For the Fasola types here

[Haruo]

I just got a copy of the 3rd edition (just out last month) of Karen Willard's An American Christmas Harp. Wonderful book. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes Sacred Harp or Southern Harmony, and I know there are a few of that ilk in this bunch.

[Haruo]

Now if I could just write a couple of good macaronic Esperanto-Karen carols and print them off in shaped notes...

[Timsings]

I just got a copy of the 3rd edition (just out last month) of Karen Willard's An American Christmas Harp. Wonderful book. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes Sacred Harp or Southern Harmony, and I know there are a few of that ilk in this bunch.

I have an earlier copy, and it is very good. There aren't many shape-note tunes with Christmas texts, so pulling so many of them together in one book is a great help. I do know of a few others that were not included. I've gotten a couple of the ones here used in Advent services at my church, and one year our choir sang "Star in the East" for Epiphany Sunday. One of my favorites in Karen's book is a little 2-part tune titled "Christmas". It is on p. 6. There is one thing that Karen could not refrain from. She added the last word to the tune named "French Broad River". In William Walker's Southern Harmony, the tune is simply called "French Broad". It would not be of much interest to me except that, during most of my college years, I was a member of the French Broad Baptist Church outside of Dandridge, Tennessee.

Tim Reynolds

[Gary]

Now if I could just write a couple of good macaronic Esperanto-Karen carols and print them off in shaped notes...

Can't help with the Esperanto, but "Finale" will do both 4- and 7-shaped notation!

There are likely others which do that as well.

Gary

[Stephen Fox]

I've had it from local library for last couple weeks and had great email exchange with Miller.
Tim, you especially with want a personal copy of Miller's Traveling Home, pretty much her Harvard Dissertation. She now teaches at Brown.
Haruo, you will want to turn it up as well and do what you can to sing with me and Tim next 4th Sunday in August and the Sat before at Pine Grove Singing in Historic Collinsville, Al, 3 miles south up on the Mountain.

Tim, apparently you went to Carson Newman. My Dad and Uncle and two first cousins are alums. I was born in Newport on the French Broad. Would love to see the lyrics to the song to which you refer.

Sfox

Here is the Intro from Traveling Home, but this site didn't put up much more of the text. You will see a reference to the Great Page in the book, 142

http://books.google.com/books?id=-JB2iu ... q=&f=false

[Lamar Wadsworth]

Will have to put those Collinsville singing dates on the calendar and try to make it. A lot of Primitive Baptists, who have largely been the keepers of this musical tradition, don't celebrate Christmas, which is one reason you don't find a lot of Advent/Christmas texts in this tradition.

[Stephen Fox]

http://www.mcsr.olemiss.edu/~mudws/reviews/kmiller.html

Lamar:

If you check back here consider this public invitation to Dykes Creek weekend of Dec 15 to hear Chief US Army Chaplain Doug Carver in Sunday evening Service on Kingston HWY east of Rome.
I'm leaning in that direction. Hope to see you there if I make it.

[Stephen Fox]

How powerful Idumea is in the Petersburg opening scene of Cold Mtn.
Was on free cable this morning; my Alabama friend Lucas Black there with Jude Law; and the voices of many of my friends from Liberty Church from Henegar, Alabama singing in the Soundtrack:

And am I born to die?
To lay this body down!
And must my trembling spirit fly
Into a world unknown?
A land of deepest shade,
Unpierced by human thought
The dreary regions of the dead,
Where all things are forgot.
Soon as from earth I go
What will become of me?
Eternal happiness or woe,
Must then my portion be!
Waked by the trumpet sound,
I from my grave shall rise;
And see the Judge with glory crowned,
And see the flaming skies!

Kiri Miller has done a great job talking about the Cold Mtn effect on Fasola singers in her great work Traveling Home; which I have discussed other places on this board and in my blog
If Jonathan would like to see my email exchanges with Miller, I may share portions with him.

[Stephen Fox]

Glorious Chapter in Sean Wilentz recent book on Bob Dylan and the Sacred Harp and Doc Watson. About the time I thought I had the territory covered along comes this and is it magisterial

Here is a poem of the same territory:

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive ... ?id=171894

[Stephen Fox]

http://www.christiancentury.org/blogs/a ... cular-harp

Good piece

[Stephen Fox]

http://www.metrolyrics.com/the-lone-pil ... atson.html

Also See Sean Wilentz on Bob Dylan in America

And this version as well:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9A-OUJ3I19g

[Haruo]

Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer set to the Sacred Harp's tune NORTHFIELD... fantastic variation on a couple of themes. (Here's an unusual First Noel, too... but I don't think it's actually fasola.)

[Stephen Fox]

Here is one of my newest favorites from the Sacred Harp singing over the Weekend here in Bama. Goes with David's Lamentation over Absalom and The Lone Pilgrim as some of my fondest. See my Larry Bird Blog

Lord, I cannot let Thee go,

Till a blessing Thou bestow:

Do not turn away Thy face,

Mine’s an urgent, pressing case.



Dost Thou ask me who I am?

Ah! my Lord, Thou know’st my name;

Yet the question gives a plea

To support my suit with Thee.



Thou didst once a wretch behold,

In rebellion blindly bold,

Scorn Thy grace, Thy power defy:

That poor rebel, Lord, was I.



Thou hast helped in every need;

This emboldens me to plead:

After so much mercy past,

Canst Thou let me sink at last?