When I heard that Ofra Harnoy and Alan Doyle would record my favourite Ron Hynes song, “St. John’s Waltz” together for Harnoy’s Newfoundland folk song project On The Rock, my heart jumped. Harnoy is one of the countries most accomplished cellists and Alan Doyle is a story-telling songwriter and good-time performer perfect for interpreting a master’s work.
I love Ron Hynes. As a former resident of St. John’s, it’s hard not to gush. He is a sacred character in Newfoundland’s songwriter tradition and for good reason. The “St. John’s Waltz” is one of his best-known works, only to be eclipsed by “Sonny’s Dream“; a hit for The Wonderful Grand Band and the historic television show which included Hynes in its cast. Many Ron Hynes songs evoke the dualism inherent in Newfoundland’s nature: the strong communities that have thrived in isolation and the great gaiety folded into the deep sadness of historic poverty and tragedy. I think the “St. John’s Waltz” expresses that feeling better than any other song in his catalogue.
This recording of the “St. John’s Waltz” doesn’t do anything to dispute Harnoy’s virtuosity. Each line she plays is incredibly clean and her legato has a vocal quality. Overdubbed double stops and countermelodies make this recording feel full and juicy.
Doyle is a gifted performer and popularizer of Newfoundland culture and songs. His charisma and youthfulness is infectious and has made him an international star. That also comes through in this recording.
Covers and arrangments of pop and folk material are hard. An original idea or song does not need to justify itself where an interpretation of pre-existing works bares that burden. What does the new interpretation add? What does it say that the original recording did not? Ravel orchestrated Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition” and the result is like a painting rendered in three dimensions. The Ravel orchestration does not diminish the beauty of the original piano piece but its recontextualization is flattering and appropriate yet breaks new ground.
In this case, very little is added to the “St. John’s Waltz” by recording it in this classical and folk mashup. The overlaying of Bach Cello Suites that fortspinnung their way into an accompaniment of the titular song speaks more from a place of “because we can” than “because we should”. Doyle’s usually cocksure vocal performances sound shaky and unsure against the dense accompaniment. Pickups and phrasing suffer as each performer’s interpretation of the tempo grinds against the others. The cello accompaniment is also considerably busy and lacking in thematic consistency. Every spot where one could breathe and consider the beauty of Hynes’ lyric feels crammed full of busy cello lines that leave you gasping. While technically impressive, subtlety and respect for the source material are absent. Someone looking for bombast and spectacle might be impressed by it but fans of Hynes may feel that little of his intentions for the “St. John’s Waltz” are present in this interpretation.
I believe Harnoy and Doyle’s rendering of the “St. John’s Waltz” by Ron Hynes suffers from not only too much of a good thing but too much of too many good things. However, I look forward to the rest of the release on September 18th, 2020.