History

Four Book Reviews from 1969

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The following was published in The Choral Journal, Vol. 10, No. 1 (JULY-AUGUST 1969), p. 8.

Book Review . . .

CHARLES G. BOODY
1248 St. Clair Ave., Apt. 9
St. Paul, Minnesota 55105

WHITE SPIRITUALS IN THE SOUTHERN UPLANDS by George Pullen Jackson. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1965 (Original Publication 1933). Paperback, $2.50.

SPIRITUAL FOLKSONGS OF EARLY AMERICA by George Pullen Jackson. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1964 (Original Publication 1937). Paperback, $2.00.

THE SOUTHERN HARMONY by William Walker. Edited by Glenn C. Wilcox. Los Angeles: Pro Musicamer icana, 1966 (Reprint of 1854 edition). $6.00.

THE SACRED HARP by B. F. White and E. J. King. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1968 (Reprint of 3rd edition of 1859). $6.50.

One of the choral reviewers for this journal recently wrote that in a new edition of “Early American” choral music several of the works were arranged, and the user would do well to “Check this out”. That reviewer was right. These pieces were largely the melodies of works by early American composers unidiomatically arranged by the editor. This approach to any music is disgusting! Even if all of the readers do not feel this way about such arrangement, they are certain to be curious about the original work, and about the circumstances which surrounded its inception. We are, after all, educating our choirs by our selection of and comments about the music — whether or not that may be our main purpose. The four books examined here discuss or present facsimile reprints of part of our repertory of “early American” choral music, the shape note tune books. The idea of using shaped note heads to represent the syllables first of the old “fa so la fa so la mi” system and later for the more common “do re me . . .” system is entirely an American development. It enjoyed a great vogue at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries as an adjunct of the singing school movement. The shape notes were ridiculed and driven out of common usage by the proponents of “European” music who opposed both the musical style of many American compositions and the idea of shaped notation which they termed “buckwheat notes”.

White Spirituals in the Southern Uplands is subtitled “The Story of the Fasola Folk, Their Songs, Singings, and ‘Buckwheat Notes’ “. This extensive study discusses the history of shape notation and its use, the common characteristics of the “Fasola Folk” (as the users of four-shape notation are called), the musical and textual contents of the tune books, sources of the music and texts, changes in the contents of the later books, and differences between the Fasola Folk and the users of the more “modern” seven shape notation. It was the first source and remains a standard source of much of our knowledge of this tradition. Some of Jackson’s work has been criticized for idiosyncratic mode analysis, and for insistence on tracing all aspects of the Negro spiritual back to the “White Spirituals”. This latter point has been thoroughly repudiated since. Despite these shortcomings, the work is still a valuable source of the performance practices and history surrounding part of our first American “musical tradition”.

Spiritual Folksongs of Early America is a collection of 250 tunes and their texts categorized by Jackson. It contains a brief but thorough description of the methods used to collect and classify these tunes, and brief comments about each one. Complete tunes are printed to gether with extensive if not complete texts. This work is probably of more use to the researcher or arranger than to a person wanting to know more about the tradition to which much of this music belongs. The choral settings of the tunes are not given, but indication is made of where they may be found.

The Southern Harmony by “Singin’ Billy” Walker is one of the two most pop ular and enduring of the four-shape tune books. It was such a success that the author proudly appended A.S.H. (Author of the Southern Harmony) to his name. The editor has added a brief listing of errata and an index of first lines to the original book. The errata listing is espec ially important, for it indicates notes of the correct shape which are placed on the wrong position on the staff. The in accurate position will not bother the user of shape notes for he will read the shape, but will certainly confuse those of us who read only the staff position! As was common in these tune books, texts are often set under only one voice of the music, and even then are usually not carefully underlayed. Inevitably only the first verse is underlayed at all. In the fuguing tunes, each voice entrance is given the first word of the text phrase and the singers are left to fit in the re maining text as best they can. In short, this is not music to hand to your choir for sightreading. The texts are all sacred. The music can be classified as anthems, psalms and fuguing tunes from the New England singing school masters, and what Jackson calls “White Spirituals”, the religious music of the revival meet ings and southern protestant churches of that time. The settings are “theorists’ nightmares” in three or four parts, abounding in parallel fifths and octaves, empty fifths at cadences, unresolved dis cords, and rather strange harmonies and progressions. Melodies are often in the tenor line. The settings are quite repre sentative of the American tradition against which Lowell Mason struggled so successfully. Sung in the proper man ner (unaccompanied with men and wo men doubling all parts except the bass) they have a strange yet powerful effect. Alan Lomax described the sound of a “sing” as seventy jackasses braying to gether, but this need not be the case if the performers do not adopt the clenched throat approach to singing affected by most participants in these sings.

The Sacred Harp is the second facsimile edition of this music. Like The Southern Harmony it is an extremely popular and enduring collection. Its musical contents are similar in all respects to that of The Southern Harmony. In addition to the index of first lines, the editors have graciously added a reprint of Jackson’s little book The Story of the Sacred Harp to this edition. A “post script” to this book carries forward the story of this amazing tradition to 1967, and lists 370 singings totalling 403 days as scheduled to take place in 1967. The tradition continues on, though even those who had studied it carefully felt it was destined to die. Unfortunately this reprint does not contain a listing of errata and so must be used with care. No choir director would want to perform only this music, but none should overlook it as a source for an occasional piece, and as an historically important part of our first truly “American” choral music. The reviewer has found the settings of Wondrous Love and The Babe of Bethlehem useful in both church and educational situations. Until some publisher is willing to make available responsible editions of selected works from this repertoire, these facsimile editions will be our only readily available source of this music. After the choral editions become available these reprints will re main useful as a source of further works and a means of “checking” the published edition. We must thank these publishers for making them available at such a reasonable

Cheese Notes

Timeline of “Sacred Harp” Editions

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A Timeline of Sacred Harp Editions, Illustrated and with Minimal Bibliographic Detail.
by Kevin Isaac

“Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.” —Ecclesiastes 12:12

INTRODUCTION

NOTICE:
THIS IS AN IN-PROGRESS PROJECT, PUBLISHED “EARLY” FOR COLLABORATIVE PURPOSES.
EXPECT CHANGES TO OCCUR AS LONG AS THIS NOTICE IS POSTED.

This timeline presents a selection of at least fifty different editions and iterations of The Sacred Harp by B.F. White and E.J. King, first published in 1844. It includes cover images and is based on Jesse P. Karlsberg’s work here. Significant contributions were made by Robert Vaughn, and additional thanks go to David Smead.

Many books followed the 1844 edition, with some clearly distinct from one another and others less so. While there has been thorough research on this topic, I believe this timeline is unique in its attempt to compile all known derivative works into a single, bibliographic format.

The Sacred Harp has numerous “branches,” and titles within the same branch often changed over time. I have chosen to present the information in a linear format, although I have not determined the precise order for books released in the same year if that information was not available.

Of interest to the reader who asks “why are there so many different branches” is this item from Newnan Herald & Advertiser (Newnan, Ga.) 1909-1915, September 15, 1911:

The “Sacred Harp” convention being in session at Broughton’s Tabernacle, in Atlanta, and having a desire to hear the old songs of by-gone days, we visited the convention and listened to a thousand voices, making these old songs ring. We were cheered to the very core of our heart, and felt like we were mingling voices with the friends of lung ago. The convention was presided over by Col. J. S. James, author of the “Union Harp,” a revised edition of the old “Sacred Harp.” the most noted song hook of the South, which was compiled in the 40’s by Maj. B. F. White, who died in Atlanta a few years ago. His son, Pref. J. L. White, also has out a revised edition of the famous old book, which he is anxious to perpetuate in memory of his father; but it seems that the copyright of father had expired, and, failing to renew it, he lost out. Col. James now claims to possess the copyright to the book, hence the split in the convention. Prof. W. M. Cooper, of Dothan. Al., is also publishing the same book by reason of a copyright which be procured several years ago. Now. it seems to us that this copyrighting business is run in a very slipshod manner by Uncle Sam, and needs a little knocking by some one. We had the pleasure of meeting with many old friends, as well as a lot of new ones, at the convention. Among them were Prof. E.T. Pound, author of several music books, and one of the finest singers in the South, and his brother. Rev. William Pound, who is also the author of several musical works. We were greatly pleased to form the acquaintance of Prof. W. M. Cooper, of Alabama, and Prof. Allen, of the same State. A year hence the convention will meet in Broughton’s Tabernacle by request of Dr. Broughton.

I have color-coded the different branches of The Sacred Harp by adding each branch’s “Informal Name” in a specific color after the book’s basic details. I’ve also included The New Sacred Harp, which was a seven-shape note book compiled by B.F. White’s two sons but ultimately failed. Additionally, I’ve included The Colored Sacred Harp in the timeline, even though it is not part of the King and White book’s printing history. This is due to its significant interest within the singing community and its intriguing placement alongside The Sacred Harp in the publishing timeline.

As a final nontraditional feature, I have noted the years in which significant editors and compilers of The Sacred Harp passed away. Notably, at least three of these individuals died before their respective “branches” were published, starting with E.J. King, one of the original compilers of the first edition.

Two items worth mentioning, though not included in the timeline, are books by J.S. James, editor of the “James Book” that later became the “Denson Book”:

  1. Sacred Tunes and Hymns (1913) – This approximately 190-page tunebook served as a short-lived “companion” to James’ Original Sacred Harp. It features songs in four shape notes and four voices, with additional lines of music intended for instruments at the bottom of the page. The Preface acknowledges the contributions of Prof. S. M. Denson, highlighting his role in the volume’s arrangement. James is noted for framing The Sacred Harp in a nostalgic light, but this book represents a departure from his usual format.
  2. Union Harp and History of Songs (1909) – This 220+ page tunebook established the page format for James’ Original Sacred Harp, published two years later. It includes biographical and historical sketches of the tunes and composers, which later became known as “cheese notes” due to James’ note about John Leland attached to the song “Religion is a Fortune.”

BRANCHES DETAILED HERE

“The Sacred Harp” (1844-1870)
“Cooper Book” (1902-CURRENT)
“White Book” (1909-1911*)
“James Book” (1911-1929*)
“Denson Book” (1936-CURRENT)
“New Sacred Harp” (1884)
“Colored Sacred Harp” (1934-1992)

*The chart above leaves off two recent “commemorative” editions of the “White Book” in 2017 and “James Book” in 2017 from their “usage date ranges”, though they are part of the timeline chart below. Both have been used in modern singings, but are extremely limited in usage, especially compared to the “Denson Book” and “Cooper Book” usage.

INCOMPLETE, AMATUER, AND SOMEWHAT SPECULATIVE

This study is informal and should not be considered definitive. It has been compiled with earnest effort by an amateur bibliophile, aiming to correlate original research with information from various sources. I have consulted with others and will continue to do so, but this work has only been developed over a few weeks, amounting to just a handful of hours. Additionally, the complete printing history of each state, edition, and branch of The Sacred Harp is not fully known, even to long-time scholars, so this study is necessarily incomplete.

The images included come from my own collection, contributions from collaborators, auction listings, used book websites, random online sources, and some academic references. There is a possibility that some sources may have inaccuracies regarding the edition or year of the depicted books. I have strived to use only clear and trustworthy images.

The legend below explains the preferred amount of information for each listing. Please note that this level of detail may not be available for every entry.

All original research presented here is placed in the public domain and may be used freely. If you have information that this collection lacks or if you can provide corrections, please reach out to me at baltimoreshapenote@gmail.com.

LEGEND

(YEAR PRINTED) – (TITLE AS APPEARS ON COVER) – (EDITION/STATE NOTES) – (BRANCH)
(PUBLISHER) / (PRINTER – IF KNOWN)
(NOTES)

The year printed may be different than the year associated with the edition. For example, there are several very different books that all state they are the 1971 printing of the Denson branch.

All of the books are “Sacred Harp” but the cover title was changed many times, sometimes to establish different “branches” of the book sometimes as a marketing strategy.

The “edition notes” is a brief statement about what unique printing the book is, based on either what the book has stated, what researchers have posited.

As there were many publishers involved in the different editions, and many different printers, I’ve detailed that information on the second line. The role of the publisher and the printer can vary greatly depending on the time and project. Early on the printer would have typeset everything, but more recent editions would often have often been typeset by the publishers, etc.

The third line will be used (sparingly) for any additional notes I would like to add that helps further identify and differentiate editions/states/printings.

NOTICE:
THIS IS AN IN-PROGRESS PROJECT, PUBLISHED “EARLY” FOR COLLABORATIVE PURPOSES.
EXPECT CHANGES TO OCCUR AS LONG AS THIS NOTICE IS POSTED.

The Illustrated Bibliographic Timeline

1800s

1844 – E.J. KING DIED

1844 – The Sacred Harp – First Edition, First Printing – “The Sacred Harp”
B.F. White & E.J. King, Hamilton, GA / T.K. & P.G. Collins
This is the first printing of the first edition.

1847 – The Sacred Harp – First Edition, Second Printing – “The Sacred Harp”
(PUBLISHER) / (PRINTER)
(NOTES)

1848 – The Sacred Harp – First Edition, Third Printing – “The Sacred Harp”
B.F. White & Joe King, Hamilton, GA / T.K. & P.G. Collins
This appears to be a third printing of the first edition with cover and title page featuring the year 1848. Note that Joel Kings name has replaced his brothers on the cover as a “proprietor.”

1850 – The Sacred Harp – Second Edition, First Printing “To Which Is Added an Appendix” – “The Sacred Harp”
(PUBLISHER) / (PRINTER)
(NOTES)

1857 – The Sacred Harp – Second Edition, Second Printing “To Which Is Added an Appendix” – “The Sacred Harp”
(PUBLISHER) / (PRINTER)
(NOTES)

1860 – The Sacred Harp – Third Edition “To Which Is Added Appendix I … Also, Appendix II.” – “The Sacred Harp”
S.C. Collins, Philadelphia
A facsimile of this edition was produced in 1968.

1869 – The Sacred Harp – Fourth Edition, First Printing “Fourth Edition, Much Improved and Greatly Enlarged” – “The Sacred Harp”
(PUBLISHER) / (PRINTER)
(NOTES)

1870 – The Sacred Harp – Fourth Edition, Second Printing – “The Sacred Harp”
Chas. P. Byrd, Atlanta / (PRINTER)
(NOTES)

1879 – B.F. WHITE DIED

1884 – The New Sacred Harp – “New Sacred Harp”
(PUBLISHER) / (PRINTER)
(NOTES)

1897 – The Sacred Harp – Fourth Edition, Third Printing – “The Sacred Harp”
(PUBLISHER) / (PRINTER)
(NOTES)

1900s

1903 – The Sacred Harp – 1902 Edition, First Printing “Cooper Book”
W.M. Cooper & Co., Dothan, Al
This first edition of the “Cooper Book” is dated 1902, but was not available until 1903.

1907 – – “Cooper Book”
W.M. Cooper & Co., Dothan, Al
This is a photo of a copy owned by the Texas State University in San Marcos.

1909 – The Sacred Harp – Fifth Edition – “White Book”
(PUBLISHER) / (PRINTER)
(NOTES)

1909 – The Sacred Harp – “Cooper Book”
W.M. Cooper & Co., Dothan, Al
(NOTES)

1910 – The Sacred Harp – _____ – “White Book”
(PUBLISHER) / (PRINTER)
(NOTES)

1911 – “Original Sacred Harp” – First Printing – “James Book”
(PUBLISHER) / (PRINTER)
Mr. Karlsberg has written about this “branch” at length here: https://jpkarlsberg.com/tag/original-sacred-harp/

1911 – “Original Sacred Harp” – Second Printing – “James Book”
(PUBLISHER) / (PRINTER)
(NOTES)

1911 – “Original Sacred Harp” – Second Printing – “James Book”
(PUBLISHER) / (PRINTER)
(NOTES)

1911 – The Sacred Harp – _______ – “White Book”
(PUBLISHER) / (PRINTER)
(NOTES)

19?? – The Sacred Harp – 8th Edition, Alternate State – “Cooper Book”
W.M. Cooper & Co., Dothan, Al
This example of the Eighth Edition was personally owned by S. J. Patterson of Newsome, Texas; dated May 28, 1916. We’re assuming the date inscribed may be close to the date this edition was printed.

1916 – W.M. COOPER DIED

1921 – “Original Sacred Harp” – Fourth Printing – “James Book”
(PUBLISHER) / (PRINTER)
(NOTES)
LINK: INTERNET ARCHIVE

1925 – J.L.WHITE DIED

19??– The Sacred Harp – “1927, 9th Edition” – “Cooper Book”
“Distributed by B.P. Poyner”
The cover of this book states “Distributed by B. P. Poyner,” and was apparently a printing done by Poyner after Cooper’s death and before the 1927 edition. Not much else is known about this edition.

1927– The Sacred Harp – “1927, 9th Edition” – “Cooper Book”
Dr. R. D. Blackshear, Panama City, Fla., Owner and Publisher.
The first printing of the 1927 edition still retained the name R. D. Blackshear as the publisher. He was Cooper’s son-in law. There are at least two other 9th edition printings (says 9th edition on the back) that vary slightly in the covers. There is a 9th edition that has the names of B. P. Poyner, B. F. Faust, and W. M. Faust on it (otherwise the same book, so far as I can tell). There is another 9th edition printing with the names B. P. Poyner and Saxon P. Poyner on it.

1929 – “Original Sacred Harp” – Fifth Printing – “James Book”
(PUBLISHER) / (PRINTER)
(NOTES)

1934 – The Colored Sacred Harp – First Edition, First Printing – “Colored Sacred Harp”
J. Jackson / (PRINTER)
This first edition was a paperback book and printed in a run of 1,000 copies.

19??-1947 – The Sacred Harp – “1927, 9th Edition” – “Cooper Book”
B.P. Poyner Sr. & Saxon P. Poyner, Dothan, Al / (PRINTER)

19??-1947 – The Sacred Harp – “1927, 10th Edition” – “Cooper Book”
B.P. Boyner Sr. & Saxon P. Poyner, Dothan, Al / (PRINTER)
Apparently, the next time B. P. and Saxon Poyner printed this book, they put 10th edition on the back cover. Maybe they forgot to do that with the first printing?

1935 – T.J. DENSON DIED

1936 – S.M. DENSON DIED

1936-‘?? – The Sacred Harp – “1927, 9th Edition” – “Cooper Book”
B.P. Boyner (Dothan, Al), W.M. Faust & B.F. Faust (Ozark, Al)
The Poyner-Faust-Faust, is a printing of the 1927 9th edition. The assumption is they three owned it, and then the Fausts were bought out by Poyners’ son.

1936 – “Original Sacred Harp” – Denson Revision – “Denson Book”
Sacred Harp Publishing Company, Inc., Haleyville, Alabama / (PRINTER)
There are three distinct variants I have documented that have been noted as being a 1936 edition. The first cover shown has a very distinctive typography, that reflects the title page inside the book, but also the title page of the red/orange cover. The photo showing the third variant was published in a recent online story and had the caption: “Two women sing from the 1936 revision of The Sacred Harp at the United Sacred Harp Convention in Atlanta, Georgia, 1940s.”

1947 – The Sacred Harp – 11th Edition – “Cooper Book”
Saxon P. Poyner, Dothan, Ala. / (PRINTER)
The Saxon Poyner 11th edition book was done sometime after his father died, but before the Sacred Harp Book Company was created — so apparently 1947-1948.

1949 – The B.F. White Sacred Harp – 12th Edition – “Cooper Book”
The Sacred Harp Book Co. Inc., Troy, Al / (PRINTER)
The 1949 edition examined has silver lettering on the cover, and the 1950 edition has gold(ish) lettering on the cover. However, the way one can be sure to tell them apart is just look inside and see whether it has the 1949 committee or 1950 committee.
Below is a red cloth cover also identified by a source as a1949 edition.
Because later editions used blue cloth, one could assume the red was printed first, but there is no direct evidence of the printing order.

1950 – The B.F. White Sacred Harp – “Cooper Book”
The Sacred Harp Book Co. Inc., Troy, Al / (PRINTER)
See note above.

1955 – PAINE W. DENSON DIED

1960 – The B.F. White Sacred Harp – “Cooper Book”
The Sacred Harp Book Co., Inc., Troy, AL / (PRINTER)
(NOTES)

1960 – “Original Sacred Harp” – “1960 Revision” – “Denson Book”
Sacred Harp Publishing Company, Inc. & Denson Music Publishing Co. Cullman, Alabama Owen W. Denson- Owner. (PRINTER)
(NOTES)

1960 – “Original Sacred Harp” – “1960 Supplement” – “Denson Book”
Published by Sacred Harp Publishing Company, Cullman Alabama / (PRINTER)
(NOTES)

1964 – The Sacred Harp: James Edition – “James Book”
Denson Music Publishing Company
(PUBLISHER) / (PRINTER)
This is a facsimile edition of the “James Book”

1966 – “Original Sacred Harp” – “Denson Book”
Sacred Harp Publishing Company, Inc., Cullman, AL. / (PRINTER)
(NOTES)

1968 – The Sacred Harp – Third Edition* – “The Sacred Harp”
Broadman Press, Nashville, TN / (PRINTER)
This is a facsimile of the Third Edition published in 1860. It has a new Preface from Davis C. Woolley and includes “The Story of the Sacred Harp 1844-1944” by George Pullen Jackson. Following that is a Postscript by William J. Reynolds.

1971 – “Original Sacred Harp” – 1971 Edition, First printing – “Denson Book”
Sacred Harp Publishing Company, Inc., Bremen, GA. / Kingsport Press, Kingsport Tennessee
(NOTES)
LINK: INTERNET ARCHIVE

1973 – The Colored Sacred Harp – First Edition, Second Printing – “Colored Sacred Harp”
H.J. Jackson, Ozark, Alabama / Paragon Press, Montgomery, Alabama
This is the first hardback printing. A small note at the end of the front matter reads: “This project is jointly supported by a grant from the Alabama State Council on the Arts and Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington, D.C. a Federal Agency.”

1977 – “Original Sacred Harp” – 1971, Second Printing? – “Denson Book”
Sacred Harp Publishing Company, Inc., Cullman, AL.
The cover reads “(Denson Revision) 1844-1977”, so I’m assuming the end date was the year of printing and not a typo. The Cullman, Alabama address seems like it might imply an earlier printing, as a previous and subsequent books are out of Bremen, Georgia.

“…I sell 5,000 books a year…” –Hugh McGraw “Sacred Harp Singing in Mt Zion GA (July 1977) & Extended Interview with Raymond Hamrick” (link)

1980 – “Original Sacred Harp” – 1971, Third Printing – “Denson Book”
Sacred Harp Publishing Company, Inc., Bremen, GA. / (PRINTER)
(NOTES)

An article in The Columbus Ledger (Sun, Sep 11, 1983 · Page 21) notes that Hugh McGraw, of The Sacred Harp Publishing Co., “ships 3,000 books a year of the unique music all over the United States and overseas.”

198_ – “Original Sacred Harp” – 1971 Ed., 4th or 5th Printing – “Denson Book”
Sacred Harp Publishing Company, Inc., Bremen, GA. / (PRINTER)
(NOTES)

198_ – “Original Sacred Harp” – 1971 Ed., 4th or 5th Printing – “Denson Book”
Sacred Harp Publishing Company, Inc., Bremen, GA. / (PRINTER)
(NOTES)

1983 – The Colored Sacred Harp – Second Revised Edition – “Colored Sacred Harp”
H.J. Jackson, Ozark, Alabama / Brown Printing, Montgomery, AL
In addition to the small note about funding added to the previous edition, the following was added to the same page: “Compiled and edited by H.J. Jackson, Ozark, Alabama, with assistance from Henry Willett, Assistant to the Director/Folklorist, Alabama State Council on the Arts and Humanities.

1987 – Original Sacred Harp – Denson Revision 1987 – “Denson Book”
(PUBLISHER) / (PRINTER)
(NOTES)

1991 – A Proposed Selection of Music 1991 Revision of The Sacred Harp – “Denson Book”
Sacred Harp Publishing Company, Inc., Bremen, GA / (PRINTER)
(NOTES)

1991 – The Sacred Harp – 1991 Revision – “Denson Book”
Sacred Harp Publishing Company, Inc., Bremen, GA / (PRINTER)
(NOTES)

1992 – The Colored Sacred Harp – Third Revised Edition – “Colored Sacred Harp”
H.J. Jackson, Ozark, Alabama / Brown Printing, Montgomery, AL
A section titled “Autobiography of Judge Jackson” was added to the front matter, and the Rudiments were expanded by a page.

1992 – The B.F. White Sacred Harp – Revised Cooper Edition – “Cooper Book”
The Sacred Harp Book Company, Samson, Alabama / (PRINTER)
(NOTES)

2000s

2000 – The B.F. White Sacred Harp – Revised Cooper Edition – “Cooper Book”
The Sacred Harp Book Company, Samson, Alabama / (No Printer Noted)
(NOTES)

2006 – The B.F. White Sacred Harp – Revised Cooper Edition – “Cooper Book”
The Sacred Harp Book Company, Samson, Alabama / (PRINTER)
(NOTES)

2007 – The Sacred Harp – 2007 Edition” – “White Book”
Weelyrd Publishing, Buckley WA / Colson Printing Company, Valdosta, GA
Completely retypeset version of the J.L.White “Fourth Edition, With Supplement” with new front matter and indices. The two printings have been “merged” to create what would technically be a new edition.

2012 – The Sacred Harp – “Revised Cooper Edition” – “Cooper Book”
The Sacred Harp Book Company, Samson, Alabama / Colson Printing Company, Valdosta, GA
(NOTES)

2015 – “Original Sacred Harp” – “James Book”
Pitts Theology Library & Sacred Harp Publishing Company / Bookmasters
This “Centennial Edition is a restored “James Book” created from a second edition in the collection of the Sacred Harp Publishing Company. There is new introductory matter added.

2017 – HUGH McGRAW DIED

History

“Social Harp” story from 1974, well illustrated…

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I stumbled across a story about the then new facsimile edition of The Social Harp that was published in the Atlanta Journal on March 1st, 1974. I thought it was so nicely illustrated I would transcribe and post the article and corresponding photos.

Songbook ‘Sings’

by BILLIE CHENEY SPEED
Atlanta Journal Religion Editor

Staff Photos by Bill Mahan

Assembled in the traditional hollow square and using the “Social Harp” songbook more than 30 singers performed the vocal music of America’s oldest days.

“Their music has both the rugged quality of the American frontier and the haunting beauty of British folk melodies” said John F. Garst who was among those who gathered for the second annual singing in the Memorial Hall ballroom of the University of Georgia in Athens.

The shaped notes with which the music is printed in “The Social Harp” and “The Sacred Harp” and other books were invented in 1800 by New Englanders according to Garst. The note heads in the music books are in shapes of squares triangles diamonds and ovals and they match the names of the notes “fa sol la ” serving as aids to sight reading.

Traditionally each piece is sung through once using the notes rather than the words and so from this practice the term “fasola singing” is derived.

Last year’s singing at the university was held in celebration of the republication of John Gordon McCurry’s “The Social Harp” by the University of Georgia Press.

Garst a chemistry professor at the University of Georgia became interested in sacred harp singing when he came to Georgia from California ten years ago. He was instrumental in getting the book originally published in 1855 reprinted.

“The Social Harp” is a singing textbook.

Garst said that singing schools in the 18th century were a weapon of war against the slow embellished congregational singing style that had developed in the colonies by 1700.

Until 1800 the singing school tradition flowered and flourished and then fashion changed and much of the populace rejected the native American music of many of the singing school manuals in favor of European music of the day said Garst.

But the singing schools lived on in rural areas and school texts compiled by the Georgia and South Carolina singing masters include “The Southern Harmony” (1844), “The Social Harp” (1855), “The Christian Harmony (1866), “The Sacred Harp” (1844), “The Hesperian Harp” (1846), and “The Olive Leaf” (1878).

McCurry, who authored “The Social Harp,” was a farmer and singing master from Hart County Ga, and was founding father of Bio Baptist Church, which is located between Hartwell and Bowman.

His book currently available in a new edition was edited by Garst and by Daniel W Patterson.

At this year’s singing at the university a group of traditional Sacred Harp singers from South and West Georgia participated.

They usually sing from “The Sacred Harp,” another’ Georgia book which has been in use continuously since 1844.

The present publisher of “The Original Sacred Harp” (Denson revision) is the Sacred Harp Publishing Co at Bremen.

Numerous singings from this book are held throughout Georgia including the Georgia State Sacred Harp Singing which is always held “the fourth Sunday of March and the Saturday before.”

This year it will be held at Old Valley Grove Primitive Baptist Church five miles southwest of Ocilla off Ga 313 (Ocilla to Tifton).

The singing open to participants as well as visitors starts about 10 am and runs to mid-afternoon with a midday dinner-on-the-grounds.

The Sacred Harp Cookbook? Which one?

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There have been a few times I’ve seen someone on Facebook ask for a recipe, and in response someone said “It might be in The Sacred Harp Cookbook”. This information is almost always met with exuberant confusion that such a thing exists and THEY DON’T HAVE IT!

But there’s not just ONE, I know of THREE different “Sacred Harp Cookbooks”, which I will give information about below, in order they were published. Because of copyright reasons I won’t post more, but I believe the first two are out of print, but the last is still available. Are there MORE? Let me know: baltimoreshapenote@gmail.com

Blessings At Noon: The Sacred Harp Cookbook

by Karen Isbell & Shelly Robbins, Fundcraft Publishing, 1999

This was a comb-bound and professionally printed of about 100 pages. The front matter before the table on contents features photos from the years leading up to publication of “dinner on the ground” at various southern singings. The rest of the book is made up of many recipes from around the country. The publisher of the book specialized in printing fundraising books.

There is a page at Warren Steel’s website on the book containing recipes: “Blessings at Noon” .

A Sacred Feast: Reflections on Sacred Harp Singing and Diner on the Ground

by Kathryn Eastburn, University of Nebraska Press, 2008

Of the three books featured here, this is the only one published by a publisher and made available through major booksellers. The book is part memoir, park recipe book. The chapters are broken down by region: Southwest Texas; Birmingham; Henagar; Seattle, Boulder, and Colorado Springs; Hoboken; and Benton to Birmongham.

East Texas Sacred Harp Convention Book of Recipes

by Kim Vaughn, East Texas Sacred Harp Convention, 2010

The East Texas Sacred Harp Convention has a long history and many members of the Vaughn family appears to have been making contributions to documenting the history of Sacred Harp singing in that area, and in general, for many generations! This wire-coil bound 140 page book is a simple laminated covered book, probably prepared at a local print/copy shop.

Interspersed with the many recipes are short notes and photos related to Sacred Harp.

Sacred Harp

Nate Green’s Southern Sacred Harp Videos, 2005–2017

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I have “ripped” DVDs of singings filmed by Nate Green and uploaded some of them to YouTube (with is permission). I used the publicly posted “Minutes,” published by Sacred Harp Musical Heritage Association, to give a track listing for the videos. These videos are from the personal collection of Mary Wright, passed on to me by the Richmond Shape Note Singers.

Mary Wright leading a song.
Mary Wright of Virginia leads 148 Jefferson at the Macedonia Primitive Baptist Church on Sunday, June 15, 2008.

Videos listed in chronological order:

Macedonia Primitive Baptist Church — Sunday, June 19, 2005
* The video itself states “Macedonia Primitive Baptist Church Annual Sacred Harp Singing Section, Alabama” “Chairman Jarrod George” and then it begins time/date stamped “Jun 19 2005 9:10:13am”. A handwritten “sticky note” on the plastic DVD case states: “I did not reset the clock and this camera from a Georgia singing. You will need to add an hour to all time shown. Also, you will notice some Distortion at about the end of the second hour. It will only last about 2 minutes. Nate” No minutes are recorded in the Minutes Book for this event.

Salem United Methodist Church — Saturday, June 25, 2005

Macedonia Primitive Baptist Church — Sunday, June 18, 2006

Lookout Mountain Convention — August 25, 2007
*Unlisted until filmographer determined. You can click through here to view the video, but it is not openly listed on YouTube. The DVD had no name credited, and the handwriting is different than many of the Nate & Norma Green DVDs I have. It is similar to handwriting on a DVD by Bill Windom, thought it is not online in the Sacred Harp Museum collection of Windom’s videos.

Macedonia Primitive Baptist Church — Sunday, June 15, 2008

Macedonia Primitive Baptist Church — Sunday, June 20, 2010

Macedonia Primitive Baptist Church — Sunday, June 20, 2010 (silent slideshow)

Henagar-Union Convention — Saturday, July 1, 2017

Henagar-Union Convention — Sunday, July 2, 2017

March Lesson: The Easy Instructor

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At our March singing we reintroduced “lessons”. Some will be about the history of shape note singing, some will be based on rudiments. The goal is to present enjoyable information that can make the group enjoy singing and feel they have a better understanding of the traditions and technics.

When appropriate, we will post lessons on the blog as well, as we have below.

Just like song leading, any singer is welcome to give a lesson, though you need to arrange in advance, as we will only have one lesson per sing. Email us at: baltimoreshapenote@gmail.com with your idea.

The Easy Instructor

Given by Kevin Isaac, March 26th, 2024

In Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of King Lear, his antagonist Edmund says “O, these eclipses do portend these divisions! Fa, sol, la, mi.”

These four note sounds from Elizabethan England made their way to America with the Pilgrims and settlers. It was here, in 1721, that John Tufts had the inventive idea to use the initials of each solmization in place of the round note heads on the musical staff. F S L M for Fa Sol La and Mi. He published the short work An Introduction to the Singing of Psalm Tunes. It’s credited as being the first musical textbook written in the new world. 

The stage was set for a real revolution in musical pedagogy when William Smith and William Little took the idea further and replaced those letters with the symbols we use, the triangle, the circle, the square and the diamond. The tunebook they compiled, titled The Easy Instructor. Or. A New Method of Teaching Sacred Harmony, was the predecessor to our Sacred Harp and Shenandoah Harmony tunebooks, not just in the shapes, but in structure of the book and musical idiom it presented.

We’re going to sing three songs from our tunebooks that were first printed in shape notes in The Easy Instructor. Our voices will join with those who have sung the shapes to these very tunes for 222 years.

We’ll start with page 192 in the red book:  Nehemiah Shumway’s fuging tune Schenectady, with poetry by Isaac Watts. Shumway was a living American Composer at the time this was published.

192 Schenectady – Exeter Regular Sacred Harp Singing 1/28/18

Like many tunebooks, The Easy Instructor was revised and expanded over the course of numerous editions. While the first edition was apparently represented wholly by American composers, the subsequent editors wanted to “keep up with the musical fashion” and slowly removed American composers and replaced them with popular European composers. This reflected the larger reformist movement that ended up suppressing shape notes in the north all together.

If we can turn to page 84 for Amsterdam, a tune not found in the early editions of The Easy Instructor. The poetry was by Englishman Robert Seagraves, who was born in 1693 and was believed to have died around 1759. The melody adapted from a German tune Sei willkommen, and first appeared in a 1754 tunebook.

I want to complete this ternian of tunes with one that made it’s way to our tan book. Open Shenandoah Harmony to 67 for Lewis Edson’s “Greenfield”. Edson was a blacksmith in Woodstock New York that became a Singing Master and one of America’s first composers. You can find his tune Bridgewater in the red book.

Thank you.

The Sacred Songs Roll Like Thunder · 1959 United Sacred Harp Musical Association Convention, Fyffe Alabama

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“United Sacred Harp Musical Convention in Fyffe, Alabama”

“The Sacred Songs Roll Like Thunder” reads the title of an article by Ted Strongin that appeared in the “Chattanooga Times” of September 20, 1959. The kind of singing the article described often leaves even the best writers grasping for words that do justice to it, but invoking the sound of thunder is a good start. Strongin was writing of a two-day meeting, or “convention,” of the United Sacred Harp Musical Association, held in Fyffe, Alabama, the previous weekend, that drew a few hundred singers ranging in age from 12 to 90, singing beloved hymns full bore all day long.

… In 1959, Lomax had another opportunity to record Sacred Harp singing, thanks to a contract with Atlantic Records to produce a series of albums of southern field recordings. Armed with an early portable Ampex stereo reel-to-reel tape recorder and two RCA ribbon microphones, and assisted by English folksinger Shirley Collins, Lomax came to Fyffe to record the United Sacred Harp Musical Association’s 46th annual convention.

… Lomax and Collins arrived in the late morning of the second day. They recorded 32 hymns in the 90 minutes or so before the lunch break. Then, over the course of about five hours, a further 130 hymns were sung and recorded before the convention adjourned in the early evening.

… Three hymns from the 1959 convention were included in Atlantic Records’ seven album series “Sounds of the South,” which included three hymns from the Sacred Harp. In 1962, the Prestige Folklore label released an entire album of 18 hymns recorded by Lomax and Collins in its “Southern Journey” series. A revised version of this album that included words and notation for the songs was released on vinyl by New World Records in 1977 and then on CD in 1992. In 1997, two full CDs with many previously unreleased songs were released in Rounder Records’ expanded reissue of the Southern Journey series.

–Matthew Barton, “United Sacred Harp Musical Convention in Fyffe, Alabama“

Baltimore Editor’s Note

The preceding paragraphs, excerpted from a linked essay about the recordings, gives larger context to the following news report of a singing that Alan Lomax recorded. The past grows before us. While we venture further away from that event, it is more approachable now than the seconds and hours and days after it completed.

In addition to transcribing the article, I’ve included recordings of the entire convention, available for the first time, I believe, when the Lomax Figital Archive put them online and then Jeremiah Ledbetter put them on YouTube in 2022, stitched together with a timestamped track listing.

The Sacred Songs Roll Like Thunder

By TED STRONGIN

THE SUN was shining. The church door were open. Inside all the benches were filled. Up front In the church one man stood beating time. He was surrounded on four aide by tenors, trebles, altos, and basses arranged in sections.

Outside across the street dry cornstalks were rustling. The singing rolled and thundered out over the green. In front of the church Two men were out there listening.

One of them talked between tunes and phrases a sort of running commentary. He kept Interrupting to point out a note or a verse or to sing along with a favorite line.

He was T.C. Bailey from Arab, Ala. The church was the Corinth Baptist on top of Sand Mountain in Fyffe Ala.

“My granddaddy was a great treble singer,” Bailey said. “A fellow once asked him In a small town ‘Why do you sing those old songs over and over again every year?’

“‘It’s like this Joe’ my granddaddy said ‘when better songs are made we’ll sing em’

‘‘I love baseball about as well as anything In the world” said the Arab man. “But I’m sacrificin’ television all weekend just to hear the singing.”

Uncle Tom Denson, a famous Sacred Harp leader, expressed everybody’s opinion a while ago.

“If some of you don’t like this music” Uncle Tom said, “all I’ve got to say to you is you’d better get out. If you stay here, it’s going to get a-hold of you and you can’t get away”

There are many Sacred Harp groups singing around the South. All do not use the same tunes but they resemble each other in style. The one at Fyffe last weekend was the United Sacred Harp Musical Association, with members in most Southern States even over to Texas.

The book used by United is “Original Sacred Harp” published at headquarters in Haileyville, Ala. All the songs they sing hundreds of them are in the book.

“There’s a song In this book for every human idea” said Bailey “If you can’t find It I’ll find it for you In other words It’s based on life.

“Members of all denominations wrote these songs.

“To me the sacred singing la really dear” Bailey said on the green knoll outside the church.

“I love music the birds too Sacred singin’ means more to me than any other kind.

“Listen to that” he said “It’s ‘The Church’s Desolation.’”

THE HYMN rolled out of the open church doors, leathery and intense, with a penetrating edge to the sound.

“Well may thy servants mourn my God,
The Church’s desolation.
The state of Zion calls aloud
For grief and lamentation.”

It thundered over the knoll. It was not like opera-singing. It was deep and moving.

“Listen to the woman” said Bailey.

“Once she was all alive to Thee
And thousands were converted
But now a sad reverse we see
Her glory is departed.”

“They were wrote back centuries ago,” Bailey said, “as far back as the 16th and 17th Centuries.

“This one here is an old funerial song,” he said “They don’t sing it so loud at funerals.

“They don’t have to have an organ, do they?” The songs went on:

“At Thy command the winds arise
And swell the tow’ring waves
The men astonished mount the skies
And sink in gaping graves.”

The broad band of sound that Sacred Harp singers make is solid and fundamental. It grips the stomach. Harmonies are rough and open. Words are hit with force.

There were a few hundred singers present at Fyffe. A committee had picked leaders, each one of whom took two songs. Over two full days of singing that’s a lot of leaders of all ages teen to ninety.

“We had 400 in Arab In 1956,” said Bailey of an earlier convention.

“One flew In here today from Texas, a doctor. He got up and led a while ago.”

Singers sing most weekends all year “They come to conventions to take part not to listen .

“No money is involved other than the expense,” Bailey said. “No one Is paid. They come on their own.

“They take up a little money for what they call the minutes of singing. They keep track of the numbers they sing. They like to know what their buddies are singin’.

“Never did go to a singin’ school. I’ve been goin’ at it 40 years now,’’ said Bailey.

I go to those old fasola singin’s” He pronounced it “fossil-la”.

“Listen to that high note there”.

It swelled over the countryside:

“Remember you are hast’ning on
To death’s dark gloomy shade
Your joys on earth will soon be gone
Your flesh in dust by laid.”

“There’s another mountain they call Lookout Mountain across here,” Bailey said pointing. “It’s near Chattanooga. They sing there too.

“Makes the grass on the mountains and corn in the valleys grow,” sang Bailey.

“Ain’t no more truer words They’re wrote by inspired people.”

The songs went on:

“Oh let us meet in heav’n
The Christian’s happy home
The house above where ail is love
There’ll be no parting there”

“This is pretty country up here,” Bailey said. “Corn is surroundin’ the churches. There’s three churches here in a row.

“A bunch of singers went’ up to New York” he continued. “A New York newspaper sent for them and paid everything. Forty of them, some of them here today. They went over to a big music hall m New Jersey. They sang at the Waldorf Astoria.

“One of them went to sing. He was so staled that when lie whacked down on the first note his voice wouldn’t even squeak”

Coy Putnam, the man with the squeak, was at Fyffe during the convention last weekend. Putnam remembers that the power of the old songs drove the squeak away. His voice returned in time.

They sang all during the trip on the train everywhere It was the New York Herald Tribune that brought them up in 1932 to a forum.

Earlier another group was brought to New York by Columbia University where it was the wonder of a folk music festival.

The music went on.

“Now that song there,” said Bailey, “believe it or not I don’t believe I ever heard it before.”

“Farewell my dear brethren, the time is at hand
When we must be parted from this social band
Our several engagements now call us away
Our parting is needful and we must obey”

“They’ll spread dinner today,” the Arab man said.

“We want you to enjoy yourself. Everybody’s welcome

‘‘I’ve been to places where you couldn’t eat a 10th of what was put out” he said.

“… to see the wicked things on high” he sang.

“At 3:30 pm tomorrow evenin’ they’ll be going just as strong as right now,” Bailey said. “They’ll be a bit hoarse.

“Come on up and meet Brother Brown,” said he. “He’s president.”

“SACRED Harp is non-sectarian and non-denominational,” said Leman Brown, retiring president “Anyone can sing.”

Sacred Harp came over with the Pilgrims, most people agree. It was sung through New England and then migrated down the mountains with the early settlers.

Now it exists mainly in the Southeast.

Up north, it was gradually overwhelmed by the importation of high class “European” music: Handel, Haydn, and so on, at the turn of the 18th-19th century.

It did not depart unmourned, however.

Benjamin Franklin, more than once in letters, spoke of the “old tunes” that he was sad to see disappearing.

And he described vividly the sound of congregation singing during his boyhood in Boston.

Franklin felt that this music had a special power, its harmonies were exciting, it had crude ranging energy it should have been allowed to develop. It was not “wrong” except by arty European standards said Franklin.

There seems little doubt that Franklin was talking about Sacred Harp or music much like it.

Indeed many of the names In “Original Sacred Harp” are those of New England hymn writers of Revolutionary times.

The hardy stock of early amateur composers included William Billings, Timothy Swan, Nehemiah Shumway, Daniel Reid, Jeremiah Ingalls.

Up north Billings is now famous again. He was rediscovered in the 20th Century. Several composers have used his hymn tunes as the basis for contemporary works.

Genuine Billings, as he wrote the notes himself, is still sung in the Southeast as passed down from generation to generation.

Tape recorders spun busily at Fyffe. Tape is rescuing “Original Sacred Harp” from the threat of oblivion due to radio and TV. And young people are getting interested too in greater numbers according to many at Fyffe.

“Sacred Harp is a-growin’,” said R.H. Burnham, an 89-year-old veteran from Jacksonville, Ala.

One high school student wrote a thesis, Sacred Harp.

“Sacred Harp remains unchangeable” he said “It is like a rock in a desert…

“My maternal grandfather N.E. Denney,” continued the student “taught a Sacred Harp singing school for many years. He was a good teacher and I loved to sit on his knee while he patted his feet and sang his favorite hymn. I still love to hear his bass voice as he lets those notes roll out.”

Carrying on the mighty tradition of Sacred Harp today are thousands of countryfolk scattered over the Southern Highlands.

Among these are famous families of singers and composers: the Densons, Odems, Cagles, all represented at Fyffe last weekend.

Though the tradition is mighty, it is not awesome awful or overbearing. On the contrary Sacred Harpers groups are surelv among the most democratic music groups going.

Practically everyone has a chance at being a leader, as said. Even the Times photographer when he arrived at Fyffe was offered the job (he refused).

The spirit of Sacred Harp is as sturdy and independent now as it was in 1798, when Deacon Janaziah composed an “Ode to Science.”

“The British yokes the Gallic Chain,” wrote the deacon.
“Was surged upon our neck in vain
All haughty tyrants we disdain.”

The Ode is still sung, as it us one of hundreds, new and old, in “Original Sacred Harp”.

The Raw Alan Lomax Recordings

Recordings from the 56th Annual Convention of the United Sacred Harp Musical Association. Recorded by Alan Lomax and Shirley Collins at Corinth Baptist Church in Fyffe, Alabama on Saturday September 12, 1959.

Recordings from the 56th Annual Convention of the United Sacred Harp Musical Association. Recorded by Alan Lomax and Shirley Collins at Corinth Baptist Church in Fyffe, Alabama on Sunday September 13, 1959.

Local

Our new loaner books!

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Thank you to all the sponsors of our Sacred Harp loaner book buy. We’re excited to have more people showing up to fa-so-la along with us.

One thing we’ve recently done is add a page on the inside front cover with a few “quick reference” items, including a quick overview of the shape notes, the hollow square, the four parts of the tune, helpful links and, most useful, a short list of some relatively easy and popular tunes to call for folks who are completely new to singing.

UPDATE: We’ve had a few singers ask if they can download this for their loaner books, so I made a version that wasn’t Baltimore specific. Print it out on 8.5×11″ sticker paper and cut the dotted line. The “Thank you” text beneath the graphic I cut out and put on the inside back cover, otherwise that’s just wasted paper! I’ve also included a statement that the design is placed into the public domain, so you can feel free to use any of the text or graphics for your own group without asking permission.

InsideBookIntroductions-Universal-1Download

Here is the text on the first panel:

GOOD TUNES FOR BEGINNERS TO CALL

Everyone has a chance to call a song, but it might be hard to figure out what to pick. Some options:
Use a lucky number. Open the book to a random page. Roll dice. Select a good and easy tune from the list below. All tunes with a “*” at the end have a “Learn to Sing Sacred Harp” video on YouTube.

34b St. Thomas
39 Detroit
40 Lenox*
45t New Britain*
47b Idumea
49t Old Hundred
59 Holy Manna*
62 Parting Hand
65 Sweet Prospect
101t Canaan’s Land
142 Stratfield*
146 Hallelujah*
155 Northfield*
159 Wondrous Love*
162 Plenary
178 Africa*
209 Evening Shade
277 Antioch
282 I’m Going Home
354 Lebanon
425 Golden Streets
457 Wayfaring Stranger
448t Consecration

History

Sacred Harp Singers (1984)

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Sacred Harp Singers
Directed by Mark Brice
Summary: A moving portrait of harp singers Leonard and Maxine Lacy. Sacred harp music is a kind of harmonised plainsong practised in rural America. This film was shot in Sand Mountain, Alabama, and is recommended for ethnomusicology in particular.

Ethnomusicology, Fall 1987 | Film Reviews


Sacred Harp Singers. Produced and directed by Mark Brice and Chris Petry.
Video, color, 85 minutes, 1984. Distributed by the National Film and
Television School, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, U.K.

The title of this film is well chosen, for it is largely about the lives of Leonard and Maxine Lacy, two Sacred Harp singers from Sand Mountain, Alabama. There are numerous scenes shown of their daily life-farm work in particular-as well as their more social activities, which include picnics and Sacred Harp singing sessions, the latter usually in church but sometimes also in the living-rooms of fellow-singers.

“This is not a listeners music,” Leonard remarks early on, well-aware that to the uninitiated, these religious hymns, sung with the aid of a reduced solfeggio system by untrained voices, do not sound exactly mellifluous. In a scene filmed in his kitchen, Leonard explains that Sacred Harp music has only “got four notes-fa so la mi” and that these are repeated up a scale: fa so la mi fa so la mi fa. Such a system makes it possible to sing in any key, once one has picked the beginning “fa.” A T-shirt Leonard proudly wears later in the film further demonstrates the music. The top line of the shirt reads “I love Sacred Harp Music,” the middle line shows a musical scale, and the bottom line shows the elements this scale is composed of

fa so la mi

Several singing sessions are shown, usually with 15-20 singers seated by voice (SATB) on benches or pews in a square facing each other. A singer stands up, suggests a hymn to sing out of the hymnal (which is called the Sacred Harp, though this is not mentioned in the film), and leads through the song, first using the solfeggio pattern, then the words. Many hymns are no more than a page (2 long staffs), and partial repeats are common. The leader uses a simple up-and-down beat, often copied by the women singers in the film with their free hand, and when the hymn is done, another singer takes his or her place.

Very little information is provided on the music itself, other than that the Pilgrims sang sacred songs and that “more than 400 years ago, William Shakespeare mentioned sacred music sung with four notes.” The connection with Sacred Harp music is then not made, and one is left wondering whether this is Pilgrim music which wandered south, or whether there is some connection, given the shape of the notes, with medieval plainsong. Even non-musicologists can observe that this system simplifies intervals all “fa” notes are a fifth apart-to something even the musically illiterate can master. In the Sacred Harp hymnals I am familiar with, the hymns are all carefully dated, composers and arrangers are given, one often can tell
when voice lines are added (alto, in particular), and a lengthy introduction is given to this particular form of notation. That Billings frequently appears as a composer perhaps speaks for some Pilgrim connection; that lines are added to create four-part harmony perhaps speaks for some plainsong connection. None of this appears in the film.

Indeed, this film is more microethnography than ethnomusicology. The above commentary about possible origin, not to speak of the paucity of discussion about the “Shape-Note” form (as this notation is also called), indicate that this film is meant more for those who already know something about Sacred Harp singing than for neophytes. One can tell that the filmmakers are rather taken with the Lacys, and lovingly dwell on scenes of Leonard musing in a cemetery, Leonard discussing rabbits, Leonard examining a burnt-out house. One can also tell that Leonard is somewhat embarrassed and unsure of what to make of these filmmakers, especially when they ask him to “Tell us something about nature.” The filmmakers are unsure of their own focus, and seem to vacillate between a portrait of two people who are singers, a depiction of a musical form, and showing daily life in the South. The connection between Sacred Harp singing and the Lacys’ life in the end gets lost, for it remains unclear whether non-Sacred Harp singers
would not in fact provide a very similar kind of picture.

One has the impression from this film that Sacred Harp music is a very white-oriented pleasure for middle-aged and older Southerners that has something to do with religion. How widespread this musical form is, or what the religious connection is, remains obscure. If Leonard Lacy early on states that Sacred Harp music is “a good way to worship the Lord,” then this is a clue to be pursued, not buried. For improving this film, I would suggest that either a booklet be provided, or voice-over commentary be added to the film, to flesh out both the ethnography and the musicology. Judicious editing, particularly of the farm scenes, is also in order: its present length makes it unusable for classroom instruction. Viewers are not likely to know anything, not even what the hymnals look like, much less the notes, and they should be led by the hand through the material.

John Bendix
Lewis and Clark College
Portland, Oregon