As host of the Morning Show, I get to meet some well-known people … and most of the time they turn out to be delightful. But there have been enough exceptions to the rule to make me nervous whenever a true luminary walks through the door. Will they be aloof and hard to reach? Will they be exasperated and impatient? Will they be arrogant and self-centered? Will they be demanding and bossy? And worst of all – will they be boring and tiresome?
I hoped that I had nothing to worry about this past Monday morning when I welcomed into the studios of WGTD an extraordinarily gifted and accomplished singer/songwriter named Moira Smiley. I had heard enough about her and heard enough of her music to feel fairly confident that I would thoroughly enjoy the encounter, but in fact the delight even exceeded my expectations. Meeting her and three women from her group VOCO turned out to be nothing but a joy.
Moira Smiley was born and raised in Vermont in a home that was saturated with all kinds of music. Her most serious musical pursuit was as a classically trained pianist, and she enrolled at Indiana University as a piano performance major. But it became pretty evident to Moira that her wide-ranging gifts and interests would not allow her to be happy and fulfilled as a piano major – especially because of the many hours of solitary practice that such a life requires. She was a born collaborator and had to explore avenues in which rich and varied collaborations would be possible. She ultimately finished IU with a degree in early music vocal performance – intrigued by the sense of mystery that is such a part of early music, where scores often offer up as many questions as answers – but also spent a great deal of time and energy exploring the astonishing universe of folk music. She made concerted study of the folk songs of Appalachia, Ireland, Eastern Europe – and points beyond. But beyond old music and folk music, she has also generated a great deal of new music, and found all kinds of ways to create music in innovative ways by drawing connections with dance, Shakespeare, and much more. In the course of our interview, she mentioned that an important mentor in her life had advised her early on to make some tough choices that would allow her to focus her energies in more practical fashion- which might be exactly the right choice for some people, but certainly not for her. She has defied that call for focus in favor of a professional career that has taken her down a plethora of pathways, each one more satisfying than the next.
If any one thing has made her name known to a wide array of people, it is her wonderful arrangement of ‘Bring me Little Water, Silby” – which has been sung by women’s ensembles all over the country. This Leadbelly song was delightful to begin with, but Moira Smiley’s arrangement of it – complete with what’s known as body percussion – has made the song all but irresistible. I was introduced to the song by my sister Randi and her two daughters, Aidan and Anna – and fell in love with it. It was a couple of years later that I next encountered the song when it was performed stunningly well by the Carthage Women’s Ensemble under the direction of Dr. Peter Dennee. Ever since that occasion, Dr. Dennee has been anxious to bring Moira Smiley and her group VOCO to the campus of Carthage – and this year was when it finally happened. They are here for a four days residency, which will include two public performances (one Wednesday night at 6:00- and the other on Thursday evening at 7:30 – both at Carthage.)
So what made the visit of Moira Smiley and her three singers – Pilar Diaz, Inga Swearingen, and Kristen Toedtman – so delightful? First of all, they were friendly and down to earth … and not the least bit irritable despite the fact that the hour was early and they had to be suffering rather serious jet lag. (One would have never guessed.) They were intelligent and articulate and happy to be talking about music. And best of all, they sang right then and there in the studio- and it was like the most refreshing rain falling from the sky.
(Left to right: Kristen Toedtman, Pilar Diaz, Moira Smiley, Inga Swearingen.)
Actually, what especially impressed me so much was how they could shift so effortlessly from a gentle and ethereal song – angelic in every way – to something else requiring a much more intense and even pungent sound … and also to shift from something sweetly tonal to something much more dissonant. That kind of astonishing versatility tends to be quite rare in the whole realm of popular music (because it’s often discouraged, both directly and passively, by an industry that tends to prefer its musicians to remain in their respective camps and categories.) It didn’t take long to get the distinct impression that these singers are capable of doing almost anything. And yet, they carry themselves so comfortably, without a trace of artifice or arrogance. And the joy with which they sing is truly infectious!
Anybody who knows me and what kind of music I personally prefer may be surprised to hear how thoroughly I fell to the spell of Moira Smiley and VOCO. I have never been all that big a fan of folk music; the grandeur of opera and the sweeping majesty of Rachmaninoff symphonies and Strauss tone poems is what gets me most excited … plus the rich treasures of choral music and musical theater. The sparse simplicity of folk music and folk-like music very rarely excites, inspires, or impresses me. But I think that may be in part because I have misconstrued its simplicity for shallowness … or maybe mistaken its simplicity for being easy and unchallenging. Or both. But then you find yourself in the presence of musicians as fine as these, rendering their music with such grace and beauty, and it makes me realize that my careless dismissiveness of this particular musical landscape has been my loss. To be in the presence of this kind of music-making, with almost every potential distraction stripped away (no instruments, no costumes, no special effects, no amplification) is to experience music at its most intimate and visceral. It was a treat, plain and simple- and one for which I am incredibly grateful.
(left: Kirsten Toedtman, with Dr. Dennee listening in. right: Pilar Diaz.)
(Inga Swearingen)
