Page 10 - CJMarch_April25

COMPOSITIONS SHAPED BY COMMUNITY

A note about definitions tions. The primary musical objective of this activity is
4
In this article, we will alternately refer to this prac- to engage and interact with other singers. Sacred Harp
tice as “Sacred Harp singing” and “shape-note sing- singing exists as a spatial and immersive art form. The
ing.” Neither term is wholly satisfactory. “Sacred Harp vibrations in the air create a physical presence that feels
singing” is overly narrow, since the composers discussed different depending on one’s location in the singing
here have songs included in tunebooks other than The space. Each individual seeks to contribute to a height-
Sacred Harp. “Shape-note singing,” however, is over- ened musical and social experience for all the partici-
ly broad, since there are ongoing traditions of sacred pants. Shape-note singers do not practice for months
singing in the United States that used shaped notation to render a musical performance perfectly for an audi-
yet do not employ the styles or practices associated with ence. They sing only for themselves and for each oth-
Sacred Harp singing. er. In shape-note singing, individual singers take turns
picking and leading a song for the group to sing. In this
way, each member has the agency to contribute to the
An Approach to Composition musical choices, as opposed to one conductor making
Composers in the Sacred Harp tradition do not need all the literature decisions.
any specific compositional training; their experiences as Shape-note singing carries on the tradition of nine-
shape-note singers provide the foundation for their en- teenth-century tunebooks that were printed using
gagement as composers. Both historically and in mod- shaped notation, a sight-singing aid that replaces round
ern practice, singers of all backgrounds contribute as note heads with four different shapes. These correspond
tunesmiths, often acquiring their skills through exper- with syllables to indicate specific scale degrees (Figure
imentation and informal, community-based learning. 1). The first tunebook to use shaped notation—Wil-
5
All a composer must possess is the interest and desire to liam Little and William Smith’s The Easy Instructor, or A
contribute as a member of the community. New Method of Teaching Sacred Harmony—was published
One of our interview subjects—shape-note singer, in Philadelphia in 1801. The shape-note singing tradi-
6
scholar, and composer Jesse P. Karlsberg—describes the tion is often referred to as Sacred Harp singing because
musical identity of composers as that of being “singers The Sacred Harp is the name of the most popular shape-
2
first.” This sentiment is echoed by Sacred Harp com- note tunebook, first published in Georgia in 1844 by
7
posers P. Dan Brittain and Rachel Wells Hall. The com- Benjamin Franklin White and Elisha James King.
munity-centered values of Sacred Harp singers have a White oversaw multiple revisions of the book during
direct impact on the composers and the music that they his lifetime in an effort to keep the contents relevant to
create. This research contributes to a growing body of the singers who used it. After his death in 1879, con-
work on the unique processes employed by composers flict over the book’s contents resulted in the emergence
8
who write for participatory singing groups. Community of competing editions. What is now called the “Den-
singing composer Fiona Evison, for example, describes son” version of The Sacred Harp has remained the most
the technique of “relational composition,” noting that it popular since the first quarter of the twentieth century,
“value[s] people highly” and “often involves collabora- with new editions appearing approximately every thir-
3
tion and co-ownership.” Our work focusing on shape- ty years.
note composers, who share these values, illuminates an
approach to composition that empowers community
singers and prioritizes their joy.

The Shape-Note Tradition
Shape-note singing is a participatory form of music
making in which there are no artist-audience distinc-

8 CHORAL JOURNAL March/April 2025 Volume 65 Number 7