First Play: Anonymous 4, 1865

Anonymous 4 has been offering out-of-body experiences to medieval music enthusiasts since 1986. Alas, the esteemed vocal quartet — consisting of Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek, Susal Hellauer, Ruth Cunningham and Martha Genensky — is calling it quits after this concert season.

But, they're ending their recording career with a major event — an album of Civil War songs that's sure to be one of the most treasured mementos of this 150th anniversary year of that war's end.

The American Civil War left a huge legacy of heartfelt songs — several thousand published between the years of 1861 and 1865, as Genensky's liner notes to 1865 point out. This album "focuses on the personal experiences of men, women, and children from the North and from the South, toward the end of the Civil War," writes Genensky. "These songs are the stylized, versified 'stories' prized by millions of Americans who lived through 'This Cruel War.'"

Don't be shocked when the four-part harmony gives way to flat-out folk. The quartet's latest collaborator, old-time musician Bruce Molsky takes a number of solo turns on this album, showing off his woodsy vocals and chops on the fiddle, guitar and banjo.

Tracklist

1. Weeping, Sad and Lonely (Henry Tucker & Charles Carroll Sawyer)
2. Darling Nelly Gray (B.R. Hanby)
3. Hard Times Come Again No More (Stephen Foster)
4. Sweet Evelina (Anonymous)
5. Bright Sunny South (Traditional)
6. The Southern Soldier Boy/Rebel Raid (C.W. Alexander)
7. Tenting on the Old Camp Ground (Walter Kittredge)
8. Aura Lee (W.W. Fosdick & George R. Poulton)
9. Listen to the Mocking Bird (Alice Hawthorne)
10. Camp Chase (Traditional)
11. Brother Green (Traditional)
12. The Faded Coat of Blue (J.H. McNaughton)
13. The Maiden in the Garden (Traditional)
14. The True Lover's Farewell (Traditional)
15. Home Sweet Home/Polly Put the Kettle On (John Howard Payne & Henry Bishop)
16. The Picture on the Wall (Henry Clay Work)
17. Abide With Me (Henry F. Lyte & William H. Monk)
18. Shall We Gather at the River? (Robert Lowry)

Pre-order 1865 on iTunes.

Follow Matthew Parsons on Twitter: @MJRParsons