Deb & Dad Audio

Through the years that my Church responsibilities had me on the road, starting about 1977, when Debbie was 4 and we discovered her unusual musical talents, she became my surpassingly-cute traveling companion. And as I’ve asserted at every opportunity since, it came to pass that there was hardly a significant highway in New England on which we hadn’t harmonized. We developed an extensive repertoire of two-part a cappella pieces that we loved, drawn largely from the hymn-book (our very first was “Brightly Beams Our Father’s Mercy”) and the traditional (folks called them “folk”) songs that Gordon Bok, Anne Mayo Muir, and Ed Trickett had recorded for Folk Legacy.

Her clear, true soprano usually carried the melody, though not by any means always. She surely recognized the flaws in my singing voice, as you will in these recordings, but she never seemed inclined to criticize. And as age began to eat into my timbre, tessitura, volume, and accuracy of pitch, it occurred to us that we ought to make use of the technology at hand to preserve these collaborations that had given us so much pleasure, over such a long period.

On May 26, 2009, we set up my MacBook Pro, pre-amp, and microphone in the shreds of space that Tony’s equipment left unoccupied. I sat on their bed, and Debbie on her husband’s desk chair, and we recorded as much of our repertoire as time permitted and we could pull out of our memory. To hear the results, click on the names below:

Amble Town Angel Band Aragon Mill Lord, Are You There? The Bells of Norwich Benjamin Bowmaneer Blue-eyed Baby Brightly Beams Calico Pie Catch a Falling Star Come by the Hills Come Thou Fount Come Ye Disconsolate Dancing at Whitsun

Dig My Grave Down to the Seas Exalting Grace Father In Heaven Freedom on the Wallaby I Shall Be Satisfied I Drew My Ship My Images Come It Soon Be Done I’ve Got A Song James James Keep From Singing? I Knew This Place Lord, Are You There?

Lord Of the Dance Magic Penny Minstrel Show He’s Taken My Feet People Like You Praise To The Man Precious Lord Sailor's Prayer Sunday Morning The Stranger Turning Toward the Morning That Wee Dark Engine Room

Back a Page (Ballooning in Keokuk)

Chapter 5 (2003-?)

Such a Life Contents

2008 2009 2010

Chapter 6 (People)

Next Page (Freedom, Cattaraugus County)

Welcome

Stories

Sections

Such a Life

People

Places

Site Search

Do You Know?

Updated Jul 2020

[2009p20.htm]

Page 509-20