Two Reviews for CD “The Peaceful Weavers of Peterloo” - 2019
No 1 - for "The Living Tradition", written by David Kidman.
"CHARLOTTE PETERS ROCK
The Peaceful Weavers Of Peterloo
Private Label
"Charlotte Peters Rock is a seasoned performer, songwriter and poet who’s well-regarded in the north-west and a mainstay of Chester Folk Festival. She specialises in historical subjects, particularly those concerning industry, working people and protest, and the present 200-year anniversary of the Peterloo Massacre is a natural choice for her. The Peaceful Weavers Of Peterloo is a full-blown “dramatico-sung performance”; a veritable solo tour-de-force that’s meant to be listened to in one single span, it both demands and commands your continuous attention."
"Charlotte’s writing is refreshingly unpatronising and free of cliché, displaying a clear respect for her protagonists (and her audience), and her expressive voice proves an ideal vehicle for putting across the visceral physical and deeper emotional impact of the events she’s retelling. She imparts a passionate and naturally theatrical quality to her singing and speaking.."
"Her regional accent convinces, and the whole performance exhibits a strong sense of presence, the recording itself being close and truthful.."
"The songs themselves are folk-idiomatic rather than stagey, telling their stories with a compulsive economy, and Charlotte’s resolutely a cappella mode of delivery enables both greater intimacy and concentration."
"Charlotte has clearly done her homework and more, having closely researched her subject, and this production will be invaluable to our understanding of the events that occurred at St. Peter’s Field on 16th August 1819."
www.charlottepetersrock.blogspot.com
No 2 - for Stirrings Folk Magazine by Kath Reade
"CHARLOTTE PETERS ROCK THE PEACEFUL WEAVERS OF PETERLOO SELF PRODUCED.
Charlotte Peters Rock has written and produced a tour de force. A detailed retelling of the disgraceful Peterloo massacre in Manchester in 1819. She has brought to life the people, the suffering from poverty and government oppression that the starving hand-loom weavers were enduring.
Her empathy with these workers and their families, her painstaking research to bring their experience to life for all time, is worthy of great respect.
The songs are extremely melodic, and Charlotte’s unaccompanied voice is very expressive. She brings power and determination in equal measure with a painful and plaintiff timbre when required. Actually her way of singing and her resonance with working folk reminds me of the Ewan MacColl radio ballads of fishermen and miners. That comparison is high praise indeed.
This is an absorbing recounting of a defining moment in history, which unfolds irresistibly and kept my attention completely throughout the whole performance.
I congratulate Charlotte Peters Rock on this creative achievement which should have its place in the historical artistic record of the people and events leading up to, and including, that bloody and fateful day in Petersfield ....and how the weavers only crime was to be starving. Injustice persists. Charlotte protests, and I thank her for it.”
Songs from the CD known to have been played
1 I opened the Manchester Histories series of Peterloo Commemorative Events on 06 June with song,
“The Peaceful Weavers of Peterloo”
2 The full performance of “The Peaceful Weavers of Peterloo”, took place at 6 pm in The Performance Space, Manchester Central Library on 25 July 2019, as part of Manchester Histories Peterloo Commemorations.
3 Across BBC South West of England on Johnny Coppin’s Accoustic Show;
4 By Genevieve Tudor on BBC Radio Shropshire’s, Sunday Folk;
5 By Bernard Cromarty on Oldham Community Radio’s Sounds of Folk;
6 By Len Holton, on KUAR From Albion and Beyond, in Little Rock, Arkansas.
7 I sang a short set of the songs at HOME, First Street, Manchester on 16 August 2019. (CD still on sale there)
8 I sang the song, The Major Chart of Masters, during the Trades Council March for Democracy Rally in Albert Square, Manchester – 18 August 2019 – from the top of the FBU Fire Engine.
9 I sang the songs, The Peaceful Weavers of Peterloo and The Major Chart of Masters, at The World Transformed in Brighton – 23 September 2019.
10 I have sung the songs at Northwich Folk Club etc.
11 Full Performance repeated - Cato Street, London – 200th Anniversary - Cato Street Conspiracy - 23Feb2020.
CD - £10 - https://www.etsy.com/shop/LIBERTYnSONG - or charlottepetersrock@tiscali.co.uk - https://www.facebook.com/charlotte.petersrock
'Flying Free', CD - 15 songs and three poems - 2002
I should quickly note that her account of British domination of Northern Ireland (in the appropriately punned "Our Bloody Language") is hard-hitting and to the point: "We English had an empire, it's just Ulster now that's left, and the city's Londonderry in our language." A very fine song, this one.Rock is a rough and pleasant singer, and she's able to handle the several accents she puts on.This disc came over the transom, and we had no responsibility to cover it (Canadian folk magazine - covers mainly Canadian Folk - CPR) I wouldn't be surprised to find myself singing some of these songs sooner or later... "I built a castle in the air and watched it fade away.... but I think that readers who like unaccompanied ballad singing and storytelling would find it appealing. - George W Lyon - The Canadian Folk Music Bulletin
The CD has..good design..recording quality..does justice to Charlotte's singing voice. Charlotte is a wildly imaginative poet, not an operatic talent..(but)..I have paid good money to hear a lot worse in folk clubs and festivals...the range of her voice is well matched to her performance. Often witty and thought provoking, this is material many folk performers would envy, and the delivery would be beyond most.Technical tricks are used sparingly throughout. Recommended. - Flos Headford - Shreds & Patches - Autumn 1999.
This is a CD demonstrating the breadth of material written and performed by this unusual poet/singer. The range from Irish story telling in the Lugh; though Marlene Dietrich style Berlin cabaret in Rudolph's Folly and Jews in Berlin is remarkable. All the pieces are unaccompanied which seems to work because of the range of Charlotte's characterisations. Both songs and poems are included, Mogsy's Stories being a tribute to Richard Walker - whose death I mentioned earlier this year. Poppin at Uncle's is a Lancashire style narration/song about the pawn shop, whilst Our Bloody Language is a protest song. Walkin Backwards is a story about a seagull, presented in the style of Nora Batty. There is even a haunting Innuit Call Song. Overall his is an entertaining mixture of material - on this showing I'd definitely recommend seeing Charlotte live. - Dave Leverton - Editor - Avon Folk Diary - October 1999.
..some of you Midlanders may well have seen her perform. You'll have had a pretty nice evening if this CD is any sample because she has a very wide-ranging repertoire..I'm not the world's greatest poetry fan but her first (of three) offering here is almost a song, such is her delivery. I suppose you'd call her a performance artist because she makes no bones about changing her delivery to suit the piece. Thus we move from Ireland to Lancashire to Germany. her voice is (I hope I'm forgiven), almost overpowering at times, so raw an edge and deep tones does it often develop.. The material is eclectic (I don't like the word but needs must). And sometimes the switch of style and theme is almost overwhelming - in the pleasantest way of course. This is a clever lady who has no qualms about showing her feelings in both writing and performance; even on a studio session she manages an enviable degree of verve, seldom attained by many performers in a live set. She gives you no mercy as she makes point after point, sometimes with subtlety, sometimes almost threateningly. She deserves a lot from this CD but I suppose someone will ask 'where's the lurve songs?' and others 'where's the guitars?' and pass her by. They'll be wrong to do so for such are not needed here. - Doug Porter - Folk On Magazine - http://www.dougporter.freeserve.co.uk/
Cheshire based Charlotte Peters Rock is, according to the notes accompanying this intriguing CD, a performance poet and singer-songwriter who admits that folk song is a fairly new departure for her, although you'd never guess it from the confident performance she displays here..this is a very enjoyable and very varied album of unaccompanied songs and tales. - Jim Marshall - Editor - The Folk Diary - 180 - 5.11.99
Charlotte Peters Rock is a poet and songstress who was a regular performer on the town's (Bolton) acoustic circuit (brave lady) and has now gone on to bigger things, performing her work throughout the north west and beyond. There's some interesting material on here. If you see her live then you'll definitely want a copy of this album. - Alec Martin - Bolton Evening News - also of Buskers Ball - http://www.busker.freak.com/
COMMENT ON - 2001
TIME TRAVEL - Along The Silk Route, cassette and booklet (pub. Manatee Press 1999 - ISBN 1 901998 19 2) - "..poem-stories set along the Silk Route from China west to Afghanistan - over a period of thousands of years. ..to read and hear..remarkable poems. I am always happy when the dry facts of archaeology are treated with respect and accuracy, whether in drama novels or poetry. ..(they) have given a voice to the voiceless and ..'let in the light'. - Dr Paul G Bahn, (Cambridge, 1979) - noted Pre-historian, author - and editor of various broad-ranging books on archaeology
..extraordinary experimental work. I was fascinated by..different types of rhythms and rhymes - most thought provoking and I was taken to many different worlds. Both Living in the World and TIME TRAVEL were quite magical in completely different ways..allowing me to be an explorer in your world. - Benedict Allen - Explorer and video-maker to the BBC - author of 'The Edge of Blue Heaven', and numerous other books based on his explorations in Mongolia, Namibia, Papua New Guinea The Amazon etc.
..we enjoyed reading and listening to..Interesting stuff - and very effective reading..Geoff Lowe - Founder Editor, Psychopoetica, Dept of Psychology, University of Hull
Along the Silk Route is a fascinating journey. This sequence brings to life a kaleidoscope of pictures, with its stories set along the trails from China to Western Europe. The poems are finely wrought and rich with imagery, and the introductory notes add helpful background. This is a collection for savouring, with resonances which will remain in the mind long after the work has been put aside. - Alison Chisholm -BBC, Poetry Consultant
I have seen Charlotte working both as a singer and performance poet on many occasions. She has a unique talent and an ability to communicate with a variety of audiences. Her Berlin Cabaret style songs are especially memorable and her Ice Maiden (NOTE : see Frozen Princess in Along the Silk Route) poems are as intriguing as they are appealing. What is more Charlotte is, as they say, a trooper, totally dedicated to the art. Michael Raven - British Composer, Musician, Author, Poet
