Singing the U.S. Scene

They sang as they went, from Salty New England to dusty Oklahoma. In the Johnny Appleseed country--Ohio and Indiana--they sang of Johnny Appleseed. They recounted Paul Bunyan's exploits in one of his own legendary stamping grounds, wooded north Michigan, while husky loggers clapped and yowled. They regaled Louisiana audiences with Creole songs. In their 7,500-mile, 21-State trip they warmed U.S. hearts with songs that were part of their soil and blood. Last week, when a dirt-stained bus rolled them from Greensboro, N.C. into Manhattan, the American Ballad Singers had wound up their first U.S. tour.

The man who led the Ballad Singers was Elie Siegmeister, a dark, merry, 33-year-old Brooklyn composer (May Day for orchestra, We Want the World for chorus, Hip Hip Hooray for NRA, an operetta). Elie Siegmeister talks with a touch of Brooklynese, teaches composition and piano for a living, bicycles to Coney Island for exercise. When he gets interested, he gets interested. When he got interested in balladry eleven years ago, he pored over thousands of songs in the Library of Congress, picked up many a ditty by word of mouth. He now knows 800. He trained his Ballad Singers--six professionals--to sing them straight; no nourishes. Says Elie Siegmeister, "I feel art with a capital A is a menace."

The Ballad Singers' repertory goes back to the Pilgrims, and comes as up-to-date as Bataan. While the troupe's bus rolled through New York State, Siegmeister wrote a Ballad of Douglas MacArthur, which he sandwiched into his programs.

A year ago Victor published a Ballad Singers album. Next week a newcomer among phonograph companies, Bost Records, is putting out another Siegmeister album: Songs of Early America. Some of the songs: The Saint's Delight, A Virgin Unspotted, The Devil and the Farmer's Wife, Soldier, Won't You Marry Me? . . . . . .

U.S. opera, which has always had to fend for itself, sat up and took notice last week when San Francisco earmarked $25,000 for the San Francisco Opera Company from the city budget. (The San Francisco Symphony has had city aid for seven years.)

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.