Rocky Mountain Shapenote Singers 

 

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Resources   
Music to hear
Newsletter and

Sept Convention news
Tradition
Books

Fort_Collins
Boulder
Colorado Springs
Utah
New_Mexico 


 
 
 
 
 

 


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
                                                                                                          top
 
 
 

 
 


 

 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


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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 Las Cruces on Friday evening, Sept. 26th, from 7:00 to 9:00 pm. At Immanuel Presbyterian Church ,114 Carlisle Blvd. SE, Albuquerque, NM 87106

 

 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 Fort Collins

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


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Shapenote Singers in Boulder

  3119   9th Street, Boulder
usually on the 2nd. Friday  from 7 - 9:00pm
Please confirm before you come

 

Contact:
  MaryLou VanLaanen  vmarylou@indra.com
 

 

 

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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 Sacred Harp

 Meets the fourth Sunday of each month from 1:00-3:00 PM,
at St. Andrew’s Church, 2015 Glenarm Street (downtown).

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    

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 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.

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    Singings in Albuquerque

New Mexico

 

 Second and fourth Sundays, 2:00-5:00pm at the Harwood Art Center
4th   Street and Mountain
 Contact:   Nancy Nortz   n.nortz@worldnet.att.net

This year 2008 we are the host for our annual convention

September 27 and 28th.


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 Utah  www.utahsacredharp.org

  Salt Lake City (Denson Book)
First Tuesdays  7:00 to 9:00 p.m.,
Please call for the location
 801-766-4482

Provo (Denson Book)
Second Tuesdays  7:00-9:00 pm,
 St.Mary's Episcopal Church,
50 West - 200 North. Provo,UT

Salt Lake City (Cooper Book)
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.

 

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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, 1010 Waddell St. Bremen,Ga 30110

SACRED HARP SINGINGS, 1995 -96 directory. Shelbie Sheppard, P.O. Box 5246, Glencoe, Al 35905 ($3.00)
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, 15215 Tubbs Road, Buckley, WA 98321

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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