Central Maine Sacred Harp Singing

Central Maine Sacred Harp and Shapenote Singing

The next monthly Central MaineSacred Harp Singing will be held on Sunday, July 19, 2009 from 2 to 5 p.m. at the First Baptist Church, 1 Park Street, Waterville, Maine. (The August singing will be August 16.)

The shapenote singing is primarily from the The Sacred Harp,a tunebook that has been in continuous publication with periodic revisions since 1844. The music consists of hymns, fuging tunes, anthems, and other songs in a style rooted in Colonial New England, popular in Maine up until the Civil War and in the rural South and West well into the 20^th century.

A system of "shapenotes" in our tunebook supplements ordinary musical notation with a system of shaped noteheads that indicate the notes and intervals of the musical scale, making it easier to learn to read the music.

Waterville Sacred Harp Singing

Sacred Harp or Fasola music is sung a cappella--that is, by voices alone in harmony without instrumental support or accompaniment. We sing in the traditional way, facing each other in a hollow square.

For more information: contact Peter Golden, 873-4134 or send e-mail to Watervillesingings -AT- Mainesacredharp.org (replace -AT- with @)