Journal issue: Vol. 6, No. 1
September 2017.
Introducing Vol. 6, No. 1 of the Sacred Harp Publishing Company Newsletter
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 growing collection and programs of the Sacred Harp Museum. Our issue begins with the history…
150 Years and Counting: Heard County’s Hopewell Singing
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 well-attended day of singing, fellowship, and several special events. How does a small church in…
Philadelphia, Birthplace of the Shapes and Center of Shape-Note Publishing
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, he published four editions of The Sacred Harp with Collins, both before and after the…
My Dad, Mr. E. C. Bowen
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 but he and his parents did not sing. As a young man, my dad served…
Orin Adolphus Parris: At Home Across the Shape-Note Music Spectrum
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. According to Raymond Hamrick, the first act of the book’s music committee was to “erect…
Tubby Walton, “An Indispensable Head Waiter” at the 1935 United Convention
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 realize that a singing might rely on catered food even during the Depression. T. B.…
I Remember: Ruth Denson Edwards on Her Sacred Harp Childhood
A note from the editor: 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 the Denson family members who gathered around a big log fire to…
From the Collection: An Earlier Sacred Harp
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 of The Sacred Harp, brothers Lowell and Timothy Mason published their own Sacred Harp in…
Preserving Sacred Harp’s Past for the Future: Interning at the Sacred Harp Museum
A note from the editor: 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 Harp Publishing Company Headquarters during her stay. The Publishing Company looks forward…
