RE: "Performing" Shape-note Singing
Thurlow Weed
which might work in many situations where a group is asked to "perform"
for a church service.
Since many of us who sing shape-notes are also church musicians, we can
sort of see both sides of the fence, so to speak. So many
denominational hymnals contain a wealth of hymns with their roots in the
shape-note tradition, that most people have no idea when they're singing
St Thomas, for example, or Holy Manna (to whatever words) they're
actually singing a shape note hymn. Further, the congregation for which
I'm organist does a "Hymn-sing" Sunday several times a year, using the
"call out a number, we'll sing a couple of verses" format similar to a
shape-note sing.
What I propose as a format for such situations where this would work is
but a slight variation on the "regular" singing format. Of course there
would need to be some careful planning and coordination, and hopefully
the layout of the church sanctuary will accommodate a hollow square
using pews and folding chairs. In my present church this would
basically be a hollow trapezoid, but it would be workable. A suitable
fellowship/social hall is also helpful.
Here is an approach that -- theoretically at least -- should work:
Shape-noters arrive at church to start with "warm up singing." This is
essentially the first morning session. Then a recess, after which the
requested "performance." This morning "performance" session would all
be (ideally) in the sanctuary. For the "worship hour" (or hour and a
half) there would be numerous carefully pre-selected tunes using both
Cooper and Denson books, with corresponding hymn numbers provided for
the host church members to follow in the pew hymnals. This session
would be a "teaching session" to help make church-goers aware of just
how much in those pew hymnals comes from our tradition: St Thomas, New
Britain, Coronation, Martin, Nearer my God to Thee, Hebron, Federal
Street, etc. These would be interspersed with various fuging tunes and
other things whereby we usually raise the roof height a few inches, such
as Consecration, Green Street, Babylon is Fallen, along with "standards"
such as David's Lamentation and Easter Anthem. Of course, church-goers
would be invited to sit amongst the shape-noters so that they might
learn what this is about "hands-on." (This includes all those
traditional Methodists who insist on sitting in the back two pews!)
This would serve to acquaint the worshippers with the history in their
hymnal racks, as well as introduce them to the powerful fuging tunes and
minor key roof raisers that (hopefully) they're sitting in the middle
of. Think of it as a regular singing, but you've got a gosh awful lot
of guests so you have to explain everything you're doing.
At the conclusion of the "worship hour," Dinner on the Grounds with
church members, after which (thinking of my own church's facilities at
this moment) the hollow square would be set up in the fellowship/social
hall for a regular singing, to which the morning's church-goers are of
course invited. It would amount to a full-day sing in a fairly
conventional format, with only some variation for the second morning
session. Being a full day singing, it would also be more worth the
while of singers who travel, which makes for that much better a
"performance" where Treble and Tenor parts can be properly doubled.
For those situations where performance is requested as part of a Concert
Series, it would be my hope that either the requesting church's
sanctuary or social hall would be able to accommodate an acceptable
hollow square. The "concert" could be done in two sections - first as a
"performance" with audience 'out there,' but then a short break and have
the audience relocate themselves amidst the shape-noters for the
"audience participation" portion.
If performance is needed to widen the awareness of our living music, so
be it. But let the informal nature of our participatory music extend
into the performance venue and presentation as much as possible. In
other words, audience participation. Even if you can't sing, sit in the
middle of a section so you can really hear and feel what it's all about.
Thurlow Weed
Lancaster, OH