![]() ![]() But, because maritime songs from the Civil War are far less numerous than military songs and good nautical lyrics with memorable tunes are scarcer than gold nuggets in the panned-out creeks of the Sierras, song research and selection were of vital importance. ![]() The resultant recording-13 songs from Union, Confederate, and British sources-is both historical in view, for the lyrics are all period pieces, and historic in nature, for, of the many albums of Civil War material that have been made, this is the first and only one devoted entirely to the war on water. Apwould mark the 150th anniversary of the bombardment of Fort Sumter, the opening volleys of a conflict that took the lives of 620,000 Americans, some two percent of the nation’s population. That was largely the challenge two years ago when Smithsonian Folkways asked me to go forward with Civil War Naval Songs (SFW album 40189), an all-new album honoring America’s veterans. But when the body of songs to be recorded is more than a century old and neither sound files nor sheet music exist, the process then becomes more complex, and weighed judgment must be used to ensure that the integrity of the material is not placed in jeopardy merely to expedite the project. In circumstances when audio files aren’t available, sheet music indicating melody, tempo, and mood can usually be located. Recording historical songs often can require no more effort than searching the Internet for pre-existing sound files, and finding performers who can replicate performances already regarded as seminal.
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