Considered “one of the great voices in contemporary popular music” (NPR), Iris DeMent has returned with an album unlike any other in her illustrious career. Featuring original music and melodies by Iris, The Trackless Woods (August 7) sets 18 poems by acclaimed 20th century Russian poet Anna Akhmatova to life.

Hailed as one of Russia’s finest poets, Akhmatova survived the Bolshevik Revolution, both World Wars and Stalin. She lost family, friends and fellow writers to political killings and labor in the gulags. When Iris randomly stumbled upon Akhmatova’s work in a book of poetry a friend sent as a gift, she was immediately taken by the sorrow and burden of the poems, juxtaposed with Akhmatova’s lig­htness and transcendence in the face of inhumanity.

The result is a breathtaking pairing of piano and voice in Iris’ sui generis style with timeless melodies that are deeply rooted in the American South.The project also fulfilled a long yearned-for desire to connect with her adopted daughter’s culture and history. Iris and her husband adopted their daughter from Siberia in 2005, and she says “I’d never have made this record were it not for her.”

Track Listing: 1. To My Poems 2. Broad Gold 3. And This You Call Work 4. From The Oriental Notebook 5. Prayer 6. Not With Deserters 7. All Is Sold 8. Reject The Burden 9. From An Airplane 10. Oh How Good 11. Like A White Stone 12. Song About Songs 13. Listening To Singing 14. Lot’s Wife 15. Upon The Hard Crest 16. The Souls Of All My Dears 17. Last Toast 18. It’s Not With A Lover’s Lyre / The Muse

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