Traveling Home: Sacred Harp Singing and American PluralismUniversity of Illinois Press, 2008 - 245 pages A compelling account of contemporary Sacred Harp singing, Traveling Home describes how this vibrant musical tradition brings together Americans of widely divergent religious and political beliefs. Named after the most popular of the nineteenth-century shape-note tunebooks--which employed an innovative notation system to teach singers to read music--Sacred Harp singing has been part of rural Southern life for more than 150 years. In the wake of the folk revival of the 1950s and '60s, this participatory musical tradition attracted new singers from all over America. All-day "singings" from The Sacred Harp now take place across the country, creating a diverse and far-flung musical community. Meanwhile, the advent of internet discussion boards and increasing circulation of singer-produced recordings have changed the nature of traditional transmission and sharpened debates about Sacred Harp as an "authentic" form of southern musical expression. Blending historical scholarship with wide-ranging fieldwork, Kiri Miller presents an engagingly written study of a musical movement that some have christened "a quintessential expression of American democracy." |
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accent affiliations Alabama American appear arranging asked attend authentic become beliefs called changes Chapter Chicago Christian church claim committee composer considered convention create culture described diaspora discussion diversity early emotional England example experience expression feel Figure Georgia give Harp singers hollow square important individual kind lead leaders lifelong living March Massachusetts means memorial memorial lesson names narrative nature newcomers Northern nostalgia notation notes oral participants particular performance political Posted practice present printed provides question raised recording referred regional religious respect revision rural Sacred Harp singing sense shape shape-note singing community singing school social song sound South Southern singers stories style suggests texts thing tion told tradition tune tunebook voices Western