An afternoon with Anita Best and Pamela Morgan

On Sunday afternoon, we joined a full house at the refurbished Majestic Theatre in downtown St. John’s for a beautiful performance.

Anita Best and Pamela Morgan have been singing together for decades, and they do not perform all that often in public. When the matinee performance was announced last month for the Majestic’s cosy (i.e., small) bar and café, I snapped up tickets. I evidently was not alone, as the show was moved upstairs to the main theatre — and that was filled to the brim.

The show was lovely. Two sets of songs, largely about love, appropriately linked to the Valentine’s weekend. It was simply presented: their two voices, and just Pamela accompanying on acoustic guitar. As Martha said at the end, “I would listen to them singing the Income Tax Act.”

Some of the songs were familiar and others were new. They have collaborated on a new digital-only EP, Anita’s Songs, a five-song recording that is available on Pamela Morgan’s site and on Bandcamp. A physical recording would be lovely, but I was happy to buy a download. (You can also find back catalogue gems, including Pamela’s work with Figgy Duff.)

One of my favourites from Sunday’s performance: hearing again their version of Lowlands Low, which appeared on their epic 1993 album The Colour of Amber. Always a heartbreak. The song, often called Lowlands, has been sung for generations as a ballad, sometimes as a seat shanty. Their version — a haunting ghost story of grief and loss — is peerless.

Pamela Morgan, who I believe joined Figgy Duff before she was out of her teens, has been enchanting us for half a century. In Anita Best, she found the perfect complement. Their combined voices are magic. I’m grateful to have heard them again this weekend.