Annual NC Sacred Harp Singing Convention Moves to New Venue

Feb. 22, 2011 - PRLog -- The Shape Note Singing Convention is moving this year! Singers and non-singers are invited to attend the annual North Carolina Sacred Harp singing convention on Saturday, March 5 at the Pullen Memorial Baptist Church on Hillsborough Street in Raleigh. No experience or musical background is necessary to participate. The convention is open to anyone: people who want to sing or to just listen.

The convention takes place from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Festivities include a traditional "dinner on the grounds" potluck at noon, book-ended by community singing sessions from 9:30 a.m. - 12 p.m. and from 1 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Sacred Harp singing is the largest surviving branch of traditional American shape note singing. Singers in this tradition sing without accompaniment and sit arranged by vocal part in a "hollow square," facing one another across the square and taking turns at leading from the middle of the square. The songs are sung loudly, with spirit and enthusiasm, and rich four-part harmonies fill the room. The leader of each song sets the tempo with a simple vertical arm movement, and singers sitting in the square often beat time with the leader.

Songs are sung from a tune book called The Sacred Harp, first published in 1844 and continuously updated since then. It includes more than 500 a cappella hymns, odes, and anthems. Copies of The Sacred Harp (1991 Denson Edition) will be available throughout the day - to borrow and to buy ($20).

The music is marked with "shape notes," a music notation designed to facilitate congregational and community singing. The notation, introduced in 1801, became a popular teaching device in American singing schools. Shapes were added to note heads in written music to help singers find pitches within major and minor scales without using more complex information found in key signatures on the staff.

While the origins of this music can be traced back to Renaissance England, the singing tradition reached a peak of development in early New England, as itinerant singing masters set words to hymns, ballads, and folk tunes and taught their songs in singing schools. However, shape note singing really took root in the American South, which is now home to many singing conventions, including some that date back more than 100 years!

Sacred Harp singing is a community musical and social event that emphasizes participation rather than performance. The Sacred Harp Singers of the Triangle Area meet on the fourth Sunday of the month in Cary from 2-4 p.m.; they also meet in Durham on the second Sunday of the month from 2-4 p.m.

The Sacred Harp Convention and the monthly sings are free of charge, and pre-registration is not required. Song books will be available to borrow or purchase at the convention. For more information and directions to the event visit the Sacred Harp website: http://www.ncshapenote.org or visit http://www.pinecone.org.

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PineCone—the Piedmont Council of Traditional Music, is a private, nonprofit, charitable membership organization dedicated to preserving, presenting and promoting traditional music, dance and other folk performing arts.