Sacred Harp music

The best religious music should inspire and elevate. Recently, a friend of mine who has an interest in choral music introduced me to Sacred Harp music, a choral singing tradition dating back to the 19th century which is apparently strongest in the southern United States:

It's unlike any Christian music I've heard in this country. It's uplifting and beautiful! Sacred Harp music is also interesting because it uses shape-notes - each note on the scale is given a shape and a syllable (think Do Ra Mi etc.), ostensibly to make it easier to learn and to sight-sing for the participants. Generally parts are sung with the syllables first, and then with the words:

It's all very fascinating. Here's some more beautiful Sacred Harp music:

Wikipedia article on Sacred Harp: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_harp

I know WATMMers aren't religious on the whole and a lot of you have a very childish attitude towards Christianity in particular, but maybe you can see past it and enjoy this music for its own merits. Did any of you grow up in an area where this sort of music was popular in church?

Ha that is crazy that you've heard about that! I have a couple cds of shape-note singing that my mother used when she taught courses on American roots music. It is quite bizarre, isn't it?

I've got to thank my friend really, she finds the strangest and most eclectic stuff. But this music really moves me for some reason!

By the way Salvatorin, if it's not too much bother do you think you could upload an MP3 or two? I'm finding it really difficult to get decent-quality recordings of this sort of music from the normal (illegal) channels, I'm waiting on a CD to arrive!

this is actually pretty badass.

most badass western music came from the church in the past centuries, so im not surprised.

I think there's a bloke sat in the front row in the third video I posted who's wearing an AC/DC t-shirt, lol. I want a Sacred Harp t-shirt!

  Iain C said:

By the way Salvatorin, if it's not too much bother do you think you could upload an MP3 or two? I'm finding it really difficult to get decent-quality recordings of this sort of music from the normal (illegal) channels, I'm waiting on a CD to arrive!

sure, but it will take a couple days, because I'm out of the country at the moment, and I didn't bring my music with me

Close Encounters of the Musical Kind

i attend church in the south and while we don't sing shape-notes we do crib some songs from the sacred harp book

Yeah, this stuff is fantastic. I came across thris through a resident at the homeless shelter I work at and was really caught off guard by it.

  IRARI said:

i attend church in the south and while we don't sing shape-notes we do crib some songs from the sacred harp book

I went to a wedding at the weekend and found I really enjoyed singing in church. Today I've considered going to my local church on Sundays more or less just to sing!

check out the Dust-To-Digital label if you haven't already. I know they have a comp of this stuff, plus a lot of other awesome old religious music.

  Iain C said:

  IRARI said:

i attend church in the south and while we don't sing shape-notes we do crib some songs from the sacred harp book

 

I went to a wedding at the weekend and found I really enjoyed singing in church. Today I've considered going to my local church on Sundays more or less just to sing!

at my church i usually get to pick out a song to lead... i also really like singing, especially four-part harmony there

there is a really good documentary about this style of music and culture called Awake My Soul,, and on a not so related note, but about the the similar region,, The True Meaning Of Pictures

  spike said:

there is a really good documentary about this style of music and culture called Awake My Soul,, and on a not so related note, but about the the similar region,, The True Meaning Of Pictures

I just put those on my netflix qeue. thanks, they both look good

  spike said:

there is a really good documentary about this style of music and culture called Awake My Soul,, and on a not so related note, but about the the similar region,, The True Meaning Of Pictures

That film sounds amazing, I might have to track it down. There's some good info about sacred harp on the site as well! Thanks a lot.

  Jonas said:

to hijack this thread a lill,..

 

  Smettingham Rutherford IV said:

most badass western music came from the church in the past centuries, so im not surprised.

 

Some came from a murderer tortured by guilt ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlo_Gesualdo ), big fan of some of his modulations..

 

 

More chromatically extravagant:

 

 

Werner Herzog made a documentary about him:

http://www.mininova.org/search/?search=Dea...oices&cat=0

ooh thanks for the recommendation...interesting

note i said "most" not "all"

I typically don't like religious music, but I really enjoy bluegrass. Something about the vocal harmonies in it that really move me.

not the best one there is but the fisrt one i found. i've got an album by these guys, it's great stuff. maybe i like it more cause it's my heritage and all that, blah blah, still beautiful.

I really enjoyed that!

sry, i can't upload mp4s i guess (that's alll i got cause i ripped the album into itunes)... will try to get em up or pm them if ya want iain, they are more just like (and i think slightly better) than that youtube.

Only if it's not too much hassle essines, I plan on going on a big religious/choral music buying spree very soon!

I've discovered today that Spotify has loads of stuff like this, what a boon.

Sometimes I feel bad for getting so excited about religious music when I don't adhere to the beliefs of that particular (or any) denomination. I think that's the only thing keeping me from joining a full-blown baptist choir. That and my singing ability...

Local Customs: Downriver Revival

excellent set of funky religious music. I need to buy it for the dvd which has a movie and extra tracks. the music cd which i downloaded is really great.

Post an MP3, Hanratty?

I've come across this excellent CD compilation of early religious country music, from the 1920s to the 1940s:

Definitely worth the purchase!

22___Rejoicing_All_the_Way.mp3Fetching info...