Country / Bluegrass - 1993 - 1994 - RCC and Sunrise Presbyterian
In 1994, the RCC Choir presented their annual C/B Concert at their home church, and then repeated the concert at Sunrise Presbyterian Church, 40 miles north. These audio files are selected from both concerts. Some performances from the '93 C/B are also here.
Instrumentalists are: Dale Chapel, string bass; Jan Dupree 5-string banjo; guitar, and arrangements, MR; piano, Diane.
Amen: Soloists: MR, Katie, John, and Patty Pluto (alto). RCC - 1994
Early American Trilogy: Jan sings three early American hymns, all pentatonic, that is: the tune never sounds the fourth or seventh degrees of the scale ("fah,..a long,long way to run" and "ti, a drink with jam and bread"). The hymns are: Holy Manna, Amazing Grace
(British roots, but adopted as an Am. hymn), and How Firm a Foundation. Jan's warm and sumptuous alto voice and the heartland sound of her interpretation add a mysterioso aura to the trilogy, and indeed she was born and raised in the deep country cornfields of Illinois, not far from the Amish Amana Colonies. MR supplies mountain dulcimer to the sound, an authentic early American instrument. Diane underlays it all with soulful organ.
I'll Fly Away - Dueling Banjos: The RCC vocal group: sopranos Katie Burdick and Becky Spence; altos, Jan and Patty Pluto; tenor John Flynt; and MR singing bass. Dueling Banjos comes posed as a complaint from banjoist Jan Dupree about the modern chords that MR snuck into the bluegrass arrangement.
Oh Happy Day: Jan sings the lead solo in this arrangement. Listen for the funky ending.
Movin' Up To Heaven: The RCC vocal group sings this fast paced Southern Gospel song, with solos from Becky, Patty and John, with MR on the bass leads.
If I Had My Way: This gospel folk song was written by Rev. Gary Davis (1896-1972), a blues and gospel singer/song-writer whose influential music predated the folk era. This song was among 18 that were recorded in 1953 by a studio engineer/producer turned amatuer musicologist; thus all were saved for posterity. It was later made famous by Peter, Paul & Mary (1962).
(Day to Be) Redeemed - MR comments on this recording in that he was the guitarist, and...well, he says: "This is my arrangement of this old folk gospel tune, made famous by The Kingston Trio in the early 60's. In this performance, the guitarist (!) got carried away a bit, and I hardly ever say something like that. The basic arrangement is compelling, but I went a little too far, influenced by the partial D-tuning on my Martin D-35. Apologies."
the top, and a tenor part added. And,..Jan Dupree is picking the banjo throughout, making this the only time in history it was performed like this. Dale Chapel is playing string bass. Although over-ambient in the recording, it is still good enough to listen to, and the guitar and banjo work well together. MR says, "I don't quite remember doing this version of the arrangement!" But it has been almost thirty years. Note: MR wrote the last v. to convert the secular folk song to Christianity. The original writer, folksinger Tom Paxton, who is still with us as of today, aged 85, wasn't informed of this.
I Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound - This song had historically been Michael's and Jan's duet; it came with with good guitar picking, and maybe a piano part with Diane matching the guitar exactly. Here, it has morphed into a quartet, with MR's lead doubled at
Camp Meetin' Medley - This keyboard duet with Diane Maltby, piano, and Katie Anderson, organ, was the offertory for the 1994 County/Bluegrass Concert. It had never been digitalized and posted on this site until this day, Feb 2, 2023: may this go on until glory as a
praiseworthy part of our musical and spiritual posterity. It was part of what made the concerts so special, and the house was packed to the rafters, as you can hear from the applause. Both Katie and Diane were called to this ministry by the Lord of all good things; it was so much fun and all of us sang and played unto God. ---> We were there <---
Country Roads - John Denver - Arr. MR - Michael Roy uses the 12-string guitar for this performance. This is from Country/Bluegrass - 1993. Singing in the vocal group are Becky Spence, soprano; Jan, alto; John Flynt, tenor; MR, bass-baritone; and Jan Dupree on 5-string banjo. Dale Chapel plays string bass. As always, Diane Maltby on piano.