Heartland: An Appalachian Anthology

Edgar Meyer (Composer), English Traditional (Composer), Mark O'Connor (Composer), American Traditional (Composer), Stephen [1] Foster (Composer), Edgar / Bush, Sam / Marshall, Mike Meyer (Composer), John Newton (Composer), John Jarvis (Performer), Edgar Meyer (Performer), James Taylor (Performer), Alison Krauss (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: John Jarvis, Edgar Meyer, James Taylor, Alison Krauss
• Composer: Edgar Meyer, English Traditional, Mark O'Connor, American Traditional, Stephen [1] Foster, et al.
• Audio CD (July 3, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00005KIZP
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #762 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #1 in Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Romantic (c.1820-1910) > Vocal & Song
  • #2 in Music > World Music > North America > Appalachian
  • #3 in Music > Classical > Sacred & Religious > General

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect!, July 13, 2001

By 

Heroine Librarian (Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Heartland: An Appalachian Anthology (Audio CD)

I must admit, when I first saw this CD, I was skeptical. Frankly, Yo-Yo Ma and Joshua Bell are not names that I readily associate with Appalachian music. Fortunately, their imaginations were not so limited as mine, and the result is this perfect collection of music that is at once new and familiar.

When a group of artists like the ones who made this album come together, the results have to be impressive, but this album is absolutely amazing. An anthology pulled from several earlier albums, this is a musical journey through Appalachia. It swings from the delicate vocals of Alison Krauss and James Taylor (on "Slumber, My Darling" and "Johnny Has Gone For A Soldier," respectively) to the jubliant exuberance of the charmingly named "Death by Triple Fiddle" (the "fiddles" in question being those of Bell, Sam Bush, and Mike Marshall.) Add Mark O'Connor's haunting fiddling on "Amazing Grace" and "Song of the Liberty Bell" and several wonerful trios by O'Connor, Ma, Edgar Meyer, and you have a CD that defies labels and belongs in every collection.

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Greatest hits from a great series, July 27, 2001

By 

William Adair - See all my reviews

This review is from: Heartland: An Appalachian Anthology (Audio CD)

"Heartland: An Appalachian Anthology" is something of a "Best of" package gathering melodies from "Uncommon Ritual" (Edgar Meyer, Bela Fleck, and Mike Marshall), "Midnight on the Water" (Mark O'Connor), "Appalachia Waltz" (Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, and Mark O'Connor), "Appalachian Journey" (Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, and Mark O'Connor again), "Short Trip Home" (Joshua Bell, Edgar Meyer, Sam Bush, and Mike Marshall), and the soundtrack to "Liberty" (Mark O'Connor). If you're familiar with these CDs, then you know that the musicianship and composition is uniformly excellent and truly innovative.

Most of the melodies included in "Heartland" are upbeat and catchy- the kinds of tunes that feel like they've been around for centuries (indeed a few, like "Johnny has Gone for a Soldier" and "College Hornpipe," have). Those who have the original CDs know that they're also quite eclectic- "Contrapunctus XIII from The Art of the Fugue" on a banjo? You won't find the most experimental tunes here. Neither will you find some of the more reflective pieces, which strike me as musical mood swings. As suggested by the title, the compositions in "Heartland" are aimed at the heart, and not the head. It's a dead-on bulls-eye.

I came to these works from a bluegrass-acoustic music perspective, but have found that even diehard classical aficionadoes (especially fans of chamber music) love them also. I'm always tickled by the thought of Sam Bush and Joshua Bell fiddlin' on the same stage- if that ain't fusion I don't know what is! If you like what you hear, then I strongly suggest that you pick up the originals, and then move on to similar works like "Skip, Hop, and Wobble" (Douglas, Barenberg, and Meyer) or "Telluride Sessions" (Bush, Douglas, Fleck, O'Connor, and Meyer).

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly enjoyable listening, November 6, 2001

By 

klavierspiel "klavierspiel" (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Heartland: An Appalachian Anthology (Audio CD)

This compilation draws from various Sony albums that feature popular and classical artists collaborating in presenting traditional American music, as opposed to the glitzy stuff mainstream country-western has become. It is thoroughly enjoyable. Joshua Bell and Yo-yo Ma ease right into the general tone of relaxed geniality alongside Mark O'Connor, Edgar Meyer and others, though Bell on the whole seems more comfortable with the traditional idiom. Only on a few of the more repetitive fast numbers is there a bit of a sense of too much musicianship being brought to bear on too slight material. But this is more than compensated for by some of the heartbreakingly beautiful slow tracks, among them Edgar Meyer's hypnotic "Sliding Down" and Mark O'Connor's moving take on the familiar "Amazing Grace," done unaccompanied. As if there weren't enough talent among the instrumentalists James Taylor and Alison Krauss contribute two vocals in their inimitable styles. All in all, "Heartland" is a music-lover's feast.