Kind of a late Sunday post here. This superb quintet included Floyd H. Lacy, high tenor, and his wife, who apparently played piano for the quintet, though (for some reason) not on these reissued (1940s) Sacred label sides--the superb ivory tinkling is credited to Spurgeon R. Jones. However, Mrs. Lacy does play piano on the five duet sides by the Lacys, which feature added organ accompaniment by the famous Lorin Whitney. The group belonged to the Christian and Missionary Alliance, aka the Alliance World Fellowship, about which I know little, save that a lot of great music is connected with the denomination. It's part of the Holiness movement.
Here's an excellent entry on the group, which started in 1913.
It's more than worth noting that many of the so-called "lower" churches (did somebody say, "class"?) were ahead of the Christian pack when it came to integrated congregations and leadership positions for women. Just saying. We progressive Christians are, and should be, a bit embarrassed by this inconvenient fact.
Anyway, splendid music, with a polyphonic quality that I can't find the words to describe. It's as if the voices are darting in and out on some of the quintet sides. My ears try to determine which voice is doing what, and they (my ears) give up after a spell. To call these tracks lively is an understatement along the lines of, "Godzilla wears at least a 5X." And I love the Lacys' interesting style of duet vocalizing--the very precise enunciation, especially. In addition to the twelve LP tracks, we have a 1925 "Personal Record" (Columbia Phonograph Company) of the Lacys singing the great Rapture hymn, The Meeting in the Air, and The Hornet Song, the theological point of which I haven't figured out yet. But I'm working on it. And I'll offer no puns along the line of "stinging vocals." I can't account for the highly compressed sound on Hornet, and I apologize for the mildly painful resonance. Did someone cover the microphone with a blanket, or...?
This LP is a thrift gift from Diane, and I'm very grateful for it. I knew it would be a great experience the moment she mentioned finding it. This post puts me in the mood to feature one or both of my Doris Akers LPs. I believe I posted one years back, but the entry is gone.
DOWNLOAD: Cleveland Quintet (Sacred Records 9037; 1958)
Lee
6 comments:
So the couple on the flip side are part of the group on the A side? And is it a quartet or a quintet? I'm confused... :(
It's a quintet, with Mr. Lacy singing high tenor. The notes mention Mrs. Lacy having played piano for the quintet at some time (quintet, plus pianist), but apparently not on the sides reissued here. She does, however, play piano on the duet tracks.
Thanks, Lee! Can't wait to listen.
The Cleveland Quintet! wonderful. I was hearing them backed up by a New Orleans Dixieland band in my head. Maybe a vocal version of such with a touch of bluegrass thrown in. I was fighting a headache when I played these tracks and am feeling a lot better now. Thank you for a healing touch, and thank you Jesus!
Answer me this, can you tell by listening to it if it's a quartet or a quintet? :)
Diane,
Hope you enjoy. It's a kind of gospel I wish was still around.
Larry,
Glad these brought you peace (and headache relief). The two often go together--I have frequent headaches, so I know.
Ernie,
I would say, not really. When you have a first tenor plus a high one working together, it's a different story, but this quintet employs a kind of harmonizing that sometimes makes it hard to know who's doing what. I think I hear two above-the-melody tenors on a couple occasions, but these guys, while superb, aren't the least bit show-offy or inclined to shine the light on their individual contributions. There's a marvelous kind of humility happening here.
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