The autoharp was invented in the 1870s as a sort of automated zither and initially was popular as a parlor instrument. It took hold in the Appalachians in the early 1900s thanks to its mail-order affordability, and local musicians quickly adapted it to an assortment of
hymns
,
ballads
, and fiddle tunes. The autoharp required frequent retunings, however, which kept it from being featured very prominently in the
string band
tradition of the Southern mountains, although
Sara Carter
played one on several of the early
Carter Family
recordings, and
Maybelle Carte
began featuring an autoharp at her shows in the 1950s, proving to be every bit as innovative on the instrument as she had been on the guitar. This delightful set of
field recordings
made by
Mike Seeger
in the 1950s and very early '60s features four masters of the Appalachian autoharp style, Virginian
Ernest Stoneman
(who made his first commercial autoharp recording in 1924), North Carolina father-and-son duo
Neriah & Kenneth Benfield
, and the left-handed
Kilby Snow
of Virginia (later in his life he made his home in Pennsylvania). Several of these tracks were originally released in 1962 on an LP called
Mountain Music Played on Autoharp
, and
Seeger
has here expanded the number of cuts from that release (substituting alternate takes in some cases) to make a generous survey of these unique players.
Stoneman
plays harmonica and sings to the accompaniment of the autoharp, turning himself into a one-man
on songs like the banjo standard
"Bile 'Em Cabbage Down"
and
Uncle Dave Macon
's
"All I Got's Gone."
The Benfields
turn in a wonderful autoharp duet on
"Weeping Willow Tree,"
originally recorded by
the Carter Family
in 1927, while son
Kenneth
goes solo on impressive versions of
"Old Joe Clark"
"Golden Slippers."
But the clear maestro here is
, a left-handed player whose autoharp playing literally explodes into chiming, drag-note runs on an instrumental
"John Henry,"
on the pretty
"Close By"
(recorded by both
Bill Monroe
the Stanley Brothers
in 1954), and on an amazing version of the comic fiddle tune
"Chicken Reel."
Fast-paced, gentle, and sounding as bright as the first day of spring,
Masters of Old-Time Autoharp
is a complete delight. ~ Steve Leggett