May 11th, 2006
Sacred Harp online
For those of you who know about Sacred Harp music (no, not sacred heart), the bible of that tradition is now online. Well, at least a crude digitization of it is and a lame website to boot. That old favorite “Amazing Grace” can be found on page 45 (type in 44). You’ll also find “All Hail the Pow’r of Jesus’ Name” somewhere. This music is the common link between American Protestant hymnody and country music.
In Sacred Harp music, the melody is in the TENOR. It was a male dominated society so THEY got the tune. The sopranos sang these dreary parts normally relegated to the middle voices.
There are [gasp] parallel 5ths everywhere, a melodic doubling STRICTLY forbidden in academia.
At the beginning of every Sacred Harp song, they sing through it in their own kind of solfege: the traditional solfege is based upon do re mi fa so la ti do. Sacred Harp music, which is also known is some circles as “Fa So La Music,” uses an alternative technique to doo doo their way up the scale.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 becomes fa sol la fa sol la mi fa
Got it? Wanna see what it looks like?
Take a listen to this group. This is what Sacred Harp singing sounds like.
May 15th, 2006 at 10:27 am
Scale is actually
fa so la fa so la mi fa
Given that both men and women sing the treble and tenor lines in Sacred Harp singing (in different octaves), you may want to reconsider your statement about “male dominated society”.
fasolamatt
st paul mn
May 15th, 2006 at 11:34 am
An expert! Thank you Matt. I have already corrected my error. But before I retract my “male dominated sociey” (it was, wasn’t it?) would you please point out a single tune where the tune is in the soprano?
I am also remiss in not pointing out that this music is often referred to “shaped note music” as each shape is tied to a solfege syllable.
May 15th, 2006 at 11:56 am
Your assumption is that the treble line is a soprano line. It’s not… it’s a treble line, sung by both men and women. The melody is in the tenor line, also sung by both men and women.
Now, women weren’t allowed to LEAD (stand in the middle and “conduct”) Sacred Harp tunes until oh about fifty years ago, and the last major singing to allow women to lead (the Big Singing in Benton KY, not a Sacred Harp singing but a shape-note singing) had a female leader for the first time in 2004.
May 15th, 2006 at 1:41 pm
I stand corrected. This makes it even MORE interesting. How do people decide which line they want to sing? Do men and women ALWAYS sing on each part? Even the bass?
May 16th, 2006 at 4:39 am
Men and women double on the treble (high harmony) and lead (tenor, melody) lines. Our local singings in the Twin Cities are blessed with four male trebles. Women sing alto, men sing bass… but one does see the occasional guy sneak into the alto section and sing in the high register.
How do you choose? You just know. I generally sing tenor, but fill in when we’re short on basses (but I can’t make the low notes buzz). I’ve sung treble and I don’t enjoy it as much. My wife is an alto. Sacred Harp Alto is a way of life as much as it is a singing part. See http://showerofblessings.blogspot.com/2006/05/fierce-altos_04.html for a description from a recent convention.
If you’re still “curious”, check out a local singing near you: http://www.mcsr.olemiss.edu/~mudws/regular.html Show up, borrow a book, try out a part, and don’t worry about the solfege, just sing “la” and you’ll be right a third of the time, sound right another third of the time, and you’ll be drowned out by the other singers anyway so it doesn’t matter (all SH is sung ff).
May 16th, 2006 at 6:45 am
You may know the American choral composer Randall Thompson. It was he who introduced this music to me by giving me 5 LPs of recordings. I bought the book (much easier to traverse than the online version) and studied it. But you, Matt, have taught me more than RT or the book together. Many thanks for teaching this old dog some new information.
June 21st, 2006 at 12:16 pm
A correction: The Big Singing had a woman leader for the first time in 2005, not 2004.
From: “Timothy Reynolds”
> The Big Singing will be held on Sunday, May 28, at the Marshall
> County Courthouse on the Square in Benton, Kentucky. The singing will
begin
> at 10:30 A. M. Singing will be from _The Southern Harmony_.
>
> This singing dates back to the 1880’s, and it has a history of being
> significantly different from the sort of format that Sacred Harp
singers are
> used to. It is more of a civic occasion and has been tied to a
homecoming
> for many local residents. In many ways it is more formal than a
Sacred Harp
> singing. (It’s the only singing where I will show up wearing a suit.)
> There will be a printed program of leaders and their selections, but
there
> will be time for others wishing to lead to do so.
>
> The biggest change began last year when two women led songs for the
> first time. Women had not led prior to last year because it was
considered
> traditional for only men to lead. This year two women are included
among
> the list of leaders, Anne Steel and Deborah Loftis, but others will
be
> welcome.
>
> I expect that there will be a larger crowd than in years past. I’m
> looking forward to that. I hope to see you there. Benton is located
in
> western Kentucky, a few miles south of I-24, Exit 25.
>
> Tim Reynolds
> Nashville, Tennessee
>
October 11th, 2007 at 5:17 pm
Roger,
Very interesting tool. I hope they add a search functionality to it. I’m new to Sacred Harp, and I don’t always remember what page the songs I like are on.
–Gray