From the Collection: An Earlier Sacred Harp

Fig 2 Windham comparison small

Compare Mason’s rearrangement of Daniel Read’s “Windham” (top) with White’s version (bottom), which closely follows Read’s original. Mason changed the tune to triple time, eliminating the treble/bass solos; he also substantially altered the harmony, particularly in the treble part, which fills in a number of open chords, including the final chord—a harmonic feature in minor music entirely absent from B. F. White and E. J. King’s The Sacred Harp as well as its descendent, The Sacred Harp, 1991 Edition.

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