PLAIN FOLK How can you judge someone's artistry? What extraneous factors--apart from the creation itself--draw you to the personhood of the artist, to authenticity, and the sibylline spell? Jane Sibbery appeared at last summer's Regina Folk Festival. I had heard her music on CKUA and knew she was a Canadian icon. But, truthfully, I knew little about her. Her performance on the Saturday evening stage was, frankly, disjointed. She was not your typical rompin', stompin', folk musician. But then, her accompanist, Peter, had been grounded in Toronto by the power failure that clipped Air Canada's wings for several days. Maybe that was the explanation. Following her Sunday afternoon workshop on "humour" in song, I requested an interview. Jane Sibbery is intimidating. She has that unmistakable aura of genius. A rookie should have known better. I only wanted a simple, plain, talk with her. She asked me to remove my hat. I did. Now, face on, over the Victoria Park picnic table, we openly judged each other's facial expressions and sincerity. She began our conversation with what she described as an old joke. " 'Make me one with everything,' said the Buddha...(long pause)...to the hot dog vendor." We laughed. She had been forcibly funny at the workshop. This was better. We discussed theology, ecology, and musicology. Jane sees God, the Father, as natural energy and an important part of her creative force. Jane's God is simply the complement of Earth Mother. She is not bothered by a dominating patriarchal principle; she has had good relationships with men. And Jane adores her mother who played no small role in her music education. Whatever creative principles are at work, they are earning overtime. Jane Sibbery has 15 recordings. Her songs are performed by k. d. lang, Sarah McLachlan, and Alanis Morissette who says she listens to Jane's music 60% of the time when she is at home. Jane's views on ecology are incomprehensible to me. So I ask about the music business. Now I hear things I can understand, even respect. Jane worked for a big label for a time and made nothing. In 1996 she founded SHEEBA Records and has produced her own music since. That is because big companies force artists to compromise the purity of their art to the pressures for a new recording each year. Consumers "can smell a rat," Jane says. That odor is rotting artistic integrity. She speaks with conviction. It is her experience talking. Shushan the Palace (Hymns of Earth) is her first recording since 1996. It has taken that long to finance and to get it right. This is a monumental recording that weaves together songs by Handel, Bach, Mendelssohn, and Sibbery herself. It is more than mood music. Check for yourself at www.SHEEBA.ca Sibbery's music has progressively evolved. I do not claim to understand all of it, but I admire her art ethic. Maybe it is the artist's life that is her most admirable work in progress. |
by
Les Pearson