This remarkable collection from the American Memory Project at the Library of Congress brings together an amazing set of traditional fiddle tunes performed by Henry Reed of Glen Lyn, Virginia. The folklorist Alan Jabbour recorded Lyn in 1966 and 1967, and the tunes here "represent the music and evoke the history and spirit of Virginia's Appalachian frontier." The collection contains 184 original sound recordings, 19 pages of field notes, and 69 musical transcriptions with descriptive notes on tune histories and musical features. Visitors won't want to miss the film of Henry Reed's bowing, along with the essay "Henry Reed: His Life, Influence, and Art." It's quite fun to listen to some of these songs, especially the classic "Arkansas Traveler" or the lesser-known "Alabama Girls Give the Fiddler a Dram". [KMG]
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