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Ginsberg, AllenAllen Ginsberg performing William Blake. (July 1, 1979)

A reading by Allen Ginsberg performing William Blake's Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience. Songs of Innocence includes: "The Shepherd," "The Echoing Green," "The Lamb," "The Little Black Boy," "The Blossom," "The Chimney Sweeper," "The Little Boy Lost," "The Little Boy Found," "Laughing Song," and "Holy Thursday." Songs of Experience includes: "Nurse's Song," "The Sick Rose," "Ah Sunflower," "The Garden of Love," "London," "The Human Abstract," "To Tirzah" and "The Grey Monk."


This audio is part of the collection: Naropa Poetics Audio Archives

Author: Ginsberg, Allen
Date: 1979-07-01 00:00:00
Recorded by: Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics
Keywords: New American Poetry; beat movement; visionary poetry; performance poetry

Creative Commons license: Attribution-NoDerivs-NonCommercial

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Reviewer: Panini6Pedant - - September 1, 2007
Subject: Singing Blake
This appears to be an enjoyable setting of Blake using period instruments. A wonderful effort.
I believe there is good evidence that Blake sang these songs although the tunes are not now known.

I have also seen reproductions of the pictures which accompanied these poems. I wonder if you could combine them with these wonderful songs.

Reviewer: Blank - - January 14, 2006
Subject: Track Info
Allen Ginsberg: vocal, piano, harmoniun; Cyril Caster: guitar, trumpet, French horn; Hanet Zeitz: flute; Bob Dorough: harpsichord, organ; Don Cherry: finger cymbal, harpsichord, trumpet, wood flute, Sleigh bells, beaded gourd; Peter Orlovsky: vocal; Jon Sholle: guitar, bass, drums; Herman Wright: bass.

tracks

Songs of Innocence
1. a) Introduction b) The Shepherd - 2:10
2. The Ecchoing Green - 1:22
3. The Lamb - 1:10
4. The Little Black Boy - 3:00
5. The Blossom - 1:22
6. The Chimney-Sweeper - 2:20
7. The Little Boy Lost - 1:06
8. a) The Little Boy Found b) Laughing Song - 1:24
9. Holy Thursday - 1:15
10. Night - 3:57

Songs of Experience
1. Introduction - 2:06
2. Nurses Song - 2:07
3. The Sick Rose - 1:35
4. Ah! Sun-Flower - 1:12
5. The Garden of Love - 1:02
6. London - 1:55
7. The Human Abstract - 2:30
8. To Tirzah - 1:42
9. The Grey Monk - 4:06

track credits:

Songs of Innocence
Introduction
Allen Ginsberg: vocal; Peter Orlovsky: vocal; Janet Zeitz: flute; Cyril Caster: guitar.
The Shepherd
Allen Ginsberg: vocal; Peter Orlovsky: vocal; Janet Zeitz: flute; Cyril Caster: guitar; Bob Dorough: piano.
The Ecchoing Green
Allen Ginsberg: vocal & finger cymbals; Herman Wright: bass; Bob Dorough: piano.
The Lamb
Allen Ginsberg: vocal; Peter Orlovsky: vocal; Janet Zeitz: flute; Cyril Caster: guitar.
The Little Black Boy
Allen Ginsberg: vocal, harmonium; Peter Orlovsky: vocal; Jon Sholle: guitar.
The Blossom
Allen Ginsberg: vocal; Janet Zeitz: flute; Bob Dorough: harpsichord; Don Cherry: finger cymbals; Herman Wright: bass.
The Chimney-Sweeper
Allen Ginsberg: vocal; Peter Orlovsky: vocal; Janet Zeitz: flute; Cyril Caster: guitar; Bob Dorough: piano.
The Little Boy Lost
Allen Ginsberg :vocal, piano; Bob Dorough: piano; Herman Wright: bass.
The Little Boy Found
Allen Ginsberg: vocal; Janet Zeitz: flute; Bob Dorough: piano; Herman Wright: bass.
Laughing Song
Allen Ginsberg: vocal; Cyril Caster: trumpet, French horn; Hanet Zeitz: flute; Bob Dorough: harpsichord; Don Cherry: Sleigh bells, beaded gourd; chorus: Allen Ginsberg, Don Cherry, Janet Zeitz, Cyril Cater, Bob Dorough, Michael Aldrich and Matt Hoffman.
Holy Thursday
Allen Ginsberg: vocal; Peter Orlovsky: vocal; Bob Dorough: organ; Don Cherry: trumpet, wood flute.
Night
Allen Ginsberg: vocal; Janet Zeitz: flute; Cyril Caster: trumpet; Bob Dorough: piano; Don Cherry: bass tom, beaded gourd, Sleigh bells, finger cymbals.

Songs of Experience
Introduction
Allen Ginsberg: vocal, harmonium; Peter Orlovsky: vocal.
Nurses Song
Allen Ginsberg: vocal; Peter Orlovsky: vocal; Jon Sholle: guitar; Herman Wright: bass.
The Sick Rose
Allen Ginsberg: vocal; Bob Dorough: organ; Jon Sholle: guitar.
Ah! Sun-Flower
Allen Ginsberg: vocal, harmonium; Peter Orlovsky: vocal; Jon Sholle: electric bass.
The Garden of Love
Allen Ginsberg :vocal; Jon Scholle: guitar, bass, drums.
London
Allen Ginsberg: vocal, harmonium; Jon Sholle: autoharp, electric bass.
The Human Abstract
Allen Ginsberg: vocal, harmonium.
To Tirzah
Allen Ginsberg: vocal; Janet Zeitz: flute; Cyril Caster: guitar; Bob Dorough: organ; Don Cherry: harpsichord.

Reviewer: karphead - - January 12, 2006
Subject: beatiful stuff
I had been looking for a copy of this solely on hearing Ginsberg rendition of 'The Sick Rose' - his tremolo quite effectively conveys the emotion involved with Blake's poetry. Having not heard the rest of this album I'm really appreciative of the Internet Archive for providing a copy.

Question for anyone: is Ginsberg's voice being overdubbed or is that someone else (Orvlosky?) doing backup vocals?

Reviewer: Jay Vee - - October 6, 2004
Subject: Isn't this Ginsberg's 1970 Blake album?
First off - your archive is a wonderful thing!

I believe this recording is actually Allen Ginsberg's 1970 album of Blake songs, on which he was accompanied by Peter Orlovsky & others, and not a later Naropa performance of the Songs.