The CD presents the singing of women elders who grew up immersed in family and community ballad and song traditions in the mountains of western North Carolina (Southern Appalachia). These women are part of a last generation of singers who learned songs from family members whose music preceded the radio and record industry. Rosa Hicks (b. 1931) and Pearl Hicks (1929-2007) were both raised on Beech Mountain, NC. Hazel Rhymer (b. 1923) has roots in Madison County, NC. Zora Walker (b.1922) was born in Graham County and lives outside of Bryson City, NC. The CD includes a 24-booklet with extensive biographical notes, song annotations, and photographs. Dr. Fred Hay Ph. D., Professor of Appalachian Studies and Librarian of the W.L. Eury Appalachian Collection at Appalachian State University remarks, "In her role as participant-observer, Susan Pepper has become part of the families, communities, and song culture of these four remarkable women. With this recording and it's accompanying notes, as well as in her Master's thesis, Susan has done an outstanding job documenting this song tradition and these individuals who sustain and preserve it." Some of the songs on On the Threshold of a Dream such as "Boy Sells Cow" and "The Old Man from the North Country" are over two hundred years old and have roots in England, Ireland, and Scotland. Old hymns like "The Bright Morning Star is Arisin'" and "There'll Be No Sorrow There" are included, as well as beautiful renditions of American murder ballads such as "Pretty Polly" and "Tom Dooley." One especially unique ballad is "The Madison County Crew" sung by Hazel Rhymer. It recounts a murder that took place in Mars Hill, North Carolina at the turn of the nineteenth century. This is the first time this song has been released on a sound recording. Hazel learned it from her maternal grandmother, Nancy Cody, of Wolf Laurel, Madison County, NC. In addition to singing songs she learned from her parents, Zora Walker of Bryson City, NC writes and sings original hymns, love songs, and songs of reminiscence about a way of life that has all but vanished in the mountains today. Four of her original songs are included on this CD: "Will the Gates Swing Open," "What A Day," "Take Me Back Home," and "I'd Rather Be On Hazel Creek." "I'd Rather Be On Hazel Creek" is Zora's response to the government's broken promise to complete an access road to family cemeteries after the construction of the Fontana Dam in 1943-a controversy that continues today.

Tracklist:

The Old Man from the North Country - Hazel Rhymer
The Little Piggy - Pearl Hicks
My Horses Ain't Hungry - Hazel Rhymer
The Burglar Man - Hazel Rhymer
I'll Give to You a Paper of Pins - Zora Walker
Down in the Willow Garden - Pearl Hicks
Tom Dooley - Pearl Hicks
Homemade Toys - Pearl Hicks
The Little Ford - Zora Walker 1
Boy Sells Cow - Zora Walker 1
Barbry Allen - Rosa Hicks 1
Black Jack Davy - Hazel Rhymer 1
Black Jack Davies - Rosa Hicks 1
The Bright Morning Star Is Arisin' - Rosa Hicks 1
If That Isn't Love - Pearl Hicks 1
Will the Gates Swing Open - Zora Walker 1
The Madison County Crew - Hazel Rhymer 1
Pretty Polly - Pearl Hicks 1
I Love Little Willie - Zora Walker 2
I Want My Big Toe - Zora Walker 2
I'd Rather Be on Hazel Creek - Zora Walker 2
Awake, Awake - Hazel Rhymer 2
Little Mauhee - Hazel Rhymer 2
Mr. Duck and Mr. Turkey - Zora Walker 2
Golden Locks - Zora Walker 2
The Farmer and His Wife - Hazel Rhymer 2
Take Me Back Home - Zora Walker 2
What a Day - Zora Walker 2
O Sing to Me of Heaven - Pearl Hicks 3
New River Train - Rosa Hicks

UPC: 700261304700
Label: Cd Baby
Release Date: 10.5.10
Format: CD

Hazel Rhymer & Walker/Hicks/H - On the Threshold of a Dream: Unaccompanied Singing (CD)