the roving jewel
Paddy Tutty
Prairie Druid Music
2000
14 tracks
There are many artists today performing music that claims Celtic roots, but there are few who could with a straight face say they are playing the traditional music of Scotland and Ireland. Paddy Tutty is one who can. Hers is a music that celebrates Scots-Irish culture and the broad influences it has had on the culture of North America. And there are a few Sassenach songs included for good measure, and some from France. Those who have missed hearing Tutty will do well to pick up the roving jewel, a compilation of songs from her first two releases.
This is traditional music in every sense of the word. Tutty researches the backgrounds of her songs and documents what is known. She performs with traditional instruments, on this CD primarily fretted dulcimer and guitar with sometimes fiddle and whistle. Only two tracks include more modern instruments (a DX-7 on one and bass on the other), but they are not intrusive. One can easily imagine this music sung by someone very like Tutty when it was born centuries ago.
These are songs from a time when music was the television of the day. Each song tells a story. Here are the news events of the time as they were broadcast by strolling troubadors. Here are moral lessons presented as short stories. Here are sweet tales of love and dramatic tales of conflict. These are songs which, while the music is a joy to hear, demands that one listen also to the tale being told. Tutty tells them well.
As Tutty performs it, this is no dead music of the past but a living and vital remembrance of one facet of the great cultural mosaic that makes up Canada and the United States. Even those who claim not to like folk music may, if exposed to this music, change their minds.
Although the songs here were selected from previous releases recorded three years apart, the sound is consistent. In fact, although these songs are drawn from early Paddy Tutty recordings, the quality of her performances is as high as in her most recent work.
Although she has been performing and recording in Canada for decades, I only became aware of Paddy Tutty a few months ago when she sent me her recent release, in the greenwood. Given the quality of her work, I'm surprised she's not better known and not getting more airplay on radio. This is an artist who deserves broader exposure.
This is another release where it's difficult to highlight just one song because all are of such high calibre. My recommendation is to pick up a copy of the roving jewel, Paddy Tutty's fifth release, and give it a listen. If you're at all interested in traditional folk music, it will be well worth your while. While the title of this release is a reference to the first track, "Katy Cruel," it might also refer to Tutty, for she is surely a jewel of Canadian folk music.
And there's a bonus too. While the liner lists 14 tracks, keep listening and you'll discover a very pleasant instrumental surprise at the end.
Those wanting to learn more about Paddy Tutty or the roving jewel can visit the Prairie Druid website.
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