In Brief

The indie movie “Songcatcher” won a special jury prize at last year’s Sundance Film Festival for ensemble performance by the cast, and the companion album deserves a similar honor.

The movie, set in 1907, is about a female scholar who treks into Appalachia to learn about the folk music traditions of that region. They are typically passed down by women, so it’s entirely fitting that nearly all the performers are women. Not just any women either, but some of the most stirring singers in pop these days, among them Emmylou Harris, Iris DeMent, Allison Moorer, Julie Miller, Dolly Parton and Rosanne Cash.

The songs, split among traditionals of indeterminate age and like-spirited recent compositions including some not in the film, zero in unerringly on the human heart.

No postmodern irony, no market-driven compromises, no hipster attitude shield the singer--or the listener--from these often shattering tales of life at its most elemental.

On the heels of the unexpected success of the folk-and bluegrass-laden “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” soundtrack, which has sold nearly 1 million copies to date, “Songcatcher” has a good shot at not only making music critics’ Top 10 lists, but also at catching the public’s ear. What a lovely miracle that would be. *

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent). The albums are due in stores Tuesday.