The ninth issue of the Sacred Harp Publishing Company Newsletter shares stories from Sacred Harp’s past, explores the leading choices of singers today, and offers thoughts on how our singings continue to expand as well as suggestions for how each singer might contribute to Sacred Harp’s future.
Printable version of the Sacred Harp Publishing Company Newsletter, Vol. 4, No. 2 (3.2 MB PDF).
The issue begins with Warren Steel’s account of how he happened upon a unique artifact from our past, a 1924 trophy awarded to the winners of a Sacred Harp singing contest. Joe Jones tells the story of how whistling a Sacred Harp tune in 1954 sparked an encounter with his future wife. In this issue’s “Just a Minute” installment, Nathan Rees reveals just what caused Sacred Harp singers to break into a Northwest Georgia church in November 1997. Turning to the present, Jesse P. Karlsberg and Mark T. Godfrey explore how leaders think about songs in relation to the calendar. Reports on singings in Sweden, The Netherlands, Alaska, and British Columbia by Gill Minor and Jesse detail the remarkable role strong regional hubs are playing in fostering the growth of new singings. Finally, two articles—one new, one old—suggest how we all might contribute to Sacred Harp’s future. Robert L. Vaughn details how any singer with computer access can contribute to preserving Sacred Harp history for future generations by searching historical newspapers. Priestley Miller’s list of Sacred Harp “Dos and Don’ts” is a pithy reminder of why so many of us value our music, and it still retains currency fifty years after its original publication.
The Newsletter team welcomes your comments on these articles. We also invite your suggestions of topics for future issues. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Vol. 4, No. 2 Contents
- “The W. T. Gwin Old Harp Singers Trophy: A Unique Piece of Sacred Harp Memorabilia from Mississippi,” Warren Steel (Oxford, MS)
- “Sacred Harp Singing: A Way of Wife,” Joseph M. Jones (Huntsville, AL)
- “Regional Roots: Growing Sacred Harp in the Netherlands, Alaska, and British Columbia,” Jesse P. Karlsberg (Atlanta, GA)
- “406 and More, in Sweden,” Gill Minor (Wilmington, NC)
- “Seasonal Songs,” Jesse P. Karlsberg (Atlanta, GA) and Mark T. Godfrey (San Francisco, CA)
- “Recovering Sacred Harp History through Newspapers,” Robert L. Vaughn (Mount Enterprise, TX)
- “Harmony Primitive Baptist Church Singing, November 19, 1995: ‘The Traditional Window Opening,’” Nathan Rees (Grand Forks, ND)
- “Some Dos and Don’ts for Sacred Harp Singers,” Priestley Miller (Brentwood, TN)
Newsletter Team
- Editor: Jesse P. Karlsberg
- Associate Editor: Nathan Rees
- Design (web edition): Leigh Cooper
- Design (print edition): Elaena Gardner and Jason Stanford
This is a superlative issue. Well done, team of writers and editors!