Iain Lundy, your reviewer of the Celtic Connections concert, Woody at 100, is spot on: it was a dud (The Herald, January 27).
He makes the point that the performers did not engage with the audience. There was a further problem: in common with rather too many folk singers, their diction was bad. What is the point of a folk song – let alone a Woody Guthrie song – if one cannot hear the words? Perhaps what is at work here is the influence of Bob Dylan, whose articulation leaves much to be desired. But there are many folk singers whose diction is impeccable: think, for example, of Tom Paxton.
The problem is not confined to folk music, as opera singers are often less interested in the words than the sounds, a point Stephen Sondheim has frequently made in explaining why he prefers to work in musical theatre where most performers have excellent diction. Coming out of last week's concert I did find myself wondering if some Celtic Connections presentations are put together by the performers without any intervention from a competent musical director.
David Hutchison,
56 Ritchie Street, West Kilbride.
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