Sources for 3 songs in The Social Harp

[David]

I'm looking for the sources for three songs in John G. McCurry's Social Harp (1855): Communion (p. 61), Deep Spring (p. 249), and Permanence (p. 22). 

These three songs appear to have been borrowed from other sources by John G. McCurry (because they are uncredited in the Social Harp), but I have not found them in the tune books he used as the source for most of the borrowed songs in The Social Harp: The Sacred Harp, The Hesperian Harp, and The Southern Harmony.

All 3 of these songs are mentioned in George Pullen Jackson's writings:

Deep Spring: GPJ's "Spiritual Folk-Songs of Early America" (p. 65) says this tune is found in John B. Jackson's Knoxville Harmony (1838), p. 90, and Caldwell's Union Harmony (1837), p. 89 -- does anyone have a copy of those books and could see if either or both matches the arrangement in The Social Harp? This song is also on p. 93 of The New Harp of Columbia (1867), credited to "Douglass". 

Communion: GPJ's "Down-East Spirituals and Others" (p. 144) gives this tune the family name "Liberty Hall", and says "The song was widely used in the earlier southern shape-note song books" (but he doesn't say which ones?)

Permanence: This song is apparently covered in GPJ's "Another Sheaf of White Spirituals", p. 163, but I don't have access to that book. 

I'd appreciate any help, especially page scans of these songs from older tune books.

Thanks,

David Smead

[Wade Kotter]

David, I can help with one of these tunes:

COMMUNION is on the bottom of p. 10 in the 1835 first edition of The Southern Harmony and later editions up to 1849; it was apparently removed in the 1854 ed.

https://archive.org/details/southernharmonym0000walk/page/10/mode/1up

According to Temperley's Hymn Tune Index, the earliest printing of COMMUNION is in Wyeth's Repository of Sacred Music from 1810. I do not have access to a scan of this printing, but here it is from the 1820 ed. of this tune book:

https://archive.org/details/wyethsrepository00wyet_0/page/68/mode/1up

It is a close variant of the tune LIBERTY HALL, which, according to research done for The Shenandoah Harmony, was arranged by Lucius Chapin in ca. 1801. Rachel Hall and/or Nikos Pappas would, I believe, be able to provide more information on this.

I'll let you know tomorrow if I can help with the others you mention.

Dr. Wade Kotter

Retired Librarian

Independent Hymnologist and Unrestrained Loud Treble

South Ogden, UT

"Make a Joyful Noise Unto the Lord" 

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[Bob Richmond]

New Harp of Columbia singer here. In the 35 years I've been singing, neither my wife nor I can remember singing 93 DEEP SPRING, credited to "Douglass". Marion Hatchett's book doesn't add much to what's been said.

In response to: "Deep Spring: GPJ's "Spiritual Folk-Songs of Early America" (p. 65) says this tune is found in John B. Jackson's Knoxville Harmony (1838), p. 90, and Caldwell's Union Harmony (1837), p. 89 -- does anyone have a copy of those books and could see if either or both matches the arrangement in The Social Harp? This song is also on p. 93 of The New Harp of Columbia (1867), credited to "Douglass"."

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[Robert Vaughn]

This probably does not help, but DEEP SPRING is also in the older Harp of Columbia (W. H. & M. L. Swan, 1848), also on page 93 and credited to Douglass. A scan of that book is on the University of Tennessee website. Perhaps this direct link will work.

https://digital.lib.utk.edu/collections/islandora/object/harp%3A136

Sincerely,

Robert Vaughn 

Mount Enterprise, TX

http://baptistsearch.blogspot.com 

Ask for the old paths, where is the good way

http://mtcarmelbaptist.blogspot.com 

For ask now of the days that are past...

http://oldredland.blogspot.com 

Give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land.

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[Bob Richmond]

The printing of 93 DEEP SPRING in the 1848 Harp of Columbia books is from the same stereotype (printing) plate used to print the 1867 New Harp. The 1919 printing (or printings) also used the old plates. That's the last anyone's heard of them - it's suspected they ended up in a WW 2 scrap metal drive. The 1975 photographic University of Tennessee reprinting was done from a copy of the 1919 printing. That photographic record survives today, and will be used again if the New Harp of Columbia is ever reprinted.

The original typesetting and making of printing plates was done in Philadelphia, probably by a forerunner of the Lippincott publishing house. I suspect that some record of this may exist in Lippincott's archives, which are supposed to be housed at the University of Pennsylvania.

[Wade Kotter]

Your link worked, Robert. I don't think it matters, but the copy at UTK is dated 1857 on the cover. It appears to be a stereotyped reprint of the 1848 original.

Wade

Dr. Wade Kotter

Retired Librarian

Independent Hymnologist and Unrestrained Loud Treble

South Ogden, UT

"Make a Joyful Noise Unto the Lord" 

[Robert Vaughn]

Thanks, Wade, for mentioning that. I was just dating the origin of the Harp of Columbia, rather the actual edition/printing. It is my understanding that these (1848/1857) would be the same as far as the songs/music are concerned. But I have not checked that out carefully (and maybe someone can weigh in more about that); it is good that you pointed that out so that we take that into consideration. 

Blessings,

Robert Vaughn 

Mount Enterprise, TX

http://baptistsearch.blogspot.com 

Ask for the old paths, where is the good way

http://mtcarmelbaptist.blogspot.com 

For ask now of the days that are past...

http://oldredland.blogspot.com 

Give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land.

[David Smead]

Hi Wade,

Thanks for sharing the two arrangements of Communion. It would make sense for McCurry to have access to an older edition of the Southern Harmony, but the two arrangements are slightly different, and the second one (from Wyeth's Repository of Sacred Music) matches the arrangement in The Social Harp.

McCurry made very few changes to the songs he borrowed from the Sacred Harp, Hesperian Harp, and Southern Harmony, and in particular he didn't change the words of any of them (although he sometimes added or deleted verses), so it's interesting that the words to Communion in these sources are different from the Social Harp ("Long have I tried terrestrial joys, But here can find no rest; Far from its vanity and noise, To be with Christ is best.") McCurry certainly could have changed the words, but I almost expect there's another published source we haven't seen yet that has the arrangement from Wyeth's Repository of Sacred Music and the words in the Social Harp. 

Thanks,

David

[Fulton, Erin]

Although I doubt there would be any direct influence in terms of arrangement, "Long have I tried terrestrial joys" appears with this tune in Christian Lyre. Lyre both included enough pre-existing songs solicited by Leavitt from his readers and enjoyed a wide enough circulation afterwards that it's often a decent reflection of which tunes and texts were in general circulation, including in particular combinations. 

Best,

E. Fulton.

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Subject: Re: [fasola-discussions] Sources for 3 songs in The Social Harp

 

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