This is the first CD in Matthew Sabatella's acclaimed "Ballad of America" series, which tells the story of the United States through traditional folk songs. The early settlers in the New World played and sang a variety of songs from their native homelands as they worked, prayed, and enjoyed leisure activities. By the time of the American Revolution, they were adapting these songs and creating new ones that reflected their ever-changing circumstances and environment.
The journey on this CD begins in the latter part of the eighteenth century when the United States of America became an independent nation. It follows the paths of the pioneers, sailors, lumberjacks, immigrants, '49ers, farmers, slaves, soldiers, cowboys, and railroaders who moved the country across the continent and into the twentieth century.
The all-acoustic "Over a Wide and Fruitful Land (Ballad of America Volume 1)" features Sabatella on guitar with a host of musical guests who make contributions on banjo, fiddle, concertina, resonator guitar, bodhran, harmonica, mandolin, and upright bass. But the focal point of the album is the nineteenth century songs, many virtually forgotten, which Sabatella's mesmerizing baritone voice infuses with an immediacy and intimacy that belies their age.
"Over a Wide and Fruitful Land (Ballad of America Volume 1)" is Sabatella's third independent CD release. The first two, "Where the Hell Am I?" and "A Walk in the Park", are available here at CDBaby.com and feature his compositions exclusively. A Walk in the Park received Album of the Year honors at the 2001 Florida Music Awards, and Sabatella was nominated in the category of Best Songwriter. His musical credits also include instrumental and vocal contributions to CDs by such artists as Mary Karlzen, Amanda Green, Diane Ward, Jolynn Daniel, Brian Franklin, Muse, and Sixo, to name a few.
Sabatella was becoming known for his knowledge and insightful interpretations of traditional folk songs when, in 2003, Miami Art Museum commissioned him to record music that would accompany an exhibit called American Tableaux: Many Voices, Many Stories. The exhibition featured more than 80 paintings, sculptures, installations, prints, and photographs from the collection of the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. Though never formally released, Miami New Times magazine included those recordings in a listing of the best music of 2003. In September 2004 Winnipeg Art Gallery in Manitoba, Canada purchased advance copies of the new CD, "Over a Wide and Fruitful Land (Ballad of America Volume 1)", to accompany their presentation of the same exhibit.
NOTE TO DOWNLOADERS: If you choose to download this album, please be sure to read the liner notes to get the background on each song: http://www.balladofamerica.com/music/indexes/albums/volume1.htm
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