When Noel ‘Paul’ Stookey takes the stage with the Bangor Symphony Orchestra this Saturday night for the BSO’s annual pops concert, it will be just the first in a number of collaborations the folk music icon has embarked on with the orchestra.
But Stookey — formerly one third of Peter, Paul and Mary, and a decades-long resident of Blue Hill — still finds a welcome and enjoyable challenge in marrying stripped down, intimate acoustic folk music with the expansive sound of an orchestra.
“If you agree that the essence of folk music’s appeal is in it’s message, it’s lyrics and it’s accessibility, you can imagine what a challenge it would be to arrange parts for a 50 plus member orchestra without it overpowering both the message and the acoustic instruments,” said Stookey.
Having previously worked with Robert Decormier, a New York choral and orchestral arranger who worked with Peter, Paul and Mary, Stookey has learned how to strike that delicate balance.
“Somehow, Decormier understood that the best way to maintain the integrity of a folk song was to treat it much like a movie; by creating an orchestra score that suggested a ‘scene’ in which the song took place,” said Stookey. “For instance, ‘Leaving On a Jet Plane,’ the John Denver song that i’ll be singing with the BSO, features a melancholy trumpet solo that echoes the ache of leaving loved ones.”
Ever since Stookey and the BSO began their collaboration — in 2012, when Stookey was commissioned to write the song “The Cabin Fever Waltz,” to be performed with the BSO at the tenth Kingfield Pops — the creative relationship between Stookey and conductor Lucas Richman has blossomed.
“Lucas not only has a great imagination, but his classical training brings a kindly discipline to any of our collaborations,” said Stookey. “We’ve had ongoing conversations about presenting ‘Lonesome Train,’ a musical setting describing the journey of Abraham Lincoln’s funeral train from Washington DC to Springfield, Illinois. I’d be so nervous without his encouragement to step ‘outside’ of my acoustic comfort zone.”
Stookey, who released a new album, “At Home: The Maine Tour,” a live album documenting his performances around the state, is a familiar and friendly face to Maine audiences of many different stripes. Saturday’s concert will feature a program of popular and folk songs, ranging from newer works by Stookey to classics of the genre.
“It’s folk, it’s romantic, it’s pops, it’s a musical embrace,” he said. “From the simple guitar accompaniment of ‘Don’t Think Twice (It’s Alright)’ to the orchestral celebration of ‘The Wedding Song,’ I think the evening will prove once again that love rules. Which also happens to be the title of one of the songs.”
“The Pops: An Evening of Romance” is set for 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 13 at the Collins Center for the Arts. Tickets are $28 – $51, $10 off for youth/students, and are available at the CCA box office or by calling 581-1755. For more information, visit bangorsymphony.org.
