Album Notes

Peter and Mary Alice Amidon are versatile and widely respected performing and teaching artists who for the past twenty years have dedicated themselves to traditional song, dance and storytelling. The Amidons are equally at home doing a concert of stories and songs for adults or children, calling a contra dance for adults or a community dance for all ages, leading harmony singing workshops with adults, or doing an elementary school residency of singing, storytelling or traditional dance.

Hymns & Ballads is an album of the Amidons\' favorites (shape note hymns, gospel from both black and white singing traditions, American and English ballads, and poems set to music by Mary Alice) in a variety of settings:

Peter and Mary Alice\'s distinctively strong duo harmonies; the Amidon quartet that now includes Sam\'s tenor that is a cross between Dock Boggs and Mike Waterson and Stefan\'s profoundly deep bass; the Amidon/Armstrong Septet where the Amidon four are joined by the extraordinary singing family of Jennifer Armstrong and her two daughters Suzannah and Georgia Rose; and one Sydney Carter gem where Peter and Mary Alice are joined by Margaret Dale and Tony Barrand.