Gold! Who could resist the lure of it, the promise and adventure. It brought the world to tiny communities and foothill streams of the Sierra Nevada. It changed forever the role that California would play on the world stage. Fortunes would be won and lost, mostly not by miners.
We have been performing music of the California Gold Rush together since 1991, some of it committed to film and recordings, most of it at historic events around the gold country of northern California. In 2006 we had the unique opportunity to work on a soundtrack for a documentary about the 1850 Sacramento cholera epidemic. It was produced by the California Medical Association in celebration of their sesquicentennial. The music we provided for the soundtrack expanded into this recording. It allowed us to combine the themes of voyage to the gold country and excitement about the prospects of a bright future with the disillusionment, sickness and despair that most inevitably encountered. We also tried to give a taste of the melting pot of cultures, drawn to the promise of California. Some things never change!
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