Transcript of Florida Folklife Shape Note Singing Presentation

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THE BETHLEHEM SACRED HARP SING

Old Chicora, Florida

In 1884 Benjamin Franklin White, a singing school teacher living in Harris County, Georgia, published The Sacred Harp. This book of "Old Baptist" religious folk song was to become the most popular and long-lasting of the American shaped-note songsters. The Sacred Harp is written in the ancient "fa so la" musical system. This scale, used in Old English music and carried to America by British settlers, has only four notes… FA,SO,LA,MI.

An American invention was the use of shapes to identify each of the four notes. This visual aid was used in American Singing Schools to make the learning and teaching music easier. First the song is lined out using the notes, then the words are sung on the second round.

The Sacred Harp became the official songbook of many Southern Musical Conventions and spread from Tennessee to Florida, Georgia to Texas. After the turn of the century, shape-note FA,SO,LA singing began to decline. However, in the Southeast United States The Sacred Harp has enjoyed a continuous popularity. The Sacred Harp has undergone many revisions since its beginnings. The Cooper Revision of 1902 is the most popular book in Florida and is used in many Sacred Harp sings today.

"This is Bethlehem Primitive Baptist Church" (Albritton-1055-Tape 1)

MUSIC - "Closer Walk With God" (Tape #3, 3S7-440)

Years before there was a church in this area, the Sacred Harp Singers would meet at people's houses and sing. And then, in later, they used to meet at an old schoolhouse which was called Johnson School and it

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was located on what is now Highway 674. But it disbanded and it was reorganized here at this church, the best that we can find out, on the 5th Sunday in May 1924."

MUSIC- "The Crucified Savior" (Tape #3, 612-661)

"The founders and the originators, most of this, was the Albritton family. Uh, Perry Albritton was the leader at the very dawn of my memory, which, I'm 55. And then my grandfather was Jesse Arthur Albritton, he took it until he died."

My grandfather was born in Florida, right here in, just a mile of this church and had a place that joined this property and lived here all of his life. they had it with them. I have seen some of the old books that his sisters had and also his brothers had, which only had the three lines, they didn't have alto. And we have some of those books and I remember one in particular was my, was one of his sister's books. It's still around today.

But it had three lines and it was a small book. But they brought it with them when they came down from Georgia, back around, uh, Civil War."

MUSIC- ''Calvary" (Tape #2, 190-240)

"Well, in the Sacred Harp book there are four shapes, FA, SO, LA, MI. The FA is triangular, and the LA is square, the MI is diamond-shaped and the SO is uh zero, an O. And there's only four shapes, in Sacred Harp music and they're called, the notes are called by the shape of the note, rather than where it is located on the staff …because you don't have to know very much music to be able

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to sing … That's the main reason that, that I can figure out …anyway … is that it's easy to sing, just because you, you call the note by the shape of it."

MUSIC - "Grace of Christ" (Tape #2, 313-343)

So far as I know, there has not been a 5th Sunday in all these years but what a group met here and sang even during the war when people could hardly travel. They still met here at Bethlehem and sang the old Sacred Harp songs from the Cooper book.

MUSIC - "Amazing Grace" (Tape #2, 1055)

Well, we thought for awhile, it was about gone, but as you see now, it's growing back again, and we hope it just continues on & on & on. If I, long as I can have anything to do with it, we will keep going."

MUSIC - "Amazing Grace" (Tape #2, 1055)

''We're so glad you came. I hope you've enjoyed yourselves as much as I have. And just come back to be with us on the next 5th Sunday. Alright let's say this prayer: Father, we thank you for what we have felt, what we have heard today, and ask you now that you to go with us accordingly as we go to our separate abodes. Keep us ever under thy care and to be thy sleep well, now let us gather again and sing these old songs of praise of the day, Now we ask in Jesus name. Amen, Amen.