Caddo Lake Waltz: A Song History
"Caddo Lake Waltz" heads the list of sixteen pieces in DulciFlute, a book of duets for mountain dulcimer and Native American flute by John Keane and Karen Keane, published by Fingers Of Steel.[1] The book gives the flute part in written-out notation and the dulcimer part as chords, and it comes with recordings of every tune played by the two authors.[1] According to its listing, every tune in the book is an original composition, though the listing does not say which of the Keanes wrote this one.[1] The Keanes are from Shreveport, Louisiana, hold degrees in music education, and have published several books and CDs of their own music for these two instruments.[2][3]
Israel Cook Russell, Great Dismal Swamp, Virginia, albumen print, c. 1872–90. A Virginia swamp, not Caddo Lake, shown for its subject; it has no connection to the tune.
Caddo Lake straddles the Texas–Louisiana line: its dam stands in Caddo Parish, Louisiana, and its waters reach into Harrison and Marion counties, Texas.[4] In Caddo legend, the lake was made by an earthquake that followed a Caddo chief's disobedience to the Great Spirit; the Handbook of Texas sets beside this a plainer explanation, that the lake took shape behind a log jam in the Red River.[4] Before it was dammed it ranked among the South's largest natural lakes; the first dam was completed near Mooringsport, Louisiana, in 1914, and a replacement, begun in 1968, was completed in 1971.[4] Half-submerged bald cypresses dot the lake, which is relatively shallow.[5]
Sources
- Fingers Of Steel: "John Keane And Karen Keane, DulciFlute".
- DulcimerDownloads: "John Keane".
- DulcimerDownloads: "Karen Keane".
- Texas State Historical Association, Handbook of Texas: "Caddo Lake".
- Texas Parks & Wildlife: "Caddo Lake".
- Image: Israel Cook Russell, Great Dismal Swamp, Virginia, albumen print, c. 1872–90. The Cleveland Museum of Art.