Catalogue

Summary:

“Beautiful and eloquent… infectious energy. Every song signifies a personal response… Sorrell’s magical, rapt harpsichord riff on ‘I wonder as I wander’ reveals how profoundly spontaneous this folk music is at its core.” – Gramophone

“Wonderfully fresh… exuding utter authenticity, contagious kinetic energy, and a totally free-wheeling spirit to the nth degree while shedding not a whit of their phenomenal technical polish, exemplifying the kind of art that conceals art. A must-have item; highest recommendation.” – Fanfare

“Entirely compelling, by turns funny, tragic, and even grisly. This release should continue to gain international attention for this forward-thinking group. Sorrell, who came of age as a musician partly in the rural South, has a way with this music.”
– AllMusic

“Spectacularly fine singing and instrumental playing… full of energy and life. Terrific sweep from the ensemble who really swing. A first rate recording.”
– The Classical Reviewer

“Authenticity and that most elusive of desirable qualities, exquisite taste… Every performer made marvelous contributions.”
– The Cleveland Plain Dealer

“Haunting melodies, foot-stomping jigs and reels, stories, and a healthy dose of comedy, all with musicianship of the highest order. A rich tapestry of the dark, the joyful, the sad, and the humorous, all of which the deep treasury of Appalachian music encompasses… beautifully placed and yielded a powerful effect… An absolutely joyous achievement.” – Cleveland Classical

This Top 5 Billboard Classical Crossover-charting album followed the Top 10 Billboard Traditional Classical Chart topping album Come to the River (AV 2205), which conjured early 19th-century rural Americana. Sugarloaf Mountain: An Appalachian Gathering is an award-winning program created by Apollo’s Fire’s director Jeannette Sorrell, and follows the joys and sorrows of Celtic immigrants who settled in Appalachia. Sparkling fiddle tunes and haunting ballads of the British Isles crossed the Atlantic during the 17th, 18th and early 19th centuries and took root in the hills of Virginia. They mingled with American shape-note hymns and African spirituals, creating the soulful music known as Appalachian. Passing through love and loss, dancing and prayer, the music overflows in celebration as the people of the mountains raise their communal voices.

Tracklist:

PROLOGUE
1. The Mountains of Rhùm • Ross Hauck & Amanda Powell, vocals (2:37)
arr. & adapted by J.Sorrell from the trad. Scottish, Cuillens of Rhùm

CROSSING TO THE NEW WORLD
2. Farewell to Ireland – Highlander’s Farewell • Susanna Perry Gilmore, fiddle (3:42)
trad. Irish & Appalachian reels, arr. J. Sorrell
3. We’ll Rant & We’ll Roar (Farewell to the Isles) • Ross Hauck & Amanda Powell, vocals (3:17)
trad. British & Canadian sea shanty, arr. J.Sorrell

DARK MOUNTAIN HOME
4. The Cruel Sister • Amanda Powell, vocals (6:54)
trad. English/Appalachian ballad, arr. J.Sorrell
5. Se fath mo buart ha (The Cause of All My Sorrow) – The Butterfly – Barney Brallaghan • Kathie Stewart, flute (4:18)
trad. Irish, arr. K. Stewart
6. Nottamun Town • Brian Kay, vocals & long-neck dulcimer (4:34)
medieval English & Appalachian ballad, arr. B. Kay
7. Black is the Color of My True Love’s Hair • Ross Hauck, vocals (4:35)
trad. Scots/Appalachian, arr. R. Schiffer & J.Sorrell
8. I Wonder as I Wander – The Gravel Walk – Over the Isles to America • Jeannette Sorrell, harpsichord (4:19)
John Jacob Niles/trad. Appalachian/trad. Scottish, arr. J.Sorrell

CORNSHUCK PARTY
9. The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night • Amanda Powell, vocals (3:06)
trad. British/Appalachian, arr. J.Sorrell
10. Oh Susanna! • Brian Kay & Ross Bauck, vocals / Susanna Perry Gilmore, fiddle (5:02)
minstrel song by Stephen Foster, arr. J.Sorrell
Pretty Peg – Far from Home • Susanna Perry Gilmore, fiddle / with René Schiffer, cello
trad. Irish Reels, variations by R.Schiffer

LOVE & LOSS
11. Once I had a Sweetheart • Amanda Powell, vocals (5:01)
trad. British & Appalachian ballad
Wayfaring Stranger • Ross Hauck & Amanda Powell, vocals
The Kentucky Harmony, 1816, arr. J. Sorrell
12. Pretty Betty Martin – Katy Did – Red Rockin Chair (5:04)
Tina Bergmann, hammered dulcimer & vocals / Amanda Powell, backup vocals
trad. Appalachian, arr. T. Bergmann
13. Just Before the Battle, Mother • Ross Hauck, vocals (4:35)
G. Root, 1864
Go March Along • Amanda Powell, vocals
Southern Spiritual

GLORY ON THE MOUNTAIN
14. Glory in the Meeting House (Glory in the Meeting House / Say Old Man, Can You Play the Fiddle) (3:38)
Kentucky Fiddle Tunes, arr. J.Sorrell, R. Schiffer, T. Bergmann
15. Oh Mary, Don’t You Weep • Amanda Powell, vocals (3:13)
trad. Southern spiritual, lyrics adapted by J. Sorrell

APPALACHIAN HOME
16. Sugarloaf Mountain (5:08)
Lyrics by J.Sorrell; Music arr. & adapted by J.Sorrell from the Cuillens of Rhùm, trad. Scottish

Total duration: 69:06

Recorded June 17-19, 2014; St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Cleveland Heights, Ohio
Recording Producers: Jeannette Sorrell and Erica Brenner
Recording and Mastering Engineer: Thomas Knab
Editor: Erica Brenner