Rocky
Mountain Shapenote Singers 
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FASOLA : The National
Shapenote Web site
The -Fa(a flag shaped note)
-SO(a round note
-La(a box shaped note) web page
is the
shapenoter's communication and information site.
All sources known to shapenote lovers have links from here and you may
subscribe
to an active "chat" line that will answer all your questions and much
more.
Warren
Steel's web page
Steven Sobel's resources
pages
Singing books ( ie: books used at
Shapenote singings) The only way our books sing is with a person attached and engaged.
Music
High Desert Harmony - 4 original songs by
Daniel Davis - University of New Mexico
Sorroco (2002),
Ojo Caliente (1999), La Bajada (1999), Sleeping Ute Mountain (2004)
Steven
Smith's pages contain examples of music
Recordings of
Shapenote music index CD's and tapes
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Rocky Mountain Singers Online Newsletter
Editor:
Pete Mathewson at 71mgbgt41@gmail.com
719 648-2274 (cell)
<>
(articles and inclusions gratefully accepted)
email Pete with your email address and receive it online
The Rocky Mountain Singers 19th. Annual Convention
September 27 and 28, 2008.
You are cordially
invited to attend the 19th Annual Rocky Mountain Sacred Harp Singing
Convention, Sept. 27th and 28th, 2008 in Albuquerque, NM. We will be singing
once again at the Anderson-Abbruzo International Balloon Museum, 9201 Balloon
Museum Drive, west of I-25, off Alameda Blvd.
Singing will be from
9:00-3:00 both days, with a singing school lead by Eric Morgan of
We will be singing from the Denson book, 1991
edition.
Dinner on the
grounds both days. Local singers please bring a dish or two to share.
Rooms will be available at The Holiday Inn
Express, 5401 Alameda Blvd. Ask for the “Rocky Mountain Sacred Harp Convention”
rate (starting at $90, which includes a full breakfast – and a swimming pool
and Jacuzzi. A handicap suite is also reserved). Reservations must be made by
Sept. 20th.
For housing with a
local person please contact Martina Mesmer (505) 237-1033, martina776@comcast.net
For general info, contact Nancy Nortz
(505)281-0267, n.nortz@att.net
Shapenote Singers in
The 1st Monday of the month
at St.Luke's Church
in the Chapel,
2000
Stover Street , Fort
Collins
from 7:00 - 8:30 with no break
please click link below to obtain more details
http://members.aol.com/fcsingings/
Hill Grimmett
fcsingings@aol.com
Shapenote Singers in Boulder
usually on the 2nd. Friday from 7 - 9:00pm
Please confirm before you come
Contact:
MaryLou VanLaanen vmarylou@indra.com
the
location of any specific singing, please contact Pat Dolan at 303-778-6297 or
e-mail him
at
ruralplain@aol.com or Sharon Kermiet at skermiet@goodwilldenver.org.
COLORADO SPRINGS - Sings regularly on the 2nd Sunday from 1:30 to 3:30 pm at the
Denver
Meets the fourth Sunday of each month from 1:00-3:00
PM,
at St. Andrew’s Church,
Singing books include red (The Sacred Harp), blue
(Sacred Harp by B.F.White) and black (Norumbega Harmony)
All books will be at the singings as loaners
Directions from I-25. Mapquest recommends that if coming from
the south, you exit
onto Colfax Avenue eastbound, or if from the north, take the West 38th Avenue/
Park Avenue eastbound. If coming north from within Denver, take Lincoln north
to 21st St, turn right one block and turn again onto Glenarm.
Practice group singings on the 2nd. 3rd and 4th.
Monday evenings
from 6:40 -8:40.
Everyone is welcome! If you are interested in Sacred
Harp and other traditional American singing styles, we hope you will join us.
And if you like to sing in any style, or if you're
just curious, you're welcome too -- come and try something different.
Dates,
times, and place subject to change.
Call before coming,
especially if you haven’t been for a while
. October Monthly
Singing
Sunday, October 28
1-3 p.m.
New location: St. Mark's Orthodox Church
1405 So. Vine St., at East Arkansas Avenue
For a map and driving directions, see
<http://www.westernorthodox.com/stmark/visitor>
Easy, quick access from I-25 University Blvd. exit.
Enter the building through the North-facing Arkansas-Avenue entrance.
Contact:
Pat Dolan ruralplain@aol.com
or 303 778-6297 or
Sharon Kermit 303-322-8389
Colorado
Springs Sacred Harp
2nd Sundays from 1:30– 3:30
Pikes Peak Primitive Baptist Church
12th and Pikes Peak on the west side
Please bring a dollar donation for the book fund.
Contact:
Pete Mathewson 719 469-5241 cell
or 71mgbgt41@gmail.com
You'al come now or you will never know how much fun
singing can be.
Experience the old hymns sung in the old way. We use both the Cooper and the
Denson Revised Sacred Harp. Books will be available for loan at the singings.
Singings in Albuquerque
New
Mexico
Second and fourth Sundays, 2:00-5:00pm at the
Contact: Nancy Nortz n.nortz@worldnet.att.net
This year 2008 we are the host for our annual
convention
September 27 and 28th.
Utah www.utahsacredharp.org
First Tuesdays 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.,
Please call for the location
801-766-4482
Second Tuesdays 7:00-9:00 pm,
St.Mary's Episcopal Church,
50 West - 200 North.
Fourth Tuesdays 7:00-9:00pm.
1480 East Edison (1480 South- 145 East), Salt Lake City,UT
Contact: Jenny Jensen jenny@utahsacredharp.org
801-766- 4482.
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The Sacred Harp Singing Tradition
The use
of shaped notes does not have a very long history as singing goes. One of the
very early American occupations was the singing schoolmaster. The original
books came out of Scotland with immigrants and soon new books were written
created from memory and contained favorite hymns plus the addition of pop tunes
of the day edited into the shapenote format. For example the Sacred Harp book
contains Lest Olde Acquaintance Be Forgot (Plenary #162) and Du Du liegst mir
im Herzen (Soft Music #323b) plus many waltz and jig tunes. The schoolmaster
(mistress) went from place to place teaching groups of people to sing with the
aid of these shaped notes. Originally most of the tunes were in three parts
(treble,tenor and bass) with the tenor singing the melody line, but today most
of the songs have an alto line added to provide the four part harmony we seem
to be most comfortable with. The treble is the highest staff, the alto is on
the second staff, the tenor is on the third staff down and still contains the
melody, and bottom staff was and is the bass. Both men and women sing in all
the parts. It depends purely upon the range of your voice and how you feel
...the parts are very closely harmonized and often cross over each other. The
sound has been described as open, tonal, filled with energy and joy. New songs
are being written today by young and old composers. The older books can still
be found in attics,bookshops, and church basements, but we sing from newly
published songbooks. Shapenoters with great joy upon finding old books will
sing some of the old tunes out in their local shapenote groups. Both favorite
selections and new songs are found in the recently published books. To obtain
books it is best to attend a singing as one of the group will have the
particular book they are currently using and usually extras for sale/loan.
All conventions will have books for sale as well as the book, tapes and CD's.
Books
Different Shapenote books are
used by different singing groups. Books contain differing shapes, i.e. four
shapes (ours), seven shapes (some southern singing groups) and other systems
(nine shapes) that are either seldom or never sung. The Rocky Mountain
Shapenote Singers use The Sacred Harp (no - harp is not the
instrument. Harp refers to the voice as a harp. Singing is without the use of
any instruments). The best way to obtain singing books is to go to a
singing where they will be available for sale.
THE SACRED HARP
Sacred Harp Publishing Company,
SACRED
HARP SINGINGS, 1995 -96 directory. Shelbie Sheppard,
This minutes paperback contains lists of: 1) name, address and date of each
convention held during each year, listed by month; 2) names and addresses
of singers, and 3) every song called and who called it during each
convention. (do you want to know the popular songs? this is your
resource)
AN AMERICAN CHRISTMAS HARP, 1994. K.E.Willard. ed,
The B.F.White SACRED HARP - Revised Cooper Edition, 1992 Sacred Harp Book Co., Inc. Samson, Al
THE
SACRED HARP CONCORDANCE - Chris Thorman 1991 ed. Click on FASOLA for more
info.
and a lot more singing books
Sandy Klein, webmaster: dakspk@lamar.colostate.edu
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