Ruth Crawford Seeger: Portrait
Crawford is a neglected but significant figure in the development of American music in the 20th century. Perhaps it's that she took 15 years off from composing in the middle of her life to help found the American folk revivalist movement carried on by her children Michael, Peggy, and stepson Pete. But her early works define their own new territory next to contemporaries and friends Henry Cowell and Carl Ruggles. With a decidedly proletarian slant, Crawford's earlier works merge folk melodies and forms of meandering clarity and layer them between swirls of chamber dissonance. These include settings of her friend Carl Sandburg's conversational poetry, the political words ofDaily Workerwriter H.T. Tsiang, the curious and circular patterns in String Quartet No. 1, and the homespun-meets-high-artRissolty Rossolty. The CD finishes with a song setting by her husband Charles, and her "comeback" work, 1952'sSuite for Wind Quartet, which patchworks rolling contemplation, lyrical melody, and forceful irregular rhythms together.--Robin Edgerton