Monthly Archives: September 2017

Introducing Vol. 6, No. 1 of the Sacred Harp Publishing Company Newsletter

Posted on September 1, 2017 by and

The twelfth issue of the Sacred Harp Publishing Company Newsletter shares the stories of composers and singers, printers and cooks who contributed to Sacred Harp in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries—some well-known and others largely forgotten. It also features the … Continue reading →

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150 Years and Counting: Heard County’s Hopewell Singing

Posted on September 1, 2017 by

The oldest continuous event in Heard County, Georgia, is a Sacred Harp singing begun right after the Civil War on the third Sunday in June. This June, the singing at Hopewell Primitive Baptist Church celebrated its 150th session with a … Continue reading →

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Philadelphia, Birthplace of the Shapes and Center of Shape-Note Publishing

Posted on September 1, 2017 by

The original 1844 edition of The Sacred Harp bore the name and address of a Philadelphia publishing house: T. K. & P. G. Collins. Although B. F. White’s journey from Hamilton, Georgia, to Philadelphia would have been several days long, … Continue reading →

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My Dad, Mr. E. C. Bowen

Posted on September 1, 2017 by

Here is a little story about my dad, Mr. Ezra Clayton “E. C.” Bowen. My dad was born on May 25, 1905, in Woodland, Alabama. He went to a few Sacred Harp singings with his grandmother when he was young … Continue reading →

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Orin Adolphus Parris: At Home Across the Shape-Note Music Spectrum

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We often think of Sacred Harp and gospel music as opposites. Especially for singers from the 1991 Edition, the style can seem anathema; its relative exclusion a sign of the tunebook’s fidelity to the “old paths” invoked in its dedication. … Continue reading →

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Tubby Walton, “An Indispensable Head Waiter” at the 1935 United Convention

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A note in the minutes of the 1935 United Sacred Harp Musical Association suggests that the hardships of holding an urban Sacred Harp convention were as real eighty years ago as they are today. Singers today may be surprised to … Continue reading →

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I Remember: Ruth Denson Edwards on Her Sacred Harp Childhood

Posted on September 1, 2017 by

Editor’s Note: In this essay, “Queen of The Sacred Harp,” Ruth Denson Edwards shares memories of her musical childhood home. Just about every day somewhere in the world Sacred Harp singers find joy and spiritual fulfillment singing songs written by … Continue reading →

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From the Collection: An Earlier Sacred Harp

Posted on September 1, 2017 by

The Sacred Harp that we sing from today was not the first book by that name. In fact, it was not even the first oblong shape-note tunebook with that title. A decade before B. F. White published the first edition … Continue reading →

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Preserving Sacred Harp’s Past for the Future:
Interning at the Sacred Harp Museum

Posted on September 1, 2017 by

Editors’ Note: The Sacred Harp Museum made great strides this summer in cataloging, archiving, preserving, and digitizing our collection thanks to Sasha Hsuczyk’s service piloting our new internship program. Below Sasha shares her experience living and working at the Sacred … Continue reading →

Posted in Sacred Harp Museum | 3 Comments