Album Notes

Up and coming singer-songwriter, Sarah Elizabeth, is a songwriting major at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. Her first cut, which she co-wrote with Mike Richards, was recorded by the bluegrass gospel group The Chigger Boys and Terri, and was submitted for consideration in the Dove nomination process.

An accomplished mountain dulcimer player, Sarah has won top prize in the nationally recognized Uncle Dave Macon Days festival, performed on Tennessee Crossroads, and WPLN’s Live in Studio C. She is in demand at festivals throughout the southeastern United States, both as a teacher and performer.

Sarah’s work can be heard on three solo cd’s; her latest release is Beyond the Limits, an eclectic mix of originals, swing, country and pop. She has also performed on cd’s by the Oak Ridge Boys and The Chigger Hill Boys and Terri.

For more information, check out www.sarahelizabethmusic.com


The opening cut on this CD is an astounding solo mountain dulcimer arrangement of the classical guitar piece "Malaguena". This sets the tone for this project, and illustrates that there are simply no limits to what the dulcimer is capable of, which is what this album is all about. That idea is hammered home again with arrangements of the "big band" era tune "In the Mood" (with Janita Baker on bass dulcimer), as well as the Irving Berlin classic "Blue Skies".

Through her music, Sarah is able reach out and touch the hearts of others. Two of her more poignant and powerful songs are "There Are No Words", about the life of someone living with autism, and "Hide and Seek", designed to convey courage and hope to anyone who has experienced abuse as a child.

~ Tull Glazener

I think Sarah's new CD marks a real departure in the approach that we have seen in dulcimer CDs. The opening cut, Malaguena, is a standout for a number of reasons. This is a piece that requires a lot from the performer. It is a composition of breadth. It's the differrence between a short story and a novel. Both require skill to execute effectively but the novel is so much more demanding. This is the difference bewteen a piece like this and say a fiddle tune. Nothing against fiddle tunes. I love them and play them to exhaustion but Malaguena requires so much more from the performer to present effectively. The fact that this is the opening cut on the CD shows the kind of artistic courage that is rare in one so young.
The other standout cut to me is Hide and Seek. This shows a talent for powerful writing, again rare in one so young. It is sung with great conviction and the arrangement is one of simplicity which allows the power of the words to come through. This is in the best tradition of ballad singers where the words are the thing. That's where the focus is.
Sarah has grown up in a fine tradition based environment and has a wonderful understanding of these traditions. She has nothing to prove in this respect. What she is doing is using that foundation as her jumping off point to explore the wide world of music. I think we will be hearing many more wonderful things from her.

Ken Bloom