STEEL HAMMER

JULIA WOLFE

STEEL HAMMER
JULIA WOLFE
Bang on a Can All-Stars | Trio Mediaeval
SAY  9:48 2. THE STATES  9:48 3. DESTINY  11:05 4. MOUNTAIN  8:51 5. CHARACTERISTICS  5:47 6. POLLY ANN  6:30 THE RACE  9:19 7. WINNER  1:22 8. LORD, LORD  6:03
1. SOME

BANG ON A CAN ALL-STARS Ashley Bathgate, cello Robert Black, bass Vicky Chow, piano, melodica David Cossin, drums, percussion, bones Mark Stewart, electric guitar, banjo, mountain dulcimer, jaw harp, harmonica, clogging, humming Evan Ziporyn, clarinets, harmonica, whistling, humming
The musicians also play sand sticks and body percussion.

TRIO MEDIAEVAL Anna Maria Friman Linn Andrea Fuglseth Torunn strem Ossum

SOME SAY Some say hes from some say he some say hes from some say some say he say he he THE STATES Georgia Tennessee Columbus, Ohio Kentucky Alabama New Jersey Yew Pine Mountains Mississippi Mountain West Virginia South Carolina DESTINY John Henry was a little boy sitting on his papas knee John Henry was a little man sitting on his mamas knee a baby boy sitting on his daddys knee John Henry

he said, Im gonna be a steel drivin man. He picked up his hammer and a little piece of steel He said, This hammers gonna be the death of me. MOUNTAIN The mountain was so tall John Henry was so small CHARACTERISTICS He was small He was tall He was black He was white He was true He was false He was two hundred pounds He was two twenty-five Hes a worker Convict Singer Thirty-five years Twenty-two Fifty Cotton picker Steel Driver (hammer, hammer, steel, steel) He was true He was false He was six feet tall He was five foot one He was tall He was small He was small He was tall

POLLY ANN John Henry had a little woman And her name was Polly Ann, Mary Ann, Julie Ann, Sary Ann, Sally Ann, Martha Ann, Liza Ann, Lucy Ann, Mary Magdelena, Magdelena John Henry had a little woman and she was all dressed in blue, dressed in red, red, blue, black John Henrys woman said to him, My darling Johnny, Ive been true. true to you, true to you John Henry had a little woman and her name was Ida Red, and her name was Liza Jane, and her name was Maggadee, Polly Ann, Mary Ann, Julie Ann, Sary Ann, Sally Ann, Martha Ann, Liza Ann, Lucy Ann, Mary Magdelena, Magdelena Ida Red, Maggadee, Liza Jane Polly When John Henry he took sick to bed, then Polly drove steel just like a man. THE RACE The captain told John Henry gonna bring that steam drill round John Henry told the captain a man aint nothin but a man nothin, nothin, nothin

but a man, but a man John Henry on the right side the steam drills on the left right, left, right, left Before I let your steam drill beat me down, Ill hammer my fool self to death. nine pound hammer ten pound hammer twelve pound hammer twenty pound hammer two nine pound hammers two twenty pound hammers sixteen pound hammer hammer, hammer, hammer, hammer WINNER The man that invented the steam drill, he thought he was mighty fine. John Henry sunk the steel fourteen feet, while the steam drill only made nine, Lord Lord, LORD LORD Lord Lord This old hammer rings like silver This old hammer shines like gold

Steel Hammer is inspired by my love for the legends and music of Appalachia. The text is culled from the over 200 versions of the John Henry ballad. The various versions, based on hearsay, recollection, and tall tales, explore the subject of human vs. machine in this quintessential American legend. Many of the facts are unclear some say hes from West Virginia, some say hes from South Carolina, some say hes from New Jersey but regardless of the details, John Henry, wielding a steel hammer, faces the onslaught of the industrial age as his super human strength is challenged in a contest to out-dig an engine. I drew upon the extreme variations of the story, fragmenting and weaving the contradictory versions of the ballad that have circulated since the late 1800s into a new whole at times meditating on single words or phrases in order to tell the story of the story, to embody the simultaneous diverse paths it traveled.

Peter Serling, 2014

Produced by Damian leGassick Recorded at the James L. Dolan Music Recording Studio at New York University, November 2011 & February 2012
ENGINEER: Paul Geluso ASSISTANTS: Brian A Bourque, Eric Xu EDITING, MIXING AND MASTERING: Damian leGassick EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Michael Gordon, David Lang, Kenny Savelson and Julia Wolfe LABEL MANAGER: Bill Murphy CANTALOUPE SALES MANAGER: Adam Cuthbert ART DIRECTION: Denise Burt PHOTOGRAPHY (inside wallet): Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LC-D4-4107,

Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, HAER NV-27-X-4 Steel Hammer was commissioned by Maria and Robert A. Skirnick and Carnegie Hall. Special thanks to Dr. Robert Rowe, Dr. Ronald H. Sadoff, and the Department of Music and Performing Arts at NYU Steinhardt. This recording was made with generous support from The Aaron Copland Fund for Musics Recording Program and the Music Department of New York Universitys Steinhardt School. Many thanks to our Associate Producers: Peter Clegg, Werner deFoe, Robert Fink and Andres Luz. Julia Wolfes music is published by Red Poppy, Ltd. and administered worldwide by G. Schirmer, Inc. (ASCAP). For more information, visit juliawolfemusic.com. Thank you: Maria and Bob Skirnick, Jeremy Geffen, Kathy Schuman and everyone at Carnegie Hall, Damian LeGassick, Michael Gordon, David Lang, Kenny Savelson, Janet Fink, Yael Gordon, Lev Gordon, Tim Thomas, Philippa Thompson, Sruly Lazarus, Jessica Schmitz, and everyone at Bang on a Can, Bill Murphy and Adam Cuthbert at Cantaloupe Music, David Friend, Amanda Ameer, Christina Jensen, Jim Findlay, Josh Higgason, Andy Cotton, Jody Elff, Vladimir V. Golovanevskiy, everyone at MASS MoCA, Marc Baylin, Rob Robbins, Michael Blachly & University of Florida Performing Arts, Emil Kang & Performing Arts Series (University of NC Chapel Hill), George Trudeau & Center for the Performing Arts (Penn State University), Susan Farr, Paul Brohan & Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center (University of Maryland), Evan Ziporyn & Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and John Schaefer. Special thanks to the Bang on a Can All-Stars and Trio Mediaeval for their incredible input.

CANTALOUPE MUSIC IS FROM THE CREATORS OF BANG ON A CAN. & 2014 Cantaloupe Music, LLC. All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws. Cantaloupe Music, 80 Hanson Place, Suite 702, Brooklyn, NY 11217 www.cantaloupemusic.com | CA21099