Shape-note singing
Allegra the iPod just reminded me of something I've been meaning to post about for AGES and kept forgetting.
I've recently become interested in a specific kind of choral singing, and the information about it seems to be very sketchy. It's called shape-note singing, also sometimes known as Sacred Harp singing, after a particular church that really set the bar.
It was featured in the movie "Cold Mountain," and two pieces appear on the soundtrack. The first time I heard it, I was struck dumb by it. It's not traditional Robert Shaw chorale singing, with perfect harmony and neat, tidy chords. This singing is...well, it's messy. It's heavily harmonized, to the point that it can be hard to pick out anyone singing any given part. It's beyond eight-part harmony. It's million-part harmony. But no one is worrying about the consonants matching, or the tones melding, or the notes meshing. It's messy, and it's raw, and it's incredibly powerful. Each singer seems to be tearing the notes out of their guts and hurling them towards the heavens. It also seems to be characterized by a peculiar quirk...the singers sing through the entire melody/harmony of the song using a dummy syllable (like "da") first, and THEN they start in with the words. There's no accompaniment except perhaps some guy pounding his cane on the floor. Not that it needs any. The fullness and power of the singers, none of whom would make it very far on Idol, would overwhelm any wimpy-ass piano or organ that tried to keep up.
Apparently this is a particularly Southern/Appalachian style of choral singing which has largely fallen by the wayside. There are a few recordings on Amazon, which are mostly old vinyls recorded at various Sacred Harp choral gatherings. I've dug up a few tracks for download. None are of very good quality.
I'm curious if anyone out there in LJ land knows any more about this style of singing. I'd urge you to download the two tracks from the Cold Mountain soundtrack ("Idumea" and "I'm Going Home" sung by the Sacred Harp Singers at Liberty Church) and take a listen if you have the chance.
I've recently become interested in a specific kind of choral singing, and the information about it seems to be very sketchy. It's called shape-note singing, also sometimes known as Sacred Harp singing, after a particular church that really set the bar.
It was featured in the movie "Cold Mountain," and two pieces appear on the soundtrack. The first time I heard it, I was struck dumb by it. It's not traditional Robert Shaw chorale singing, with perfect harmony and neat, tidy chords. This singing is...well, it's messy. It's heavily harmonized, to the point that it can be hard to pick out anyone singing any given part. It's beyond eight-part harmony. It's million-part harmony. But no one is worrying about the consonants matching, or the tones melding, or the notes meshing. It's messy, and it's raw, and it's incredibly powerful. Each singer seems to be tearing the notes out of their guts and hurling them towards the heavens. It also seems to be characterized by a peculiar quirk...the singers sing through the entire melody/harmony of the song using a dummy syllable (like "da") first, and THEN they start in with the words. There's no accompaniment except perhaps some guy pounding his cane on the floor. Not that it needs any. The fullness and power of the singers, none of whom would make it very far on Idol, would overwhelm any wimpy-ass piano or organ that tried to keep up.
Apparently this is a particularly Southern/Appalachian style of choral singing which has largely fallen by the wayside. There are a few recordings on Amazon, which are mostly old vinyls recorded at various Sacred Harp choral gatherings. I've dug up a few tracks for download. None are of very good quality.
I'm curious if anyone out there in LJ land knows any more about this style of singing. I'd urge you to download the two tracks from the Cold Mountain soundtrack ("Idumea" and "I'm Going Home" sung by the Sacred Harp Singers at Liberty Church) and take a listen if you have the chance.