BELSHAZZAR'S FEAST - Find The Lady

Folk music needs cross-contamination, stylistic interaction, in order to stay alive, and Paul Satin already knows this axiom well, being part of the Bellowhead collective, one of the few bands capable of rewriting folk music with personality and invention.

Violin and oboe are the instruments that, alongside Paul Hutchinson's accordion, take center stage in this more rural and pagan slice of folk that Satin has been celebrating for years, with no fewer than eight albums under his belt.

Belshazzar's Feast is not just the name of the band but also one of the best-known cantatas by William Walton, the famous English composer who lived for over thirty years on Ischia, and the author of many works that are still performed around the world today.

Like every folk album that draws on the vast historical repertoire, "Find The Lady" too suffers from the limited appeal of an archaic revival, one that documents the traditional heritage without pushing its more transgressive aspects; however, the strongly historical slant of this reading of famous traditionals is tempered by the modern arrangement structures crafted by Jim Moray, who contributes as both musician and producer.

Concert music, small-pub music, playful and wise folk-gathering music - yet despite it all, Belshazzar's Feast often grasp hold of an emotional intensity capable of stirring even non-expert listeners.

What truly convinces isn't so much the suave, evocative sound of "Queen Of May" or the calligraphic skill that brushes up against the famous "Wild Rover", but rather the often over-the-top tone that accompanies the reading of "Turtle Dove", a sad, bitter ballad with a superb arrangement for viola and violin tinged with gothic flavour.

Festive in the danceable "Primis Hornpipe", yet also rich with multi-ethnic atmosphere in the mazurka of "Royal Flush/Elephant Stairs", the album offers a convincing array of good songs ("Thresherman"), excellent orchestrations ("Bloomsbury Market / Bloomsbury Hypermarket"), and one song to keep in memory from this 2010, namely "Home Lad, Home", which underscores the sacredness of history (a poem about the First World War) through an intense consonance between Paul Satin's voice and Hutchinson's mournful sounds.

"Find The Lady" is a work born of passion and deep knowledge of traditional heritage, almost an obligatory modus for much of English folk production, but it manages to win you over without breaking new ground, thanks to solid interplay between the musicians and the good taste that makes even a one-time listen to this pleasant album rewarding.

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04/12/2010