Torn Light Records › “A Jewel of an Instrument”: The Folk Minimalism of Dorothy Carter’s “Trapezoids”

“A Jewel of an Instrument”: The Folk Minimalism of Dorothy Carter’s “Trapezoids”

About a year ago, I wrote here about the German composer Robert Rutman, most known for his steel cello, a handcrafted instrument that he deemed an “American Industrial folk instrument.” The steel cello had a eerie and cavernous quality, an all-consuming sound that intrigued the likes of Sun Ra and Einstürzende Neubauten. However, one of Rutman’s closest colleagues who was drawn in by his original sound was the American composer, Dorothy Carter. An unlikely alliance existed between them, as Carter was an expert of the hammered dulcimer, zither, and various members of the psalterium instrument family. These light, ethereal folk instruments may not to seem like they would blend with the austere howls of the steel cello, but they work in tandem perfectly on the newest reissue from Palto Flats and Putojefe Records, Dorothy Carter’s 1978 album, Waillee Waillee. Carter’s work, especially on Waillee Waillee, combines elements of folk, minimalism, psychedelia, and medievalism into a completely unique atmosphere that shows how interconnected all of these styles truly are.

Dorothy Carter lived a free-spirited life that carried her through Maine, Mexico, New York City, New Orleans, and Berlin, her endeavors spanning busking, opening art galleries, and participating in the musical avant-garde. Her journeys began in New York, where she was born in 1935. She spent her childhood in Boston with her grandparents, taking quickly to the piano and eventually attending Bard College along the Hudson River.

Dorothy Carter performing in Cambridge in the late 1970s, unknown credit

Carter described in the liner notes from Waillee Waillee how she became drawn to what she affectionately dubbed, the “trapezoids,” her fascination beginning with the harp. She wrote, “Back in New York City I was having my harp worked on at a shop near Lincoln Center, and the shop owner showed me an instrument he had made. It was a jewel of an instrument, such as I’d never seen before except in old paintings and illustrations, a psaltery. I felt something like a strange recognition, THIS was the instrument I wanted to play, even more than the harp.” She ultimately also fell in love with the dulcimer and hurdy gurdy, the latter a medieval string instrument that is bowed using a hand crank. These instruments she gravitated towards showed a merging of her interests in folk, medieval, and Renaissance music.

However, Carter’s personal flair with these instruments also reflected her penchant for spirituality and the avant-garde. In the Waillee Waillee liner notes, she talked about the idiosyncratic tunings she used on the dulcimer, ones that were derived more from her background in piano than American folk idioms. At times Waillee Waillee gives off a cosmic air, nearing the droning and free elements of spiritual jazz. Carter spent time at a monastery in Cuernavaca, Mexico for a period, experiencing religious visions. It was during her time in Mexico that she met Robert Rutman, who became one of her lifelong companions in the avant-garde.

Dorothy Carter & Robert Rutman in the 1990s, unknown credit

In the northeastern US, and most specifically New England, Carter and Rutman made many contributions to the avant-garde together, including founding the minimal and new age group, the Central Maine Power Music Company along with Constance Demby. Carter also helped establish the A Bird Can Fly But a Fly Can’t Bird avant-garde and art gallery in New York City with Rutman in 1966. Throughout her many travels in New England, she also maintained her ties to folk music, finding mentorship through figures such as Jean Ritchie, Pete Seeger, Bob Beers, and Jean & Lee Schilling. Carter was also a mentor figure herself, especially to Laraaji during his busking days in New York City. He cites Carter as a major influence on his zither technique, recalling how she heard him busking in the late seventies and introduced him to her luthier, Jenny Lynch. Carter and Laraaji remained colleagues in the years to come.

Dorothy Carter in the 1990s, unknown credit

Another significant portion of Carter’s life included her time living in Berlin in the nineties. Carter enjoyed busking herself, known to get up and go to Italy to busk for a while according to her friend Danielle De Picciotto. She also began work on compiling histories and sheet music of the dulcimer family, excerpts of which are included in the booklet with Waillee Waillee. During the late nineties, Carter would achieve some of her most notable success outside of the folk and avant-garde underground with the touring and recording ensemble, Mediæval Bæbes.

Wherever she performed, whether busking or in a club, those who witnessed her were irrevocably riveted by the experience. Fellow Rutman collaborator, Daniel Orlansky, stated that “When she played music, a look of rapture came over her face,” and fellow dulcimer player Richard Blackmon recalled, “As soon as she started playing, a magical atmosphere descended on everyone present. Conversations came to an abrupt halt and as she continued her performance, it became obvious that we were all in the presence of a master musician.” Everyone during her performances, including her, seemed to get sent into a trance.

Waillee Waillee is often considered Dorothy Carter’s masterpiece, and I think that is because it contains so many facets of who she was a musician and a person. “Summer Rhapsody” is wrapped inside of Rutman’s steel cello, “Along the River” feels like a transcendent spiritual drone, “Robin M’aime” takes its cues and inspiration from medieval traditions, “Autumn Song” moves at a breakneck pace through motifs that are equal parts minimalism and folk. And the final track “Tree of Life,” a personal favorite of Carter’s, is connected to the end of her life in 2003, as it was performed at her memorial service. Although one album could never capture the entirety of a lifetime as adventurous and creative as Dorothy Carter’s, it comes pretty close.

“A Jewel of an Instrument”: The Folk Minimalism of Dorothy Carter’s “Trapezoids”

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