Sacred Harp Singing

Sacred Harp Singing

The sound may not be up to contemporary standards on this disc, but historically it is perhaps the most important recording ever released of Sacred Harp singing. Part of the Library of Congress's Archive of Folk Culture series, this was the first recording to be created "in the raw," from an entire singing convention, replete with the heart-rending testimonials and the sound of singers getting into pitch. Folklorist Alan Lomax with George Pullen Jackson (at the time the foremost authority on Sacred Harp singing) recorded this fascinating document. Jackson authored several works and did extensive research on the often secular roots of Sacred Harp songs and delved into the lives of important original composers such as Billings, Read, and Ingalls. Since its release, Sacred Harp Singing has become a Rosetta stone of sorts for contemporary singers, who can compare their sound against that of the first authentic recording of a convention, the Alabama Sacred Harp Singing Convention of August 1942. --Mike McGonigal

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