Chris Kempster Project
Songs of Henry Lawson: Port Fairy Launch
Review by Wayne Richmond
Chris Kempster's 1989 songbook 'The Songs of Henry Lawson' has been out of print for many years. The launching of a new edition with 45 new settings at the Port Fairy Folk Festival on Sunday 9th March was the culmination of 18 months of work for many people, especially the five person committee consisting of Alison Jones, Mark Gregory, Chris Wheeler, Ian Hamilton and me.
Many hours of discussion about the new edition's content and format were followed by months of searching out, transcribing and formatting the new settings as well as the revision and supplementation of the introductory and indexing sections of the book. A new cover was commissioned and appropriate photos/illustrations were selected for the new pages and some of the old images in the old pages were replaced. Finally, the book was printed and bound just in time for us to haul a few boxes of them down to the Port Fairy Folk Festival for the launching which, in itself, was a major logistic exercise with numerous musicians involved from all over Australia and no possibility of a rehearsal.
The line-up for the launch was a veritable 'who's who' of Australian folk music with The Bushwackers, Ian Hamilton (Loosely Woven), Chris Wheeler (Wheelers & Dealers & Pastance), Hugh McDonald (ex Redgum), Michael Kennedy, Jim Haynes (author of the recently released 'Complete Book of Australian Popular Rhymed Verse'), John Schumann (lead singer of Redgum), Alison Jones (Just a TAD & Moz), Jane Thompson (Blackwood etc.), Brian Mooney (well known Australian artist and folkie) and Mick Thomas (lead singer of 'Weddings, Parties, Anything'). With such a list of stars it is not surprising that over 1,500 people crammed into the Stage 4 venue for the 90 minute concert despite searing temperatures!. It was so hot, in fact, that the 'guest of honour' had a little trouble keeping his mo on!
Ian Hamilton, in addition to being a brilliant songwriter with a fine tenor voice, is a self-confessed 'Lawson tragic'. It was his idea to enrich the format of the launch by adding the great man himself to the mix in the form of Dennis O'Keeffe - another huge Lawson fan. Ian wrote a script that cleverly introduced the man and the songs through an amusing and informative interchange between himself and Lawson.
The Bushwackers got the show off to a rousing start with their well known version of one of Lawson's earliest poems and the third song in the songbook, 'Faces in the Street'. This was followed by Ian's own hauntingly beautiful setting of 'May Night in the Mountains' with powerful but unrehearsed backing by The Bushwackers resulting in an unexpected, but nevertheless highly effective, a capella final verse!
Chris Wheeler's famously beautiful voice presented Chris Kempster's setting of 'Bertha', Lawson's nostalgic poem about his 3 year old daughter.
Michael Kennedy dedicated the performance of his setting of 'Bill of Ages' to the nun who many years ago gave him two books of Lawson which, he claims, saved him from football and giving out 'How to vote' cards for the National Party. I very much remember working on Michael's tune and it was great to see and hear him performing it in the flesh.
Another of my favourite tunes from the new section of the book is the one John Schumann put to 'To Hannah' which he performed with three members of his 'Vagabond Crew'.
A particularly moving moment was when Chris Kempster's partner Alison Jones sang his famous setting of 'Reedy River'. It is Alison that we have to thank mostly for the fact that Chris's long hoped for second edition has finally become a reality.
It is always good to see and hear Jane Thompson and James Rigby (Blackwood and Rainmakers) and this was no exception as they performed, with some help from The Bushwackers, Cathie O'Sullivan's setting of Lawson's 'The Route March'.
Another highlight for me was the all too rare appearance these days of Brian Mooney ’Äì a well known Australian artist and a legend of the Australian folk scene - singing his setting of 'The sliprails and the spur'. Brian made a further contribution to the songbook in the form of his watercolour painting 'Horses come to water by a billabong' which appears on page 249 underneath 'The Bill of the ages'.
One of the most popular acts at Port Fairy was the newly reformed 'Weddings, Parties, Anything' and although he didn't write the tune, the group's lead singer Mick Thomas, revealed a close affinity with Lawson in his powerful rendition of Con Caston's setting of 'The bush girl'. Incidentally, this poem is one of the most popular amongst Australia's tunesmiths with no less than five settings of it in the book.
All in all, the launch went very smoothly thanks in no small part to the goodwill and comeraderie of all of the musicians and stagehands involved.
Following the concert, people were eager to buy the book and many took advantage of the opportunity of having it personally signed by Henry who, incidentally, didn't need much encouragement to join the members of the committee in The Shebeen Bar for congratulatory drinks afterwards!
To order a copy of 'The Henry Lawson Songbook', go to http://jam.org.au/