Pre-Civil War hymnal 'The Sacred Harp' is getting an update

Sung in four-part harmony, "The Sacred Harp" is central to its more than 180-year-old American folk a cappella singing tradition that is as much about the community as it is the music.

"The Sacred Harp" is still in use today, and a new edition — the first in 34 years — is on its way.

Since the beginning, groups of Sacred Harp singers periodically worked together to revise it, preserving its history and breathing new life into it. It's a renewal, not a reprint, said David Ivey, a lifelong singer and chair of the Sacred Harp Publishing Company's revision and music committee.

"That's credited for keeping our book vibrant and alive," Ivey said.

Why is it a big deal?

First published in 1844 by West Georgia compilers Benjamin F. White and Elisha J. King, revisions of the shape-note hymnal make space for songs by living composers, said Jesse P. Karlsberg, a committee member and expert on the tradition.

The nine-member revision committee feels tremendous responsibility, said Ivey, who also worked on the most recent, 1991 edition.

Sacred Harp singers are not historical reenactors, he said. Singing is a family tradition for many, and it's also a spiritual experience for some. Though many are Christian, Sacred Harp singers include people of other faiths and no faith, including LGBTQ+ community members who found church uncomfortable but miss congregational singing.

Singers use their hymnals week after week. Some treat them like scrapbooks or family Bibles, tucking mementos between pages, taking notes in the margins and passing them down. Memories and emotions get attached to specific songs, and favorites in life can become memorials in death.

"The book is precious to people," Ivey said on a March afternoon surrounded by songbooks and related materials at the nonprofit publishing company's museum in Carrollton, Georgia.

The upcoming edition is years in the making. The revision, authorized by the publishing company's board of directors in October 2018, was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be released in September at the annual convention of the United Sacred Harp Musical Association in Atlanta.

Ivey hopes singers fall in love with it, though he knows there is nervousness in the Sacred Harp community. For now, many of the changes are under wraps.

The committee is being methodical and making decisions through consensus, Ivey said. Though most will remain, some old songs will be cut and new ones added. Members invited singer input, holding community meetings and singing events to help evaluate the more than 1,100 new songs submitted for consideration.

Shape-note singing

Sacred Harp singing events are not performances. "The Sacred Harp" is meant to be sung by everyone — loudly.

Anyone can lead a song of their choosing from the hymnal's 554 options, but a song can only be sung once per event with few exceptions. Also called fa-sol-la singing, the group sight-reads the songs using the book's unique musical notation, sounding first its shape notes — fa, sol, la and mi — and then its lyrics.

"The whole idea is to make singing accessible to anyone," Karlsberg said. "For many of us, it's a moving and spiritual experience. It's also a chance to see our dear friends."

"The Sacred Harp" is sung in a hollow square formation. Singers organize into four voice parts: treble, alto, tenor and bass. Each group takes a side, facing an opening in the center where a rotating song leader guides the group and keeps time as dozens of voices come from all sides.

The shape-note tradition emerged from New England's 18th century singing school movement that aimed to improve Protestant church music and expanded into a social activity. Over time, "The Sacred Harp" became synonymous with this choral tradition.

"The Sacred Harp" was designed to be neither denominational nor doctrinal, Karlsberg said. Many of its lyrics were composed by Christian reformers from England, such as Isaac Watts and Charles Wesley, he said. It was rarely used during church services.

Instead, the hymnal was part of the social fabric of the rural South, though racially segregated, Karlsberg said. Before emancipation, enslaved singers were part of white-run Sacred Harp events; post-Reconstruction, Black singers founded their own conventions, he said.

"The Sacred Harp" eventually expanded to cities and beyond the South, including other countries.

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