People were drawn to the Sirens by their haunting harmonies
August 1, 1998
Havelock - About 150 people were lured by the song of the Sirens to the Havelock United Church Saturday, July 11.
But unlike the crewmates of the legendary Odysseus, who had to stop their ears as they passed by the isle where the mythic songstresses wove haunting melodies to enchant and ensnare hapless and doomed mariners, the people who filled the church opened their ears to a trio of present-day Sirens whose music is as haunting and enchanting as their legendary counterparts.
The Sirens — Nora Galloway, Donna Creighton and Jo-Ann Lawton — took the stage following a powerful performance by the local string orchestra Carpe Diem. And like Carpe Diem they made maximum use of the church's acoustics, letting their unamplified voices and instruments weave songs that ranged in mood from the humourous to the haunting.
The Sirens established the tone of their concert and revealed their musical strength with their opening song, "The Lure of Lorelei." The voices of the three Sirens are rich and powerful; blending, merging and harmonizing, they weave a web of sound that carries an audience into another realm. Indeed, it is the folk element, the strong Celtic undercurrent that most distinguishes the Sirens' music, that gives it the mythic and enchanting quality. And the Sirens are storytellers, balladeers and poets, with songs like "Sailor's Wife," "Alice" and "Don't Know How." And many of their songs are intensely personal, like Nora Galloway's moving tribute to her mother, stricken with Alzheimer's disease, and Donna Creighton's song of love to her son Craig.
Using guitars, dulcimer, recorder and tin whistle to accompany their vocal harmonies the Sirens brought to life the songs from their self-titled debut CD, and added numerous recently composed songs. The trio took their music from Havelock to London, Ontario, where they embarked on the folk festival route that took them also to the Owen Sound Summer Festival.