Sacred Harp
During Covidtide, my days of isolation were marked mostly by a single novelty: what was streaming on TV. And, perhaps like you, my viewing habits were oddly erratic. Having never been a reality TV watcher, I suddenly found myself binge watching 7 seasons of the survival show, ALONE, in which contestants are dropped in the backcountry with nothing but 10 tools, their own wits, and a video camera with which to document it all. Perhaps I was comforted by watching people who were even more alone than I was. Who knows.
Anyhow, below is an excerpt from a piece I wrote about an episode in which a rugged survivalist hummed a hymn his mother loved and how the moment evoked such a tender longing in me:
When he hummed those few notes, it was a confession of faith.
Many of us may or may not intellectually assent to the same doctrinal and theological propositions we were taught, but the music that we made from our bodies, the vibrations of a song created and shared in communal expression is still ours. And I believe that the sentiment these hymns can evoke from within us…that that is also faith. (These days, my idea of what constitutes “faith” keeps expanding!)
Sometimes hymns are my creeds, my first language, the texts of my faith which have formed me from even before I was born. If I grow to be an old woman whose mind softens at the edges of reality, I may not know my own name or the names of my children and grandchildren, but I am certain I will still know every single word to Great Is Thy Faithfulness. No matter what my mind holds, agrees to, or understands, I will always be standing on the promises of God, because the hymns I have sung throughout my life will never let me go. And for this I give thanks.
My New “Hobby” (and by hobby I mean obsession).
Sacred Harp singing - (a traditional American form of a cappella singing dating back to the 1700’s which is still kept alive to this day) but I’d like to expand on it a bit, if you’ll indulge me.
Here’s a great NPR piece about Sacred Harp if you want to know a bit more.
Things I love about Sacred Harp Singing:
There’s a strong memento mori vibe to a lot of the lyrics. Go ahead and spend a fortune on “anti-aging” products, but unless you are IN your grave, tomorrow you will be one day closer to your grave. It makes life, not more gloomy, but more sweet when we just finally accept this.
Remember you are hast’ning on
To death’s dark, gloomy shade;
Your joys on earth will soon be gone,
Your flesh in dust be laid.
Sacred Harp is goth AF.
The whole tradition was established to teach new songs to folks who are not musically literate. So, to this day, everyone is welcome. No auditions. No experience necessary.
I get to sing with people I would likely never meet otherwise (and it is a tradition that singers do not discuss politics and/or religion - so you can actually make friends with people who may very well differ from you. And you can maybe even grow to love them, and they, you. If you watch youtube videos from shape note conventions you’re likely to see queer, tattooed young folks sitting next to Mennonite women in bonnets. I am in love with this.) You cannot sing harmony alone. We just need other people for that.
The church I founded, House For All Sinners & Saints, (which was also a cappella) ascribed to the following value: being “Anti-Excellence, Pro-Participation”. Sacred Harp singing is, in my experience, exactly this. As we said at HFASS, if you can’t sing well, then at least sing loud. Just make up for quality with quantity. At the shape note singings I’ve attended, everyone gets a turn choosing a song, and then stepping into the center of the square to lead.
There are no performances of Sacred Harp singing. It is about singing with each other and for each other. (Well…one reason is because there really is very little demand - I’ve heard someone say “I’d travel a thousand miles to sing this music, but I wouldn’t cross the street to listen to it”)
Shape note singing exists as far outside of consumerism as you can get. No money to be made here.
It’s easy to start, but takes a lifetime to master.
I’ve found this practice to be an unbeatable mood booster. And my mood can use all the help it can get.
If you want to check it out, Here’s a listing of the local singings!
Also - everyone is invited to our All Day Singing in Colorado July 15th.
Bonus reason I love Sacred Harp: look how old that website is. This is how “not cool” this subculture is, which for me is: *chef’s kiss*.
Are you part of a subculture? Tell me what you love about it!
A few weeks before my mother-in-law passed, we were at her care home decorating a small tabletop tree with her. 17 years before she had had a massive stoke that left her with aphasia and unable to speak intelligible sentences. As we decorated, we listened to Christmas music, and during the First Noel, she started singing and sang it clearly the whole way through. It was a magical moment.
Oh Nadia! I am so, so, so glad you wrote about singing hymns and Sacred Harp singing! Off and on for years I've looked around my community for something like this. I don't want to go to church, just go to sing. [Nothing where they give an "alter call," thank you very much.] Singing hymns just brings tears to my old-old eyes and I experience it as a prayer. I have to ignore the terrible words sometimes and I can do that but it's the music that makes my prayers soar. Thank you so much for sharing some possibilities to sing w/ other people.