Joyce Cauthen
TUSCUMBIA-Belle Mont Mansion hosts Alabama Humanities Foundation Joyce Cauthen, director emeritus of the Alabama Folklife Association, who will present “Fiddlers, Banjo Players and Strawbeaters” on Sunday, February 23, at 2:30 p.m. This event is free and open to the public.
Cauthen will be examining the pivotal role played by African-Americans in developing the music at the roots of today’s bluegrass and country music. Cauthen draws her knowledge from historical writings, slave narratives, early newspaper articles, and interviews with older fiddlers she visited in the 1980’s, whose fathers and grandfathers learned tunes from African-American fiddlers.
In her presentation, Cauthen will discuss the early fiddles of Alabama, the musicians who
Joyce Cauthen with Jim Cauthen
played them and the popularity of this music in their communities. She will demonstrate use of the banjo, “straws” (a technique in which broom straws or knitting needles were beat on the strings as the fiddler played) and guitar in backing up the fiddle. Her talk will be made especially interesting by the presence of fiddler Jim Cauthen, who will demonstrate some of these fiddle tunes. The audience will hear musical styles and tunes that are seldom heard today—and will have the opportunity to ask questions and share their perceptions of the differences in this music and the modern country music that is based upon it.
A complimentary tour of the historic home will be offered to guests following the program.
Belle Mont is one of Alabama’s most distinguished Federal period homes and one of the few examples of a Palladian home in the South. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 23, 1982, due to its architectural significance. Belle Mont’s notable architecture was influenced by that of U.S. President and architect Thomas Jefferson in Virginia. The home was built in 1828 by Dr. Alexander Mitchell and was purchased in 1833 by Isaac Winston. Historically, the home was the centerpiece of a cotton plantation where more than 100 enslaved African-Americans lived and worked.
This Black History Month program helps illuminate the long-standing African-American history on site at Belle Mont by recognizing southern musical traditions, particularly in the Shoals area of Alabama which is world-renowned for its musical heritage.
Belle Mont Mansion is a historic property of the Alabama Historical Commission, operated by the Colbert County Historical Landmarks Foundation. Regular hours are Wednesday – Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., when admission is charged.
To learn more about Belle Mont, or the Alabama Historical Commission, please visit www.ahc.alabama.gov. For more information about this event, call 256-381-5052.
