Valcour Records closes out its four-part series of reinterpreting jewels from the Lomax Archive with no shortage of surprises. Givers’ Tiffany Lamson probably has the most contemporary arrangement of the series, with the southern Appalachian–rooted “The Orphan Girl.” Instead of relying on proverbial stringed instruments as one might expect for a ballad of this nature, her breathy, syncopated vocals are built on an austere foundation of hand clapping, electronically-generated tabla beats, chimes and drones.

Courtbouillon’s “La Fille de la Veuve” is another head-turner, a straight-up Cajun dance hall track following the melody of “Jolie Blonde.” Lyrically, it’s not the same, and is possibly an antecedent of the Cajun national anthem, suggesting that the melody is older than both songs.

“Liza Jane” is an interesting selection of the Lomax Archive since it was widely circulated in early jazz and blues circles, recorded by the Mississippi Sheiks for one. (Today it’s heard in bluegrass and New Orleans’ brass band music.) The Lomax version, performed by black string band Stavin’ Chain, rocks with innate, raw power, while this rendition—featuring Cedric Watson and brothers Wilson and Joel Savoy—is more rollicking and loose, with a few improvised lyrics.

The remaining three songs, sung by Kristi Guillory and Megan Brown, bring out the aesthetics of these ballads, especially with Joel’s rolling fingerpicking on “La Fille de Quinze Ans.”

If you’re patient enough to endure several minutes of silence on the hidden track, the Lomax field recording of “The Orphan Girl” eventually surfaces. It’s insightful to hear the source version juxtaposed with Lamson’s modern take to bring the evolution full circle and close out a splendid series.