Sometimes I wish I lived in the mountains — up high, above and away from the lowness and busy-ness of taking care of business.

Sometimes I wish time would rewind to the days before instant communication, to an era when a silent handshake or momentary eye contact said all that needed to be said, and said no more than needed.

Listening to Kathy Mattea’s new album, “Calling Me Home,” takes me to that place and time.

For 12 tracks that draw on the strength and endurance of the Appalachian mountains and people, I can drift off into another world that doesn’t seem easier, but at least makes more sense.

Some might consider this latest release a sequel to Mattea’s “Coal” that came out several years ago. But the songs on “Calling Me Home” are not as much a political statement as the earlier album.

Instead, you can hear in Mattea’s rich alto vocals an authentic attachment to her roots. Born in West Virginia, Mattea shares a mountain music that intertwines Celtic fiddle and African-American banjo roots.

Joining her in her harmony on several tracks are a few other artists who share a devotion to American roots and folk music — Alison Krauss on “Agate Hill,” Mollie O’Brien on “West Virginia, My Home,” Emmylou Harris and Patty Loveless on “Black Waters.”

What immediately captured my ear in “Calling Me Home” and carried me away was a clear, melodic fiddle that sang an underlying and unspoken meaning that underscored the lyrics. I had heard that fiddle before. I checked the liner notes and credits. Of course, it’s Stuart Duncan. If you’re a fan of George Strait (Isn’t it heartbreaking that he just announced his farewell tour?), or if you’ve spent time listening to projects by Harris and Mark Knopfler, Krauss and Robert Plant, or even Yo-Yo Ma, then you know Duncan’s un-imitable touch.

Although I grew up in Mississippi River country, the mountain music still feels like home because of the fiddle. My aunts and uncle on my father’s side traced back our Darby family roots as far back as County Kilconner, Ireland, in 1706. The tree branched out through Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Tennessee and then to Missouri through the years, picking up Scots, English and more Irish along the way. All of that is Appalachia country. And my father used to sing me the songs of his people at bedtime when I was very young.

I have my father’s fiddle now. It’s not much as far as a quality instrument. But that is one of the true differences between old-time music and bluegrass. Mountain and old-time music are literally as old as the hills, and no one who played it ever had much money to spend on instruments you could actually keep in tune.

My father never learned to play that fiddle. The oldest of five children during the Depression with a father who abandoned them, my daddy worked and saved for years to buy that instrument. By the time he bought it, the only violin teacher in his small town had moved away. But he kept the fiddle anyway.

And isn’t the story of the mountains? Worn, eroded but still standing with awesome beauty. And that’s the story of the Appalachian people who put their stories into song.

Most of the songs on “Calling Me Home” are contemporary creations. But Mattea sings with such a pure and unadorned style that brings timelessness to the sorrows and defiance of mankind and to the beauty and majesty of nature.

Emily Tuttle is a freelance writer living in Minot. Her email address is [email protected].