Welcome
The next monthly Central Maine Sacred Harp Singing will be held on Sunday, September 19, 2010 from 2 to 5 p.m. at the First Baptist Church, 1 Park Street, Waterville, Maine. (The October singing will be on October 17) See Maine Singings for other regular Maine singings.
Background
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 20th 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.
Sacred Harp or Fasola music is sung à 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.
Contact
For more information: contact Peter Golden, 873-4134 or send e-mail to Watervillesingings@Mainesacredharp.org.
