Author:  Buell E. Cobb, Jr.

ISBN:  0-8203-2371-3

In the early days of the 18th century, the quality of music in the churches of
colonial New England was less than ideal.  Congregational singing was
accomplished through a method called "lining out," a process in which a song
leader would sing a psalm, one line at a time, and the congregation would follow
suit.  Although the 9th edition of the Puritan Bay Psalm Book
- published in 1698 -  did include printed music (and was the first edition to
  do so), because many of the colonists weren't musically literate, there was a
  growing feeling among New England's musically inclined that something had to
  be done to improve the quality of congregational singing.

Enter "singing schools," "shape-note" singing and the subject of Buell E. Cobb
Jr.'s book, "The Sacred Harp."  "The Sacred Harp," the title of the last
shape-note tune book to be published, was descended from a long line of
shape-note books, the first of which were used in New England churches to remedy
their aforementioned musical malaise.  Published in 1844, "The Sacred Harp"
culled many tunes from previously published shape-note books and also included
some previously unknown tunes.

The concept of "shape notes" -- the method of assigning to each note of the
scale a particular shape instead of giving it a specific position on the musical
staff -- is well explained in Cobb's book.  (Although many psalms and hymns are
included in the book's appendix, there aren't any recorded in the shape-note
manner.)

If "shape-note" singing (a term now interchangeable with "Sacred Harp" singing)
were not vibrantly alive and well in certain areas of the American south, Buell
E. Cobb's book might be simply the study of a quaint but forgotten slice of
Americana.  Although he often laments the difficulty of writing about something
so potent and so utterly singular that must be experienced to be fully
understood, Cobb brings the entire story of "sacred harp" singing  - past and
present - clearly into focus.

The history of Sacred Harp singing, a uniquely American story, is a tale which
Buell Cobb's book tells definitively well.

The above review was contributed by: Kathryn Atwood: Click Here To View More Of Kathryn's   Reviews:

Kathryn Atwood's poetry, reviews and essays have appeared in numerous online and print journals, including "The Aurora Review,", "Afterimage," "Void Magazine," "Wild Violet," and "PopMatters."  When she's not writing or driving her three kids around somewhere, she's usually teaching at a local music studio or givng vocal performances with her husband on the  subject of American and British song.