UNFORGOTTEN, AN ALBUM OF HEALING
Among hundreds of songs and ballads born or recast during the Civil War, operatic virtuoso and Broadway performer Clamma Dale has assembled a variety of some familiar ones and others that are little-known on her first solo recording, Unforgotten, An Album of Healing. Driven by her own intense interest in the Civil War era, the acclaimed African-American soprano has researched, selected and arranged 15 songs that reflect the sentiments of the Northern and Southern partisans and the slave population, as well. A Julliard School graduate, Dale is best known for her Broadway portrayal of Bess in Porgy & Bess, as well as her concert appearances.
In this wide-ranging collection on compact disc, Dale artfully reaches out to all with stirring renditions of Southern standards such as “The Southern Soldier,” “Dixie,” “Home Sweet Home” and “Somebody’s Darling.” Northern favorites include “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” the hauntingly patriotic “Dying Volunteer” and tunes adapted from Irish traditionals such as “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” and “Yankee Man O’ War.” Dale also performs songs that were popular on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line, such as “Lorena” and the poetic “Tenting on the Old Camp Ground.” Deftly interlaced among the anthems are traditional black spirituals such as “Many Thousands Gone/Free at Last” and “Steal Away,” conveying suffering and yearning.
Accompanied only by pianist David Tice, Clamma Dale has created a CD that is an unadorned yet rich and unique rendition ofAmerican music, conveying the hopes, sufferings and–ultimately–the healing of the wounds of the war between brothers. The liner notes (meticulously reviewed by historian Shelby Foote) further bring this music to life through detailed descriptions of the songs’ origins.
R.V. Lee
