Old Indian Hymn

[Karen W]

Yesterday I had occasion to attempt to sing OLD INDIAN HYMN #63 in the tunebook Indian Melodies by Thomas Commuck (and harmonized by Thomas Hastings), printed in 1845.

I was sitting in the tenor section and this is the most bizarre melody I've had the opportunity to sing. As you can see in the attachment, the last note in the bass (and tenor) is La on F. The key signature has 4 flats. Thus the 6th note in the scale is Fa on D. Whether I raise that note to D natural, or sing it as D flat, it mostly sounds not right. And right off the bat in the 2nd measure the tenor goes from the problematic Fa on the D line down to Fa on the A space, which just doesn't sound right whether the Fa is raised or not. In fact, throughout the melody whenever the first Fa appears, it sounds wrong.

I so want to blame this on Hastings...  Or is it simply an error in the book? Do any of you know anything about this piece?

Karen Willard

[Karen Willard]

Well, the first Fa doesn't always sound wrong, just when getting to it from the 2nd Fa...

Karen

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[Karen Willard]

So, Giny, the keynote as you sing it in Hyde Park is A flat as printed, and the tenor opening note thus is scale note 1? The keyer might then sound out the major triad Fa-La-Sol for the class?

Karen

On Sun, May 12, 2024 at 1:19 PM Virginia Landgraf <kae...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:

Hi, Karen.

We've had a lot of success in Hyde Park (Chicago) singing this as a major tune that just happens to end on its sixth chord (the tonic of the relative minor), what would be called a "deceptive cadence" in classical Western harmony. So we're not trying to sing it in dorian mode at all (raise any of those D-flats to D-naturals). We love singing it!

I asked Gabriel Kastelle, who's done some research on Commuck, if he thought the ending of the tune on that minor chord came from Commuck or Hastings, and he said that it was hard to tell. But I'll let him chime in himself.

Ginny Landgraf

Chicago, IL

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[Virginia Landgraf]

Hi, Karen.

We've had a lot of success in Hyde Park (Chicago) singing this as a major tune that just happens to end on its sixth chord (the tonic of the relative minor), what would be called a "deceptive cadence" in classical Western harmony. So we're not trying to sing it in dorian mode at all (raise any of those D-flats to D-naturals). We love singing it!

I asked Gabriel Kastelle, who's done some research on Commuck, if he thought the ending of the tune on that minor chord came from Commuck or Hastings, and he said that it was hard to tell. But I'll let him chime in himself.

Ginny Landgraf

Chicago, IL

On Sunday, May 12, 2024 at 03:09:25 PM CDT, Karen W <kayren....@gmail.com> wrote:

[David Warren Steel]

Having read the comments so far, I'd like to offer a couple of insights.
1. As printed the setting is clearly in F minor. As with many minor songs, the harmonies include the relative major, as we see with all the low A-flats in the bass.
2. This is not a Sacred Harp song. A sacred Harp song in a minor key would not include the third of the final chord.
3. This is not a Sacred Harp song. There is no clear reason to raise the sixth degree in the minor keys, as many singers do regularly in the Sacred Harp. (The late Dan Brittain said always raise the sixth in minor, even when it's difficult, as in POLAND.)
4. Finally, this is claimed as a native melody notated by Commuck. I hear those 8th-note fa's as ornaments, a slight "hiccup" as heard in many folk traditions (think Almeda Riddle or Iris DeMent). The tenor in measure 2 is basically half-note C and quarter-note A-flat, with a brief upward ornament on the C before descending to A-flat.

Wonderful singing yesterday in Memphis. I never attended a singing with as many small children present, playing around and being exposed the the music. One hopes that many of them will become singers as they grow up.
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Warren Steel                              mu...@olemiss.edu
Professor of Music Emeritus      University of Mississippi
              http://home.olemiss.edu/~mudws/

[Virginia Landgraf]

Yes, we would sound out the major triad beginning with the tenor note. 

Ginny

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