Maria Newman's A Scented Garden of Music: "Melodies of the South" - Book I is perhaps one of Newman's most personal works, as it centers on her own family heritage and history.

The song cycle A Breath of Mississippi is set to the words of Newman's own grandmother, Mississippi Poet Laureate Louise Moss Montgomery. In addition to this familial connection, the cycle was composed in 2005 in loving memory of the composer's mother, former Goldwyn Girl Martha Montgomery, who had passed earlier that same year. The piece was premiered in December of 2005 at the Montgomery Arts House for Music and Architecture, in a set of concerts celebrating the life of Martha Montgomery. As indicated in Moss Montgomery's poetry, the song cycle takes the listener on a grand journey, from the first notes of Little Songs, a call for peace and simplicity in a time of war, to the tender longing of Aunite Mother, a recollection of the poet's adoptive mother and biological aunt, A Breath of Mississippi brings the simple and grand needs of a Mississippi woman to the forefront - As told by her granddaughter, two generations down the line. 

Commissioned in 2001 by The Travers Violin Duo and the Angeli Duo, Newman's Appalachian Duets is an adaptation of themes from Newman's score for the 1919 silent film The Heart O' The Hills, starring Mary Pickford. Written for two violins and intended for the concert stage, Appalachian Duets combines the twangy stylings present in Appalachian fiddle music with Newman's own classical stylings to create a series of movements that are engaging for fans of all music types.

Like A Breath of Mississippi, Songs on Motherhood is also set to the poetry of Louise Moss Montgomery. This cycle of five songs focuses on the minutia of daily life and the little miracles that happen every day, such as a much-beloved daughter returning from a year away at college. 

Rounding out the album is Newman's holiday song cycle, Montgomery Carols - Set I. Set to text by Newman herself, this set of three holiday carols was written for Newman's mother, Martha Montgomery, in celebration of her 81st birthday. The cycle was premiered at a private event on December 5th, 2001, in Los Angeles by the Malibu Madrigals.