"Liturgical Harp" sampler pamphlet now available

[Duncan Vinson]

Dear singers,

My "Liturgical Harp" volume, containing approximately 50 songs that form a common core repertory for shape-note singers and church choirs, is nearing completion. I want to thank all of you for your input and support. There are so many good songs out there, and unfortunately I have had to leave many aside in order to keep this project at a manageable size.

The complete volume will be available in July. Because it contains some licensed material under copyright, it will only be available as a print publication in the United States and Canada. It will sell for $15.00, and I plan to sell it through personal appearances and by mail.

At this point, I am making available a sampler pamphlet with a selection of 7 songs, for the price of $5.00. By avoiding the licensed content, I can distribute this pamphlet worldwide as an electronic document. These seven setttings include:

- “I heard the voice of Jesus say” to KINGSFOLD

- “Jerusalem, my happy home” to LAND OF REST

- “On Jordan’s stormy banks I stand” to THE PROMISED LAND (major key version)

- “Every time I feel the spirit”

- “Leaning on the everlasting arms” to SHOWALTER

- “The spacious firmament on high” to CREATION

- “Praise to the living God” (“The God of Abraham praise”) to LEONI

The first 5 of these settings are my own arrangements, exclusive to this volume and not published elsewhere. CREATION is based on the setting of this tune in the Christian Harmony, and LEONI is a standard tune in most Protestant hymnals but not, to my knowledge, published in shape notes previously.

I have also made available 3 more settings at no charge on the Liturgical Harp website:

- "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound" to NEW BRITAIN (melody given in the more common variant by Edwin Excell, but harmonized in tunebook style)

- "Love divine, all loves excelling" to HYFRYDOL (new setting)

- "While shepherds watched their flocks by night" to CHRISTMAS (from Christian Harmony)

See http://liturgicalharp.wordpress.com/sampler/ for more information.

I will be attending the Boston All-Day Singing this Saturday and will have some copies of the sampler with me.

Soon I expect to have the final table of contents of the full volume posted on the website. As anyone who has worked on this kind of project knows, problems with spacing, even vs. odd page numbers, and so forth mean that it is hard to finalize the contents until the very end of the process.

Best wishes,

Duncan Vinson

Melrose, Mass.