FOLKLORIST EXAMINES THE STORIES BEHIND THE MUSIC

On September 25 at 5 p.m., a reading and musical performances will be hosted at Barnes & Noble in Fayetteville. featuring UA professor Robert Cochran and members of the Phydella Gilbert family.

FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. - Phydella Gilbert Hogan grew up during the Great Depression. With money tight, Hogan had to go to work and so was unable to graduate from high school. But in 1992, at age 70, she graduated from the University of Arkansas, earning a degree with honors in English.

While Hogan was at the U of A, she not only gained an education, but offered one as well, introducing a professor to an important part of Arkansas’ rich musical heritage.

Robert Cochran, director of the UA Center for Arkansas and Regional studies, met Hogan in a folklore class he was teaching. One day she brought a thick notebook to class crammed with typed and handwritten lyric sheets. Hogan told him, "We sing a lot of these songs you’ve been playing and lecturing about. I thought you might be interested."

Beginning with this notebook, Cochran spent 10 years writing "Singing in Zion," a book about the Gilbert family, their musical traditions, and the rural community of Zion, Arkansas.

On September 25 at 5 p.m., Cochran and the Gilbert family will host a reading and offer various musical performances at Barnes & Noble in Fayetteville. The public is invited.

In the book Cochran details the family’s history and their personal connections with the songs. Included is an appendix of over 80 folk songs.

Cochran said he addresses issues in this book that folk music scholars have never written about before. "My work was to connect the songs to the family history," said Cochran.

"Examining the songs was easy enough, and learning something of their varied origins and histories only marginally more difficult. What was truly challenging were the people who sang and played, who had claimed the songs as their own."

He said when Hogan gave him the book of music, he wondered, "Why do people put all this time and energy into this?"

He discovered two reasons. First, over time the music becomes a scrapbook of family history. When performing different tunes, singer was reminded of the person who taught them the songs.

Second, they used the songs as models to guide their behavior in new situations. In her youth, one of the family members decided to break up with her boyfriend. Since she had never done this, she didn’t know how to act. A family song about a girl in a similar situation served as a guide, helping her decide what to do.

Cochran emphasized that there will actually be very little reading at the event. "Various family groups will perform to demonstrate the continuing importance of music in family life."

The last surviving Gilbert sister, Helen Morris, will be at the table with him to sign copies of the book.