This is an excerpt from the print edition of Dirty Linen #144 (November/December 2009).
The full article is in the magazine, available on newsstands, by subscription, and at the Dirty Linen webstore.
by Tom Nelligan
| The musical traditions of the British Isles and Appalachia are linked by history and
shared elements of style. They're also linked in the eclectic repertoire of the New
England quintet Annalivia, in which Anglo-Irish ballads and driving fiddle tunes from
both sides of the Atlantic sit comfortably side by side with original material and covers of
writers like Richard Thompson and source singers like Anne Briggs and Clyde
Davenport. It's a place where misty Irish melodies and stark mountain harmonies meet on
common ground, where an arrangement of an ancient English ballad like the vampire tale
"Reynardine" can be paced by Carolina-style fiddle breaks. Drawing its name from the
myth-inspired heroine of James Joyce's novel Finnegan's Wake, Annalivia was
organized about three years ago by singer/guitarist Flynn Cohen and vocalist Liz
Simmons, who are joined in the current lineup by fiddlers Brendan Carey Block and
Emerald Rae (who also stepdances) and bassist/banjo player Stuart Kenney.
"The basic concept we have is that, collectively and independently, we cover a wide range of music that all fits under a large banner of traditional music from England, Scotland, Ireland, or North America," Cohen explained. "The music that we write and the traditional music that we play is all part of a larger fiddle tradition and diaspora. It's not just that we're playing traditional Irish music, or traditional Cape Breton music, or traditional Appalachian music, which are our main influences. Because of the culture that we live in and all the music that we're exposed to, it's all part of the same thing for us. Some people focus on one style, but in our band we've embraced all of them. And then, obviously, having grown up in America and being influenced by popular culture, there's also that influence." |
This is an excerpt from the print edition of Dirty Linen #144 (November/December 2009).
The full article is in the magazine, available on newsstands, by subscription, and at the Dirty Linen webstore.
![[cover #144]](/linen/144/cover144t.jpg)
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