Common Wealth Album Liner Notes

Common Wealth (2001)

Album Liner Notes

1. Spartina⁺ Come glide your canoe among the estuarine reeds spartina alterniflora in Taskinas Creek at York River State Park

2. Shenandoah (Trad. Am.)** “Daughter of the Stars”: a river, a mountain ridge --- symbols of Virginia’s great richness and beauty.

3. Hiking in the Highland Firs⁺⁺⁺ Remote, rugged, exhilarating, Grayson Highlands State Park has some the highest ridges in Virginia, graced by rhododendrons and Fraser firs.

4. Preservation** The American parks’ theme: preserving places of great value for our children’s children.

5. Soldier’s Joy (Trad. Am.)⁺ A favorite dance tune since Virginia’s colonial days.

6. Quiet in the Meadow⁺⁺ Relax with us beneath great oaks in the expansive sunset!

7. Shepherd’s Wife’s Waltz/Midnight on the Water (Trad. Am.)⁺⁺ Classic country waltzes of the heart.

8. Jefferson/Lovely Joan (Am. Folk Hymn/Trad. Eng.)⁺ A vintage American folk hymn with the words “Glorious things of thee are spoken, Zion, city of our God” alternates with an intriguing English ballad.

9. Hazel River** High on the Blue Ridge near Skyline Drive springs the Hazel River, scene of a 1977 hike fond in our memory, with its cave, falls, and great hemlocks.

10. Amazing Grace (Am. Folk Hymn)* This folk hymn was first published with this melody in 1831 in the Winchester book Virginia Harmony; here its style suggests an African American church service.

11. The Great Road⁺ The Colonial National Historical Park has a magnificent Colonial Parkway, gracefully spanning our peninsula between Jamestown, site of America’s first English-speaking settlement, and Yorktown, site of the surrender which ensured America’s independence from England.

12. Here on This Ridge** Mountain people of the Blue Ridge a century ago waged a rugged and independent life.

13. Falcons Among Crags** The restored home of peregrine falcons on Stony Man Mountain displays a joyous freedom: raptors exulting in the high winds.

14. Timberline Wander* High on the mountain balds in fog and sharp sun alike, one finds endless treasures!

15. Canon for Three Centuries (Pachelbel/Seaman/Murphy)⁺ Williamsburg’s 300 years are celebrated with new tunes that couple with the famous 300-year-old Baroque canon.

16. James & York Bluffs⁺ Picture a Native American overlooking a Virginia tidal river, discovering a first view of an English sailing ship bearing settlers. Dedicated to York River State Park.

17. Big Meadows Twilight⁺⁺ High on the Blue Ridge is an ancient meadow where park preservation allows the perfect quiet of dawn and dusk.

18. Taps (Butterfield)⁺⁺ A Civil War general composed the supreme expression of evening’s peace in the open fields.

ALBUMS REPRESENTED: Wayfaring Stranger *, Here On This Ridge **, Celebration of Centuries ⁺, Quiet in the Meadow ⁺⁺, Trees of Virginia ⁺⁺⁺

All compositions by Timothy Seaman except where otherwise noted.

Hammered dulcimer, guitar, keyboard, psaltery, flute & whistle