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| Paul Larson at the Emmy ceremony in Boston with his award for Songs to Keep: Treasures of an Adirondack Folk Collector |
A television documentary celebrating history
through music in the Adirondacks can celebrate its Emmy Award win this week.
Songs to Keep: Treasures of an Adirondack Folk Collector won
a regional Emmy award for Outstanding Documentary at the Boston/New England
Emmy Awards gala. The Mountain Lake PBS production tells the story of
Adirondack historian Marjorie Lansing Porter, who recorded traditional folk songs
and stories from the last generation of people who remembered them, thus
preserving them for the future.
"Porter is a hero for having captured these songs in
the nick of time," said producer Paul Larson, who received his award at
the gala this past weekend. "Without Porter's original foresight and
hard work to preserve these treasures, we would have lost a lot of music and
stories that originated in the Adirondacks. She never cared much for
receiving awards for herself, but she would probably have been thrilled to know
the songs she collected have received such a high honor."
The program includes musical performances from contemporary
folk singers, who aim to revive Porter's songs. Performers included Dave
Ruch, Lee Knight and Dan Berggren, who had all previously worked with Porter's
collection in their own projects, and who helped Larson understand the
historical significance of the folk songs. Larson invited the Bacon Brothers,
Kevin and Michael, to record a song for the project, as they frequently visit
their family camp in the Adirondacks. Peter Yarrow and Noel Paul Stooky
of Peter, Paul and Mary fame gave their insight into traditional music of the
northeast. Larson was also able to speak with folk legend Pete Seeger, a
conversation that became his official final television interview when the
singer passed away in January of this year.
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| Paul Larson with his Emmy award for Songs to Keep: Treasures of an Adirondack Folk Collector |
"Mountain Lake PBS has aspired to tell the stories of
the Adirondack region for over 35 years," Dan Swinton, executive producer
of the documentary, said. "We are extremely honored to receive this award
as it reinforces our role as an important voice for our communities we
serve."
This documentary was just one part of a multiplatform
project aiming to increase awareness of and access to the Marjorie L. Porter
Collection of North Country Folklore. Traditional Arts of Upstate New York
(TAUNY) partnered with Mountain Lake PBS, SUNY Plattsburgh, and The Adirondack
History Center Museum on the initiative which included: an album of new
recordings from the Porter Collection interpreted by well-known regional and
national musicians; a traveling exhibit about Marjorie Lansing Porter and
her work, including new original research with descendants of Porter and the
singers she recorded; a manuscript of all the folksongs of Porter Collection;
publication of a 40 page songbook from the Porter Collection; a concert series
hitting six locations throughout the Adirondack Park; and this 1-hour televised
documentary.
The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
distributes Regional Emmy® Awards in 20 regions across the United
States.
