Fari ña

[David Casseres]

[Bob Norton, rnorton at flash.net, sez]

>>I bought a Sandy Denny retrospective last night and noticed one of the 
>>songs she sings, "The Quiet Joy of Brotherhood" was written by Dick 
>>Farina. Was he a songwriter too?  Or should I ask is this the same Farina 
>>so discussed on these pages?
>>
>>Richard Romeo
>>
>
>Absolutely the same. Richard Fariña was, along with Jean Ritchie, the prime
>mover behind the renaissance of the mountain dulcimer in the mid sixties. He
>was the first to have success using it for tunes outside of its traditional
>Appalachian genre. His status among today's dulcimer players is somewhere
>between founding father and demigod. Most of them have no knowledge of his
>novel. I am presently re-reading it for the first time in 28 years. It
>hasn't held up as well as his songs have.

And the songs he recorded, with his wife Mimi Fariña, are wonderful.  Anyone who likes Pynchon should give them a listen.  Look for a CD that includes "Children of Darkness."  


Cheers,
David