Appalachian music reviews

It must be hard for Stella Parton. As younger sister to country music'genius, not to mention its most brazen self-promoter, Dolly Parton, she has some rather large...er...umm...shoes to fill. It doesn't hurt that she, like her sister, is also terrifically talented. This latest release finds her comfortable and relaxed. This is an excellent selection of songs and, while not as bluegrassy as Dolly's previous two albums, it is obviously just as autobiographical and personnal and deserves to be judged for its own exceptional musical standards.

Stella's major label career was all too brief, yielding just three albums, but she has continued to record on various independent labels ever since. Nevertheless, this album appeared to mark something of a comeback as it got a higher profile than some of the others, most of which I didn't know about until I saw them pictured in Anthology, the Renaissance compilation.

This album certainly has much to offer fans of traditional country music. Stella wrote or co-wrote most of the songs. In her major label days, Stella relied almost entirely on other songwriters so I was surprised to discover her emergence as a songwriter. I was pleased too, once I realized how good the songs are. As the title suggests, the songs reflect Stella's Appalachian heritage, painting pictures of life in the mountains. In that way, this album may be compared to some of Dolly's music of the early seventies but the music, though firmly rooted in traditional country with folk influences, has a bluesy edge to it on some of the songs, notably Child of my body. On the other hand, Lovers dream is typical of the songs that Dolly recorded all those years ago.

Among the songs that Stella didn't write include The missing part (a great love song), Satisfied mind and Wayfaring stranger, two oldies that Stella sings superbly.

If you enjoy traditional country music, especially if you like Dolly's music, give Stella a chance.

This is a very fine collection of recordings of Copland. The performances of Boston with Copland conducting his own music is a sure-fire guarantee you'll hear the music as he intended.

The only reason I give this CD 4 stars instead of five is the less than perfect performance of "Fanfare for the Common Man" done by Philly under Ormandy and the "jumpstart" into Hoedown from Rodeo. The intonation of the brass in the Philly performance is seriously off, and there seems to be no lead-in to "Hoedown". Minor problems on an otherwise excellent CD.

Out of all of the CDs which contain the 'best' Copland works, this one is the best for your money. You get nice quality, nice selections, and a confusing CD case (which is confusing to open). The Tender Land excerpts introduced me to one of the best operas ever. Copland, who conducts this and Appalachian Spring, did a marvelous job capturing his own spirit of the rural American life. Don't stop at this CD though! There's so much more great Copland! Tender Land is wonderful! Also his Symphony no. 3, which incorporates Fanfare for the Common Man into it, Red Pony, Down a Country Lane, and the Old American Songs (which contains a couple of familar tunes you'll hear from this CD). This is a good one! Not perfect (stuiped CD case) but good.

David Schanufer does things with the lap dulcimer that will make you wonder why you haven't heard the instrument used in more settings. The tracks on this disc range from the ultra-traditional (like "Bonaparte's Retreat," played on the mountain music box with a simple drone and the sound of cicadas in the background) to classical (Bach's "Minuet in G"), to jazz (Charles Mingus' "Self-Portrait in Three Colors") to . . . well, there's a lot here.

Particularly interesting is the recording of "Blackberry Winter," to my knowledge the first piece written for dulcimer and orchestra. The piece is not a great work, but it makes good use of folk materials and is an interesting showcase for Schnaufer. Another surprise is the voice of Cyndi Lauper on the Schnaufer original "Twilight Eyes." Shnaufer's influence has led to Lauper becoming the world's most famous novice dulcimist.

My favorite tracks are the more traditional ones, like "Cold Frosty Morning," and "Train on the Mountain/Barlow Knife/Sandy River Belle." These settings are perfect for Schnaufer's mix of technical mastery and hard-core musicianship. Having said that, I often hit the "Repeat Track" button after listening to David's rendition of "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You)."

I may be biased since I spent a weekend at a folk string-a-long with David Schnaufer as one of my instructors but I grabed this CD that weekend and as time went on got a few others of his. He shows us how very versital the dulcimer is and that it is not restricted to just mountain folk music. He plays along with an orchestra, swing, blues, some jassy tunes, etc. It was a pleasure hearing him in person and I can relive his performance and teaching through his CD. I do recomend this recording to anyone who loves music!

While you can certainly buy music with better production (these songs were produced "on the spot" in sometimes less than ideal conditions),better musicianship and more competent vocals, you would be hard pressed to find a contemporary collection that is more heartfelt and stirring as the one offered here. This music embodies our past ~ the roots from which grew blues and bluegrass. The "artists" represented on this CD are just plain folks that learned their instruments and songs from family and friends,passed down from the preceding generations. When taken within the context of the collection each selection is a gem on its own. Among these gems, many have a rare and haunting beauty. You should buy this CD if you have even a passing interest in American roots music

Alan Lomax recorded these folk songs during the late 1950's in people's houses and in prisons. Incredible to have recordings of prisoners singing to the beat of their axe strokes as they work. Housework seems less mundane when doing it with this music on. Wide range of music represented here, but many of the songs in this volume are concerned with crime, especially murder, and prison life. Two (actually three) great versions of Po' Lazarus, and an interesting John Henry. I would have given it 5 stars except there's 1 track I hate and two others I don't care for. That leaves 14 great tracks.

I bought this 3-cd set on a whim after seeing Bernice Johnson Reagon and Sweet Honey in the Rock in concert, and I was very impressed and happy when I got home and heard all the amazing music put together. With a balanced mixture of classical, American folk, gospel, blues, and African melodies, the music in this set evokes many moods, including spiritual, emotional, and joy. The pieces including Bernice R. Johnson's and her daughter Toshi's voices were the most impressive and moving. The slower pace of the first two CDs, which included more instrumental classical pieces, was the only thing keeping this set from being perfect. But this set is definitely worth the investment; I found many types of music I have never found elsewhere (or in such a collection) with such depth and quality.

This is the most beautifully performed version of Appalachian Spring this listener has ever heard. The CD won a Grammy and deservedly so. The Short Symphony is similarly a unique performance and lives long in the memory. The Ives is a good contrast as well. However, it is Copeland's "Appalachian Spring" that is the star of this CD. It tells a moving story and the characters and their actions are beautifully represented. Yes, the composition is well known to be brilliant, but this performance provides the piece the airing it deserves and when composition and performance are both amazing, the experience is exhilirating.

This is an example of a nice combination of music. The choice of some of the war-horses of American music makes for a rather dynamic musical moment. Actually the choice is dynamic enough that it could probably be played in your car stereo and come through quite alright. A thought if you ever want to fight back in traffic, with class. The interpretations are good, in particular an inspired Appalachian Spring. Unfortunately, and this is why I give it only 4 stars, the Rhapsody in Blue is not as inspired. Certainly it is good, but perhaps because we have heard it so much, I did not find it bringing something new to the listener. However, this is a nice record to have, if anything for the Copland works, and for a good Jill Gomez, showing us that Barber's "Knoxville: Summer of 1915" is becoming deservedly more popular.

Clawhammer style banjo has much more character than Blue Grass banjo. Walt seems to be a master at this kind of banjo playing although his singing is a bit scratchy it seems to fit this style of music. Every song on this CD is lots of fun and makes me want to tap my feet, clap my hands, drum on the desk and get up out of my seat and hop and dance around. My favorite song is Berkely Days. This is happy feel good music with lots of melody. It's Americana.

This CD is largely a compilation of great orchestral melodies which have been very skillfully transcribed for brass ensemble. Full string orchestra favorites such as Polovetsian Dances (Strangers in Paradise), Marche Militaire Francaise, the Swan, and Alla Marcia from Karelia Suite have been artfully orchestrated for brass. Stately brass-intensive epics such as Elsa's procession and the procession of nobles are also included. It is a great, broad selection of (15) time honored pieces that many high school musicians have played, so there is positive nostalgia here too. You don't have to be a certified classic critic to enjoy it.

The individual instrumental parts can be distinguished (often the melody is played in a round, alternating between instruments) yet this is a traditional well-blended brass ensemble here and provides as a group, a controlled & balanced wall/volume of sound (as would be expected at the pro level). The mostly romantic selections are delicately orchestrated and played tenderly for an eight piece brass plus two percussionist ensemble. Brass consists of 3 trumpets (various types), three trombones (one acting as bass and/or baritone), one horn and one Tuba. The percussion is hardly noticable (and there are no gimmicks here like the addition of the electric guitars, synthesizers and the like which distract and cheapen the brass sound).

Although you'll spot a few very minor articulation and intonation (upper brass) misses, this is a fully pro artist ensemble (Birmingham Symph.), although it falls short of a Summit Brass or a Chicago Brass Ensemble. Quality is very good.

I would put this CD in the sleeper category because I suspect that many folks may go after the major orch. brass ensemble titles or other well knowns such as Empire, etc. AND the price is [great]. I (myself) selected it because something else was not available. Great value. A full pro, pure brass group here, with a great selection of pieces.

I first heard Jean Ritchie about 20 years ago at the Kentucky Music Weekend in Louisville Kentucky. No collection of her music is complete without this title. If you've never heard her before then there's no one to compare her to. She is the sound of the Appalachians, the queen of the mountains. Her music takes you to her home, sitting on the porch, 15 brothers and sisters, each one playing, singing, humming, dancing, or just tapping. You'll love this...