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
Rocky Mountain Singers Online Newsletter
Editor: Hill Grimmett
(articles and inclusions
gratefully accepted)
email Hill with your email address and receive it online
February’s addition contains lots more information
about sings and activities Newsletter_02-2009.pdf
Announcing an all day sing on JUNE 6th. In
Aspen Park, Colorado
Info: Carl
Dise aleatory@tde.com or by calling 303 670-8945
The Rocky Mountain Singers 20th. Annual Convention,
September 26th
and 27th. 2009
So far we have The Friday Singing School with Gaylon Powell starts at 7:00
Location to be determined
Saturday Singing – 9:30 until
3:00 Evening get together to be
planned- 7pm.
Sunday all day Singing
Dinner on the grounds both days
Info: Sharon
Kermiet <skermiet@goodwilldenver.org>
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
June sing will
be at Alfred and MaryAnn Saussoutte’s home
Friday evening the 12th. at 7pm
For info and directions: bassesrule@comcast.net
Denver
The Denver Sacred Harp Singers
Monthly Singing
St.
Mark's Orthodox Church
1405 So. Vine St., at East Arkansas Avenue
For a map and driving directions, see
Easy, quick access from I-25 University Blvd. exit.
Enter the building through the North-facing Arkansas-Avenue entrance.
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.
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
Sharon
Kermiet skermiet@goodwilldenver.org 303-322-8389
Arkansas
Valley Sacred Harp
La- Junta
on the first Tuesday of each month
From
6- 8:30pm at Pete and Susan Mathewson’s
All
Guests welcome
Please 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.
4th
Annual Pikes Peak Sacred Harp Singing
Saturday March 21st. from 9:00 – 3:00
Colorado
Springs Episcopal Parish in the
Broadmoor
8
Fourth Street
Singings in Albuquerque
New
Mexico
Second and fourth Sundays,
2:00-5:00pm at the Immanuel
Presbyterian Church
114
Carlisle Blvd. SE Albuquerque, NM 87106
Directions, it is one block south of
Central Ave, when travelling east (towards the mountains) from I-25. From I-40,
take the Carlisle Bvd exit and continue until after
crossing Central. The church has a tower visible for a while before you get
there
For general info, contact Nancy Nortz (505)281-0267, nnortz@nmia.com
This year 2009 we are in Boulder, CO for the Rocky Mountain annual convention
September 26 and 27th.
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.
top
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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