The title of the album is significant, both reaching back to times of old legends and folk tales as well as acknowledging the hopefully unruffled flow of cultural continuity.
Music Details
ARTIST: Phoebe Smith
TITLE: A Blacksmith courted me
ALBUM: Once I Had a True Love
COMPOSER: Trad
LABEL: Topic
ARTIST: Choir of Christ's College, Cambridge
TITLE: Monk's Gate, He Who Would Valiant Be
ALBUM: The complete New English Hymnal, Vol 21
COMPOSER: Vaughan Williams
LABEL: Priory
ARTIST: The Spooky Men's Chorale
TITLE: The Fiddle and the Drum
ALBUM: Stop Scratching It
COMPOSER: Mitchell
LABEL: Spooky Men's Chorale
ARTIST: La Tanya Hall
TITLE: The Fiddle and the Drum
ALBUM: Say Yes
COMPOSER: Mitchell
LABEL: Blue Canoe
ARTIST: EPN Trio
TITLE: The Fiddle and the Drum
ALBUM: Olvidadas
COMPOSER: Mitchell
LABEL: EPN
ARTIST: Joni Mitchell
TITLE: The Fiddle and the Drum
ALBUM: Clouds
COMPOSER: Mitchell
LABEL: Reprise
ARTIST: Mary Cosgrove
TITLE: The Collier Lad
ALBUM: Whaur the Pig Gaed on the Spree
COMPOSER: Trad
LABEL: Drag City
ARTIST: Dellie Norton
TITLE: Young Emily
ALBUM: I Carry the Dead in my Hand
COMPOSER: Trad
LABEL: Drag City
ARTIST: Alasdair Roberts
TITLE: Young Emily
ALBUM: Too Long in this Creation
COMPOSER: Trad
LABEL: Drag City
ARTIST: Alasdair Roberts & Völvur
TITLE: Hymn of Welcome
ALBUM: The Old Fabled River
COMPOSER: Roberts
LABEL: Drag City
ARTIST: Alasdair Roberts & Völvur
TITLE: Sweet William's Ghost
ALBUM: The Old Fabled River
COMPOSER: Trad
LABEL: Drag City
ARTIST: Alasdair Roberts & Völvur
TITLE: Nu Rinner Solen Opp
ALBUM: The Old Fabled River
COMPOSER: Trad
LABEL: Drag City
ARTIST: Alasdair Roberts & Völvur
TITLE: Song Composed in August
ALBUM: The Old Fabled River
COMPOSER: Roberts
LABEL: Drag City
