The collection was first published in 1844, in georgia, usa, and is part of a communal singing tradition that includes music that is much older, as well as more recent compositions. The other three thursdays of the month, we will still sing from denson, but also from the missouri harmony, shenandoah harmony, and norumbega harmony. The sacred harp, which has been continuously in print since 1844, is the most commonly used shapenote book. The book was originally compiled in 1844 and has been continuously in print since then. The sacred harp is a shapenote tunebook first published in 1844 in hamilton, georgia, and used for congregational singing. Sacred harp singing uses the book the sacred harp orig. New orleans from the daily book sacred harp shape note.
Recorded by alan lomax and george pullen jackson in august, 1942. Victoria sacred harp 18thcentury shapenote singing for. Sung at the joe beasley singing in brooklyn, new york on. All our regular singings use the sacred harp, 1991 edition.
Its roots lie in the singing school movement begun in new england during the 1720s, in which singing masters compiled books of music instruction designed to teach note reading for singing in churches. Several of its authors and contributors have ties to the philadelphia area. Buy yourself a copy of the sacred harp, 1991 edition. The term sacred harp is believed to refer to the human voice. Since the 1960s, the shapenote singing revival has expanded across the united states and to several other countries. This sunday night free sacred harp singing school for beginners, in virginiahighland. The cooper edition is a tunebook descended from the 19thcentury sacred harp and initially published in 1902 by w. Sacred harp in the wiregrass african american rural. It is updated once per year, in december, for the following year. A map of these singing locations can be viewed here for a more complete list of sacred harp and other similar book singings, please visit this site january.
The first thursday of the month will be a two book singing with the 1991 edition of the denson sacred harp and the cooper book. The singing on the 4th friday takes place in the st. Jan 06, 2020 a small book of songs published in 1934, the existence of the colored sacred harp is a further example of the strength and place of shapenote singing among the africanamerican population of southeast alabama in the 1930s. In addition to the sacred harp, the university city singing uses the shenandoah harmony and the havertown singing uses the shenandoah harmony. The new 2012 revised cooper edition represents a monumental covertocover. The sacred harp, also known as the denson revision,has a smaller traditional territorythe upland northern parts of georgia, alabama, and mississippiand is a some what more traditional book. White sacred harp, dark gray for the christian harmony, light blue for the georgian harmony, and light green for the social harp. Each individual is invited to take a turn leading, i. Notes this edition of the sacred harp was the forerunner of the 1936 denson edition the direct ancestor of the current 1991 edition. The name is derived from the sacred harp, a ubiquitous and historically important tunebook printed in shape notes.
The book is a rich collection of shape note songs from various. Speech by paine denson, excerpt from a field recording, speeches about the sacred harp sound recording 1 sound disc. Cobbs acclaimed sacred harp memoir brings to life singers and singings of decades past with poignancy and wit. Sacred harp singing is a community musical and social event, emphasizing participation, not performance, where people sing songs from a tunebook called the sacred harp. New orleans from the daily book sacred harp shape note singing. This index contains the lyrics of all songs in the b. Saturday before the 4th sunday in july state college, pa area contact.
Jun 09, 2019 the colors correspond roughly to book color. A small book of songs published in 1934, the existence of the colored sacred harp is a further example of the strength and place of shapenote singing among the africanamerican population of southeast alabama in the 1930s. If this is your first singing we offer you a loaner to sing from. Mar 12, 2020 sacred harp singing is a nondenominational community musical event emphasizing participation, not performance. Steven sabols sacred harp and related resource guide includes over 120 facebook groups related to sacred harp and shapenote singing around the world, from korea and australia eastward through north america and europe to israel. Includes unpaginated general index and index of first lines. Your religious or political affiliation doesnt matter at a singing. Central pennsylvania allday sacred harp singing this singing has been suspended. New editions include new compositions,but the publishers have held firm against modern harmonies. Victoria sacred harp uses the 1991 edition of the sacred harp the denson book. The sacred harp is the name of the book we sing from. Developed in north america from 1770 to the mid 1800s as a way for teachers to instruct students how to read music and sing, it shared a comeback with the revival of folk singing in the 1960s.
This website is a learning resource for both experienced and new shapenote singers. Follow us on facebook at old harp singing in east tennessee. The shenandoah harmony is a new shapenote book published in 2012. In the few cases of lyrics written by modernday poets, unless otherwise noted, the is held by the sacred harp book company, samson, alabama, which has graciously granted permission to publish the material online. Vermont shapenote singers vermont shape note singers. While some shape note books include oldfashioned gospel hymns, the music in the most widely used book, the 1991 sacred harp, has an unfamiliar older sound. The open harmonies, emotional fullthroated singing, and vigorous rhythms of sacred harp had come to be considered oldfashioned, rustic, and unseemly by the urban. Ordering the sacred harp the sacred harp publishing. It was this book, now distributed in several different versions, that came to be the shape note tradition with the largest number of participants. Ordering information to support guidelines to help continue reading.
The sacred harp, revised cooper edition online index. Sacred harp singing is a tradition of community singing that originated in colonial new england, and has been preserved for generations in the deep south of the united states. This folklife magazine article has more about philadelphia singing. There is singing in the hyde park neighborhood every thursday. The work was first published in 1844 and has reappeared.
The word index is currently not available for the songs on page 195 and above. Although books are provided, especially for new singers, buying your own book means that you can make notes and study songs at. The name is derived from the sacred harp, a tunebook printed in shape notes first published in 1844. Sacred harp music represents one branch of an older tradition of american music that developed over the period 1770 to 182. Shapenote singing usually from the sacred harp song book is an american traditional style of fourpart, a cappella, social and spiritual, communitybased singing. The work was first published in 1844 and has reappeared in multiple editions ever since. Sacred harp singing is a nondenominational community musical event emphasizing participation, not performance. The mission of this page is to encourage new sacred harp singers to come and sing as often as possible. The book is a rich collection of shape note songs from various sources, from the 1770s to. Welcome to the ohio sacred harp homepage, the headquarters for sacred harp information in ohio. It is often said that the sacred harp is a metaphor for the human voice. Sacred harp singing is traditional religious folk music sung a cappella no instruments in four parts from the sacred harp, a tunebook printed in shape notes. Recorded at the sacred harp singing convention in birmingham, alabama venue. It is still used today throughout the south wherever there are gatherings for singing school.
You dont have to be a polished singer to join in with sacred harp singing. While it doesnt hurt to be able to read standard music notation, many singers learn by ear. Welcome to the calendar site for sacred harp singing in the uk. One of the best ethnographies of american vernacular music, millers book brilliantly succeeds in mapping the complex and shifting range of meanings that sacred harp singing holds for diverse participants and in showing why people are attracted to it.
This package of lessons is intended to teach you how to read and sing sacred harp music also known as shapenote singing. Shape note singing lesson smithsonian folkways recordings. It has been traditionally used in the florida panhandle, the southern regions of georgia, alabama, and mississippi, and in texas. Also available from the sacred harp publishing company like cords around my heart audiobook. Shape note singing also goes by sacred harp referring to the human body like a harp as an instrument. Many generations of young children, people rich in years, and everyone between, have been taught to sing sacred harp music using the principles outlined in this package. New england sacred harp singing convention, newburyport ma, october 2014. When you sing sacred harp on a regular basis you can buy a book from us, the price is 35. Welcome to the sacred harp publishing company the sacred.
Sacred harp singing is a tradition of sacred choral music that originated in new england and was later perpetuated and carried on in the american south of the united states. White sacred harp cooper revision you may look up any song by title, page number, first line, composer, poet, or meter you may also look up words or verses using the word index. The sacred harp uses notation developed by the progressive new england singing masters william little and william smith, who published the easy instructor in 1801. While judge jackson is given credit for its authorship, the colored sacred harp is best described as a community effort. Sung at the joe beasley singing in brooklyn, new york on november 2016. An invaluable document of a musical tradition stretching back to the civil war that is on the verge of disappearing forever, desire for piety is a rare example of black sacred harp singing from rural southeast alabama. Below is a list of many sacred harp revised cooper edition singings that occur each year in the southeastern united states. David brodeur will teach a beginning lesson on singing four shapes from the sacred harp book, at 6. Sacred harp in the wiregrass african american rural hymnody. David brodeur will teach a beginning lesson on singing four shapes from. Sacred harp singing came into being with the 1844 publication of benjamin franklin white and elisha j. Its most distinctive characteristic is the use of shape notes to indicate the degree of the musical scale.
Click the following links to see our schedule of annual singings and newsletter. We sing weekly, monthly, and annually in several communities in and around vermont. Books sacred harp and shapenote singing in philadelphia. Sacred harp singing has been interdenominational since it began. The sacred harp is an oblong tunebook first published in 1844 by b. Audiobook features 6 cds with a digital download and a booklet with preface, author notes, and photos. The book was originally compiled in 1844 and has been. Ordering the sacred harp buy yourself a copy of the sacred harp, 1991 edition songbook. We sing from the sacred harp, a book first published in 1844, a collection of early american christian hymns and anthems, written explicitly for the singing schools of the era.
Shape note singing introduction, rhodyjane meadows. White sacred harp, the hymn book primarily used by the seven million shapenote singers in. In the 21st century, the ability to sight read is an asset but not a requirement. The minutes book, which you can download from this website contains a complete printed directory of annual singings. The sacred harp, a compilation of hymns and songs written in shaped notes, was put together for congregational singing by benjamin franklin white, the brother of my great, great, great grandmother. In the 1830s, sacred harp singing was banished from new england by the better music movement. Their shapenote system was designed to teach sightreading and enable users to sing complex, sophisticated music. Technically, our style of singing is shape note singing because the musical notation uses note heads in 4 distinct shapes to aid in sightreading, but it is often called sacred harp singing because the books that most singers use today are called the sacred harp, with the most prominent of these being the 1991 denson edition.