Good Shepherd Lutheran Church

Sacred Harp Singing

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"Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come into His presence with singing.” Psalm 100

When ancient men and women stood before God to express their emotions in prayer, they did it with music. If we let a Bible fall loosely to its center, we’ll land right in the middle of 150 of these amazing heartfelt songs: The Book of Psalms.

Must we sing on key, or in a certain harmony, or with an organ or guitar? The Bible only directs us to sing with joy. Must we sing self-consciously, like a polished vocalist on a stage? The Bible only asks us to worship and bring praise with gladness. Must we sing solo, or expect applause and recognition for our moment in a spotlight? The Bible says our reward will be simple --- everyone is brought into His presence. So, we sing! We participate and praise to His glory alone, not to give a performance. But how we sing today in church on a given Sunday may be a far different experience than for those fledgling Christian congregations, who met in each others homes, in small gathering rooms, or even caves and catacombs --- simply to share their praise as believers with Psalms.

Around our country, Canada and in some places in Britain, there’s a wonderful way to experience that grassroots joy of praising together: Sacred Harp singing. With loud voices and full hearts, young and old, novices and pros (listeners invited too) join together for a day of music fellowship to sing a cappella in 200-year-old harmonies. So why call it Sacred Harp if there are no harps involved? This is merely shorthand for our God-given instrument of praise: Our voice, our “harp.”

Sitting and singing in this welcoming choir-like square of perhaps 60 to100 folks is many things: Time travel to a simpler age; a spiritual high; a workout in sight-reading without regard for goofs or missed notes; an appreciation of music in a pure state and of the people singing with us for their unique gifts.

On a misty Spring day in an 18th-century church hall, I had my first chance to join in a Sacred Harp gathering. I’d only heard this spirited folk hymnody (also known as shape-note music) in the 2003 Civil War movie "Cold Mountain." This traditional style of non-denominational worship singing was so moving, joyful and so intense, that on my drive home from Virginia l couldn’t listen to the radio or a CD. So full of notes and musical input was my excited brain, I had to stand in a hot shower for a good while to come back to earth.

Description may make Sacred Harp events sound cult-like, but no daylong cult gathering I know includes great potluck snacks and suppers on the church lawn or backyard deck, or welcomes the button-downed singer as well as the dread-locked. No admission is asked, just a free-will offering. Anyone can lead a song from the center --- just tell an “arranging committee” member your selected hymn number. Don’t have a book? They provide loaners. Can’t choose a vocal range? Those more experienced will encourage us to take a seat in tenor (melody), bass, alto or treble section. To help keep time, feel free to move a hand up and down, or sway forward and back in the row.

At most gatherings, song leaders pick numbers from “The Sacred Harp,” a collection of sacred songs, hymns, odes and anthems that has been revised only four times since it was published in 1844. The 1991 edition, nearly 600 pages and bound in red, admonishes lovers of Sacred Harp music to “seek the old paths and walk therein.”

This brief musical retreat from 21st Century distractions requires a short tutorial, graciously provided by a choral director:

“Sacred Harp singing is four-part homophonic music for the most part. Homophonic is a term referring to a musical texture that is created when the four vocal parts sing different pitches (comprising the pitches that make up at chord: Do, Mi, So, Do), but in the same rhythm. It's a style very similar to that of our own hymns in the Lutheran Book of Worship. However, unlike our own homophonic hymns in LBW, Sacred Harp singing utilizes a more limited chordal range thus rendering a kind of simplistic and predictable progression. Many Sacred Harp chorals utilize chords based only on the 1st, 4th, 5th and 6th notes of any given scale. Once again by contrast, our hymns in LBW can contain chords based on as many as all seven pitches of the scale.”

Given this difference, Sacred Harp’s free harmony may have a rough edged sound for modern ears, rather than the sweet, predictable harmony we’re used to. Need more help? To hear some Sacred Harp singing, go to www.loudhymns.com and click on one of the Media Samples. Two Sacred Harp songs appear on the CD for the movie “Cold Mountain”: “Idumea” and “I’m Going Home.” These aren’t timid and quiet hymns but rousing and exuberant, so don’t adjust the volume to anything but loud.

Sacred Harp songs themselves are like short sermons about faith, sin, redemption, Jesus, heaven, church holidays, and also odes about patriotism, home, hardship and fellowship. In tune books, songs by familiar religious composers like Charles Wesley and Isaac Watts are given shape-note arrangements by 19th and 20th century contributors touched by the Word and message. As No.168, to a tune by William Cowper, exclaims: “Forgive a song that falls so low, beneath the gratitude I owe. It means Thy praise, however poor, an angel’s song can do no more …”

“Spiritually, the Sacred Harp day was very fulfilling,” said a young friend and tenor partner about our first sing together. “The purity of four-part harmony is a strong force. You could feel the emotion behind the singers as they belted out their parts in that Sacred Harp fashion. You knew that everyone there believed music was an instrument of God and that powerful things can happen through music, even in its simplicity.”

Put simply, we praise God out of love. We ask His blessings on us and on those we love and care about. We seek His grace for our shortcomings and we intercede for others. Many believe that’s why we sing His praise on Sundays as a community of believers: We need Him and singing helps express this need.

Most of us aren’t professionals, but amateurs. From the Latin “amo,” the true amateur is “one who loves.” Crave the spotlight with God or from an audience? Sacred Harp isn’t for you. But crave to worship and praise in fellowship of an extended musical family? Then do try Sacred Harp for the love of it.

Writer’s note: Those who wish to receive emailed details on future Sacred Harp sings in the Washington area can contact chesapeakeshapenotes@yahoogroups.com.. To learn more about these singers worldwide and their passion, simple “Google” Sacred Harp.

                                                                              --- Contributed by Penny Risen