May 2009 Newsletter

Dear Supporter,

Greetings, America! New Album of Paraguayan Harp Music Now Available

Maiteí América: Harps of Paraguay, the latest album in the Tradiciones/Traditions Series, is now available. "Greetings, America"—Maiteí América in the Guaraní Indian language—boasts three generations of musicians playing in a style that is a favorite of harpists the world over.

• Watch two videos featuring master Paraguayan harpists
• Download the traditional song "Paraguarí" free for a limited time
• Enter code HARPSOFPARAGUAY through May 31st to save 20% off the retail price

The Tradiciones/Traditions Series is made up of 28 albums released since 2002 that showcase the diverse musical heritage of the more than 40 million Latinos living in the USA.

Upcoming Releases: Frederick Douglass, Los Texmaniacs, Joropo Oriental, and Welsh Music and Song
In conjunction with the 2009 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, held June 24th–July 5th on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., Smithsonian Folkways will release four albums:

• A Voice Ringing O'er the Gale! The Oratory of Frederick Douglass Read by Ossie Davis as part of the Giving Voice: The Power of Words in African American Culture Festival program.
• Borders y Bailes from Los Texmaniacs and iY Que Viva Venezuela! Maestros del Joropo Oriental as part of the Las Américas: Un Mundo Musical Festival program.
• Blodeugerdd—Song of the Flowers: An Anthology of Welsh Music and Song as part of the Wales Smithsonian Cymru Festival program.

Stay tuned for more information and special offers on these new albums.

Mike Seeger to Receive 2009 NEA Award
Mike Seeger, who has performed on, produced, or recorded 74 Smithsonian Folkways albums, will receive the 2009 Bess Lomax Hawes Award for significant contributions to the preservation and awareness of cultural heritage from the National Endowment of the Arts. Congratulations, Mike!

Learn more about Mike Seeger in this Smithsonian Featured Artist Profile.

Smithsonian Folkways Trivia!
Each month we'll ask a trivia question; email your answer, name, and address with the subject "May Trivia" to smithsonianfolkways_at_si_dot_edu by May 31st and a randomly selected entrant with the correct answer will win a free CD of his or her choice!

May Question: What characteristic defines the harp, as heard on five albums (from four countries) in the Tradiciones/Traditions series, as a distinct type of musical instrument?

Congratulations to last month's winner, Bob from Olney, Maryland, who correctly answered "The Almanac Singers," named after the Farmers’ Almanac. We also accepted "The Almanac House," an apartment that Hays, Lampell, and Seeger shared in New York City, as the inspiration for the name. April’s question was: In the 1940s, Pete Seeger performed in a group that included Woody Guthrie, Lee Hays, Bess Lomax, Sis Cunningham, and Mill Lampell. What was the name of the group, and how did it get its name?

New Releases

Essential Picks

News and Notes

• Listen to an interview with Dan Milner on Celtic Music Radio about his recent album Irish Pirate Ballads and Other Songs of the Sea.
• Smithsonian Folkways: Sounds to Grow On, the weekly hour-long radio program hosted by Michael Asch, is now available as a podcast on iTunes and via www.folkways.si.edu.
• Celebrate Asian Pacific Heritage Month with profiles on Music of the Mekong River and Music of Hawai’i.
• ¡Ayombe! The Heart of Colombia's Música Vallenata won an Independent Music Award fan-favorite Latin Album of 2008