Four Foot-Stompin' Shape Note Tunes
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 18 ธ.ค. 2024
- These four Sacred Harp songs ('Fulfillment,' 'Praise God,' 'I'll Seek His Blessing,' 'Fairfield') exhibit some of the salient charactistics often associated with this type of singing: a minor mode, primitive-sounding harmonies, and a heavily accented, driving rhythm. Singers are fervent and enthusiastic, and often beat the rhythm with their hands, and sometimes, with feet!
Love, love live this!!! Sounds almost Norse. We so need some good old fashioned praise sining now.
These past six months have been the hardest days of my life ever and I find that spiritual music of all kind is the only thing that helps me lift up my head and go each day. If I can find a place that performs this type of music within a days drive, I am going to go.
There is no more beautifully written poetry than that written to the glory of god, as these old songs so easily prove.....
Mr Brayfield, I am a black Pentecostal Briton and I have to say this music is excellent. It sounds very much like old English music; primitive in a sense. And I don't say primitive in a derogatory sense. Mate, this music is class as! I can't stop listening to it. You have a convert. I doubt they have this here in England. If they do, I want to partake!! Praise be to God. There will definitely be a good space in heaven for this music.
I'll be singing this kind of music tomorrow when I go to church. Nothing prettier.
The first time I heard harp singing was in a Mennonite church in Manassas Virginia, and it 'bout blew me away. :)
I'm so full of love and spirit of Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. I'm grateful to the person who's making the effort to provide these recordings after all this time. I am adding this to my saved videos. Thank you.
I can't believe, old as I am and living in the US, that I had never ever even heard of this music style before I stumbled across it on TH-cam yesterday.. It's great. I would go to church just to listen to this music.
Follow your present experience and not let it fade. Doing so will last the rest of your earthly time and into eternity.
Part of the beauty of this kind of singing is that it is done by amateurs who get together just to sing, for the joy of it. I am not aware of any 'professional' Sacred Harp singing groups but perhaps they exist somewhere. It's basically a folk tradition, not done by professionals.
You are correct. Life time singers regard first timer's as just the same, and all are warmly welcome. There are no so called prof's nor experts.
Awesome. Wish I could be part of such a church. I'll have to wait till I go to heaven.
I love the old Protestant hymns, and I find this extraordinarily moving. Thank you.
To lead a song standing in the center of the "square" is a spiritual lifting experience. Can't explain it any way with words.
I think I was watching a PBS preview, or somewhere else, but I just heard this magnificent singing and, sound that I had never heard before. I didn't even know it existed. Lot's of good stuff on youtube.
It's great to see so many young people.
This video has the kind of fervent energy that I go to shape-note singings hoping to experience!!!!!!!
I think it's great that everyone can partake. I mean one doesn't have to be a great singer so even someone like me could join in...
Thanks PB. I get great enjoyment out of your videos.
I couldn't agree more! I think it's all those things - as well as the powerful words and harmonies, and the traditions that go with the music. Sacred Harp singers all over the country are a sort of 'community' of people who travel to attend each other's singings, share food and fellowship, pray and sing for the sick among them and those deceased in the past year. Singings end with a traditional 'parting hand' song, with everyone extending a hand of fellowship to others around them. Beautiful!
I'm in awe of J Marshall Befil's analysis - anhemitonic-pentatonic scalar system, morphological norm etc - WOW, what us singers don't realize about why we 'bang out each note'! I'd be inclined to say, it's the traditional way of singing this music and expresses some of the energy and enthusiasm singers have always felt when they sing it - but I guess I already said that!
Thanks for your apppreciative comment, 'Mate' :) Check out my channel for about 100 Sacred Harp/shape note songs.
You are right in hearing similarities between this music and old English, 'primitive' kinds of harmonies. The ancestry of American shape note singing goes back to English settlers in the American colonies (17th century and later).
As to there being space in heaven for this music, I sometimes feel, at one of these singings, that it's a little bit of heaven on earth.
PB
Congratulations. You understand well.
Yes, you are right! 'I'll Seek His Blessings' is Sacred Harp 542, for anyone out there who wants to find it. Thanks for the correction.
Great video from the Michiana singing in Goshen, Indiana July 2007! Leaders are: Joe Todd, 102; Cheryl Foreman, 328; Joan Aldridge and Reba Windom, 542; John Bahler, 28t.
I love the words of that second song. They express my heart's desire.
@glorifyyourname You would be most welcome! Sacred Harp singing is done all over the country, though you have to look in the right places. Last weekend I attended the Midwest Sacred Harp Convention in Chicago, for example. Some of the songs in this video were recorded in Goshen, Indiana, near the Michigan border and a long way from the south. Hope to see you at a singing somewhere, someday!
'From the heart' - exactly what I have observed and experienced at shape note singings, even the smaller ones where all the parts are not so well represented as at this Goshen singing. Thank you for this and all your appreciative comments. They make it worth the effort to record and post these videos.
Thanks for the subtitles.
Yes indeed! Sacred Harp is an antidote to a malady our culture now has. We are infected with entertainment-centered gatherings that we dare to call "worship." Sacred Harp is not about entertainment or performance, it is about participation. Beyond that, it satisfies the essence of "spiritual sacrifice" because it takes some effort to learn and to sing. Since God is the only legitimate Spectator in worship, every effort is dedicated to Him.
Pretty incredible!
this seems to go straight to the heart and speak to the soul as nothing has ever before!
Your video was very well done (intros, lyrics, etc). The singing was enthusiastic and stirring. Thanks.
@JackTheZipper12123 You're welcome, and thank you!
Nothing short of breathtaking
This is amazing music, simply put. So much power and so simple.
Thanks so much for the addition of the sheet music from the Sacred Harp Book and for the words overlaid on the video as well as the better and better audio (which will always be a close second to actually being at a sing)! The refinements in your work shows. My eyes, ears, and heart are grateful.
Thank you so much for uploading this. I grew up hearing this kind of music and it's a great blessing to see it spread to youtube. God bless you sir, God bless you.
This is just the COOLEST thing - I have no idea why, but this sort of music has always captured my heart. And I love all kinds of music, but this just speaks to me.
It may be the sense of community, or just the purity of a congregation trying to connect with the Creator, brining the most genuine gift they have to offer - the voice of praise.
Find a "singing " and go.
I remenber this video! This is one of the first I ever heard of Sacred Harp music, several years ago. I was totally blown away by this, loved these songs. And even compared to all the fancy audio equipment and professional singers the Europeans are bringing into it these days, there is a real power in these raw recordings; somehow it gives you an even better idea of the power of the music to hear it totally overwhelming the recording equipment. This is still one of the best Sacred Harp videos I've ever heard. Although I was shocked when I found out that not everyone was familiar with Fulfillment and Praise God, or even 542 in some cases. I had assumed on watching this that they were among the best in the book and widely popular, but such is not always the case. Not the 542 isn't pretty popular, just I was amazed that tere was anyone who didn't know it. Fairfield is also less well known than it should be. A lot of tunes like that. Horton; King of Peace, Morning Prayer. Oh well.
Very cool.
This great. I just happen to be doing a class at school on Introduction to American Music. It has a great deal to say on Shape Note Singing. Very interesting.
Beautiful voice in its natural state
Thank you for your appreciative comment and for subscribing to my videos. Because of the pandemic, singers have not been able to get together in large groups for 2 + years, so I have not had any new videos to post. But you can find over 200 videos from past singings posted on my channel. I hope you will check it out!
@@PLBrayfield THX I did look them over ...wonderful voice
LOL, 4 years later, here I am again. More into SH than ever. Amazing to think the last time I commented on this was days before I went to my first ever sing; this summer was the 4th time I went to Union for the D.H. Mansfield sing (I wonder how they measure time on YT, because it was definitely four times, but it only says "3 years").
It's funny, I can't even remember how I felt 4 years ago.
justforever96 Your original comment 4 years ago caught my attention. I hope that the messages contained in these wonderful songs have captured your heart. They so clearly and plainly tell of God's wonderful salvation in Jesus Christ offered to each of us. I believe that is what your heart was awakened to back then. God Himself is the ingredient in this music that evokes the comments like "the real thing", "breathtaking"", "extraordinarily moving", "amazing", "powerful". "stirring".
I believe it. It's better than any church I ever went to; it's a very spiritual thing. If anything makes me feel like God is touching me, it's hearing and singing Sacred Harp.
Hallelujah!
This is a great version of 'Fulfilment'. That song needs to be sung with speed and passion.
Thank you for the compliment. I happen to be a singer as well as a musicologist, so I long ago internalized the concepts that both you and Jamie Braly have articulated. This particular kind of sound galvanizes me in the same way that the skirl of bagpipes or a solo voice singing a Gaelic lament does. Another side of me performs the analysis, then I put the two together for something that gives a better high than anything out of a bottle!
Yes, most of the songs are religious and for many singers, singing them is an act of devotion. However, many singers come to the music through their interest in folk traditions, love of the characteristic sound of its harmonies, or just because singing these songs together is such a thrilling experience. There is no 'religious test' and wanting to 'get together to make a joyful noise' is reason enough. Hope the music camp is a great experience for you!
I appreciate your encouragement. The quality of the audio is something I don't really have much control over - it depends a lot on the room where the singing is taking place, plus the place where I am standing. And this has to be non-intrusive. The room where this singing took place is a really good one for the sound of shape note singing!
So "Fairfield" would be what they call an anthem, played through start-to-finish in one go, without any chorus or verses? I'm trying to figure out as much as I can, because my father is taking me to three days of shape-note singing in Maine in a couple of days, and I haven't been to one since I was a kid. Somehow, I have fallen in love with this stuff overnight. I've heard snatches here and there, and I remember going to sings as a child, but suddenly I can't get enough of it. It sounds corny, but this music literally makes me feel like I have something to live for. I have lacked any kind of direction or purpose in my life for as long as I can remember, never having any clue what I want to DO with my life. I idly searched for "Sacred Harp singing" on TH-cam a week ago, and just fell right into it. Haven't been interested in anything else since then. And what makes it seem all the more miraculous, is as I was sitting thinking of calling my father and asking him to teach me to read shape-notes, he showed up wanting to know if I was interested in going to a Sacred Harp sing in Maine in a week, since we've been talking about going somewhere together for 15 years now. Amazing that he should show up, offering exactly what I wanted at just that time. Maybe a coincidence, but somehow I'd rather believe it is something more.
Anyway, sorry to be long winded, I just wanted to get that off my chest, and seeing as how this is probably just about my favorite video, I figured this was the place to say it.
Thanks for this appreciative comment. I can understand how you would 'fall in love' with this music, and how you could find it inspiring and motivating.
None of these 4 songs is an anthem, but you don't have to know any 'terminology' to sing the songs. And the more you get into Sacred Harp singing, the more you pick up what you need to know. I predict that you will find the Maine singing very thrilling!
PLBrayfield m
justforever96 No please you were giving your testimonial
No, Fairfield is a regular song. Perhaps you have figured that out already. An anthem can't fit any sort of song except the words for which it was written. Fairfield is a Common Meter song, and so you can sing any other Common Meter song, like "Amazing Grace" to the same tune.
Would you believe it, I've had folks from "away" tell me that we mountain hicks got no culture, even after this. Oh, by the way, this mountain boy has got a doctorate in humanities. Having a store bought education does not keep you from getting the feeling.
Well, I don't knit so I can't image what such a pattern might be, but if it's like Sacred Harp singing, it should be warm and wonderful ;)
Thanks for your appreciative comment. It's always great to know that my videos are reaching someone who enjoys them.
Amen, brother! I share this same insight with my theology classes. This form of worship involves everything we're to give to God: heart, mind, soul, and strength.
@queballed Does 'doing a class' mean teaching, or taking, a class? Either way, you could do a lot of good research by browsing the many shape note/Sacred Harp songs posted on TH-cam. But you knew that, didn't you? ;)
Well said. My degrees are in literature, and my love is music--of all types. Being from Kentucky myself, and languishing in that distinction, I smile at the philistine notion that this music is less than "culture," whatever that means. HaHa. Actually, this sounds not unlike Orff's "Carmina Burana" (which I have heard in Amsterdam) and Montiverdi's Madrigals--the difference being I like the Orff and Montiverdi, but LOVE this shape note singing. "God stand up for [Hillbillies]." Shakespeare
That makes me want to turn it up as loud as it can go and sing at the top of my voice.
"Choir": From Middle English quer, quere, from Old French quer, from Latin chorus, from Ancient Greek χορός (choros, "company of dancers or singers"). Cognate with Slavic Horo, a chain-dance.
Listening to this singing I immediately thought of the vocally-accompanied ring dances from Europe, such as the an-dro. I think this percussive singing is a throwback to a very ancient style of music where there is no clear boundary between sacred or secular, singing or dancing.
The answer is, because that is the traditional way of singing this kind of music. I know that isn't much of an answer, but if you ask the same question about any kind of music, you'll get the same answer. I'll add that the pulse of heavily accented beats gives an incredible power and energy to this kind of singing & makes it very exhilarating, however gloomy the words of the song may be (and often are).
These songs, and also secular balads, were passed along in oral tradition for generations. Until they were written down, they underwent both preservation and change governed by interaction among three fixed constants: the anhemitonic-pentatonic scalar system, a morphological norm, and a rhythmic framework. The first two were ingrained in memories through performance, while the third was often reinforced by stomping of feet or up-and-down motion of forearms. (GOOGLE: "Bevil+Centonization")
2nd song should be number 542 : I'll Seek His blessings #542 in Hymnbook
(numbers transposed)
I say "Fulfillment" applies to our times and is ushered in by Standing Rock, First Peoples and U. S. veterans protecting them . . as well as worldwide Standing Rocks by other First Peoples and those of us with a heart.
Right...
I've often thought that shape-note singing would be ideal to sue as the score in a film based on the Gospels, since we have no very certain idea of what ancient music was like.
@PLBrayfield
Ok let me rephrase. I am taking a class. It was very late and I my mind was more than a little numb from a long day. Oh, and yes there seems to be quite a bit of good reference material here.
@talorjake40 Where do you live? Google Sacred Harp, there are groups meeting EVERYWHERE!
I am going to a music camp next month where we will be learning to sing shape note. I had never heard of it before and thought I should learn a little about it. It sounds amazing. Is it always "Religious"? I love the idea of getting together just to make a joyful noise.
Yes, yes, Survus! Of course American colonial culture had its roots in the countries of the colonists' origin. No one is denying that, which is only common sense. You are welcome to add that bit of information to any of my postings if you care to. I hope that you DO enjoy the videos, which is my reason for posting them - not to irritate our cousins across the pond and CERTAINLY NOT to foster a spirit of controversy!
This is the real thing!
Sure is! All the videos of Sacred Harp/shape note singing I have posted are 'the real thing,' ordinary people getting together and singing the songs.
I can sing Fa So La and have attended several Potomac Sacred harp Conventions. I can't keep up with the syllables when they sig fast. I was a professional church musician for 50 years, so I use my sight reading skills and put the syllables on the notes. This is a culture frozen in time and it is doing quite well, thank you!l
@jbraly I have no right or capacity based on experience or training to agree with your first sentence. But the clips of this music attest to the truth of the remainder of your comment. Therefore it is my privilege to give you a thumbs up.
I really like this, but I'd like to know why do they bang out each note like that?
somewhat similar to the sacred music I have heard in my head the last 20 years......a bit too staccato and harsh, though....the music I hear is slightly more free- form, and not as tight and mechanical as this. What I hear is closer to crosby, stills , nash..i know they were sinners but thats what it is.... but I am a christian and have been so since 1983. I too have the Spirit of God.
We're all 'sinners,' and that doesn't mean we can't sing ;) Or feel the Spirit of God.
I've heard professional singers, they do it a lot better.
Not likely, Kevin.