A Sacred Harp Hymn For the Dark Night Of the Soul

I've said that Music Times Five is in danger of becoming the Fairport Convention blog. It is in equal danger of becoming the Ephemeral String Band blog.

Molly Merrett and Maggie Shar have carried on the tradition of sacred harp singing with a beautiful difference: Instead of singing a capella, they accompany themselves on banjo. Though it's not strictly traditional, their music sounds as though it's been been around for hundreds, maybe thousands, of years. These are nothing less than the deepest cries of the soul. Every time I finish watching one of their videos, I find myself looking for more.

Something else I want more of is their rich, layered banjo sound. Who knew that multiple banjos could sound so deep and complex? Sure, Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn use this technique, combining frailing with melodic banjo, but the Ephemeral Stringband uses a clawhammer technique on two very different-sounding instruments. I love what they do, and I'll be sharing more.

In the meantime, this is sacred harp #67, Columbus, which has what surely must be some of the most despairing yet universal lyrics ever, regardless of your faith. Haven't we all felt as though we've lost our way and might never find it again? Here's The Ephemeral Stringband to guide us through the dark night of the soul.

A Bloody Makeover

Sacred harp melodies crossed over more than once into secular repertoire. One of the best-known sacred harp hymns, "Wondrous Love" (here's Blue Highway's Grammy Award-winning version) supplied the melody for the story of the bloodthirsty "Captain Kidd", sung here by Eliza Carthy, out in front of Waterson Carthy.

I am so, so happy to be sharing sacred harp music with you today. If sacred harp singing intrigues you at all, you must see this documentary for historical, cultural, and musical context. You might also like this video, featuring voluble musicologist, Alan Lomax, and some knowledgeable friends.

In the meantime, take a look at the trailer for "Awake My Soul: The Story of the Sacred Harp". You can purchase the film on Amazon, or stream it on Netflix.

Side note: The first generation of bluegrass musicians had sacred harp singing in their bones. They grew up with it, and incorporated many of its hymns and stylistic elements into bluegrass music.

I shared an instrumental version of this shape note hymn a few weeks back. While Tim Eriksen's version is good, this astringent take from Molly and Maggie of The Ephemeral String Band is mind-boggling in its beauty.

In fact, this performance inspired me to dedicate today to shape note -- or sacred harp singing, so stay tuned for more of this uniquely American art form.

As for why they begin by using solfege, if the documentary trailer in the next post doesn't give you a clue, the full movie will.
 

From Mike Seeger's Collection

This hymn was originally collected by Mike Seeger on an album titled Close to Home:  Old Time Music from Mike Seeger’s Collection, 1952 – 1967. The Primitive Quartet also recorded an upbeat, bluegrass-inflected version, but I much prefer this one.

The group is variously referred to as The Stacer/Stancer Quartet, and though this is not a shape note hymn, it has the same stark, modal quality.

This is “He Said, If You Love Me, Feed My Sheep”.

Unusual musical setting; these shape note hymns are generally sung a capella. I like this version a lot, though. Time to go looking for more for this artist.

This is Tim Eriksen with "Ecstacy" (Sacred Harp 106), filmed in Clark Canyon, Wyoming.

Spare yet inventive, primitive yet progressive: I love the approach that Abigail Washburn and Béla Fleck take to the old songs. This one’s an old, shape note hymn – you might be familiar with Doc Watson’s version – called “And Am I Born To Die?”