Sugarloaf Mountain: An Appalachian Gathering

by Apollo's Fire

Overview

The Cleveland, Ohio, Baroque ensemble Apollo's Fire have a freshness perhaps born of their isolation from the major currents of historical performance, and with their Come to the River album of early American music in 2010 they even achieved a measure of commercial success. Sugarloaf Mountain, they point out, is not a sequel to the earlier release but might be termed a prequel: the material predates the music on Come to the River, investigating American music's Scots and Irish roots. It is very easy for classical groups to become irredeemably cutesy when performing folk material, but that does not occur here. There are three reasons for this. First is that the Baroque instrumental ensemble is a closer cousin to Celtic music than most other classical groups are, and in fact a London audience of the 18th century might well have heard these tunes in something like the arrangements offered here by director and harpsichordist Jeannette Sorrell. Second, Sorrell, who came of age as a musician partly in the rural South, has a way with this music, and she gets the right straightforward tone out of her vocalists and musicians. Finally, Sorrell assembles her traditional materials into the right kind of loose sequence: neither an assortment of unconnected tunes nor an imposed narrative. Instead, she divides the program into categories: after a prologue, "The Mountains of Rhum," come sections entitled "Crossing to the New World," "Dark Mountain Home," "Cornshuck Party," "Love & Loss," "Glory on the Mountain" (a pair of sacred songs), and "Appalachian Home." The overall effect applies song to experiences Irish and Scottish immigrants to Appalachia might indeed have had, without forcing them into an artificial story. The effect is entirely compelling, by turns funny, tragic, and even grisly. About the only drawback is the un-idiomatic church sound. This release should match the classical Top Ten chart performance of its predecessor, and continue to gain international attention for this forward-thinking group. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	06/09/2015
Label:	AVIE
UPC:	0822252232929

Tracks

1. The Mountains of Rh¿¿m
2. Farewell to Ireland / Highlander's Farewell
3. We'll Rant and We'll Roar (Farewell to the Isles)
4. The Cruel Sister (Child Ballad #10)
5. Work(s)~Se Fath Mo Buart Ha (The Cause of All My Sorrow) / The Butterfly / Barney Brallaghan
6. Nottamun Town (Roud #1044)
7. Black Is the Color of My True Love's Hair (Roud #3103)
8. Work(s)~I Wonder As I Wander / The Gravel Walk / Over the Isles to America
9. The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night
10. Work(s)~Oh Susanna! / Pretty Peg / Far From Home
11. Work(s)~Once I Had a Sweetheart / Wayfaring Stranger
12. Work(s)~Pretty Betty Martin / Katy Did / Red Rockin' Chair
13. Work(s)~Just Before the Battle, Mother / Go Marching Along
14. Work(s)~Glory in the Meeting House / Say Old Man, Can You Play the Fiddle
15. Oh Mary, Don't You Weep
16. Sugarloaf Mountain

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Jeannette Sorrell   Primary Artist,Conductor,Harpsichord
Apollo's Fire   Primary Artist,Ensemble
Tina Bergmann   Vocals,Hammer Dulcimer
Susanna Perry-Gilmore   Fiddle
Kathie Stewart   Flute
Corey Shotwell   Tenor (Vocal)
Elena Mullins   Alto (Vocals)
Sian Ricketts   Soprano (Vocal)
Ross Hauck   Vocals
Amanda Powell   Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Brian Kay   Vocals,Dulcimer
Madeline Apple Healy   Soprano (Vocal)
Cleveland Baroque Orchestra   Orchestra
Jeffrey Strauss   Baritone (Vocal)

Technical Credits

Tina Bergmann   Arranger
Scottish Traditional   Composer
Traditional Spiritual   Composer
G. Root   Composer
Unspecified   Composer
Kathie Stewart   Arranger
Debra-Lynn Hook   Collage,Photography
Jeff Pittman   Cover Painting
Stephen Foster   Composer
Erica Brenner   Recording Editor,Recording Producer
Roger Mastroianni   Photography
Appalachian Traditional   Composer
John Jacob Niles   Composer
Irish Traditional   Composer
Jeannette Sorrell   Concept,Arranger,Lyricist,Adaptation,Liner Notes,Lyric Adaptations,Musical Adaptation,Recording Producer
Brian Kay   Arranger
Rene Schiffer   Arranger,Music Editor
English Traditional   Composer
Canadian Traditional   Composer
Thomas Knab   Engineer,Mastering