Troubadour

Dorothy Carter was a self-taught musician and folklorist who played traditional instruments such as the hammered dulcimer and psaltery. She traveled and played music for decades, additionally forming the improvisational troupe Central Maine Power Company, before she finally recorded and self-released her debut album, Troubadour, in 1976. Recorded with fellow collective member Bob Rutman and producer Steve Baer, the album features appearances by new age pioneer Constance Demby on guqin (a quiet, subtle Chinese stringed instrument) and Sally Hilmer on tambura. A mixture of Scottish, Appalachian, French, Irish, and Israeli folk tunes and melodies, ancient hymns, and a handful of original compositions, the record weaves a singular quilt out of several different fabrics. Many of the tracks are brief, flowing into each other medley-style, though there are several longer, often more hypnotic selections. "Make a Joyful Sound," the first original piece, opens with droning tambura before Carters dulcimer emerges, and she sings about praising the Lord through music. "Tree of Life" is much longer and more mystical, opening with distant flute playing and sparsely plucked notes, eventually filled out by Carters mesmerizing dulcimer playing and extended, almost shamanic vocalizations. Her rendition of "The King of Glory" is intense and triumphant, and its followed by the much more soothing, reverb-heavy "The Morning Star." "Masquerade," the final original piece, is just a blissful, melodic wonder accompanied by rattling percussion. The closing "Shirt of Lace" is a slow, ethereal lament mentioning sunless valleys and "water where there is no well." Troubadour doesnt quite approach the level of cosmic strangeness as the revelatory Waillee Waillee, Carters second album, but its still an absolutely delightful record worthy of rediscovery. ~ Paul Simpson