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"Faith cometh by hearing..."
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Part 1 - March 20, 2010
Ministered by Hoboken Sacred Harp Sing, 2010
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Sermon Summary
The sound of Sacred Harp music has resonated throughout the South for more than a century. For one tight-knit Georgia community, this music has been the soundtrack for life, death, and practically everything in between.
Located in southeast Georgia, Hoboken’s Sacred Harp roots run centuries deep. Acapella music originated in Europe and made its way to 18th-century America, where it was also used as a social function, allowing people to gather and create music together in the New England states. From there, it moved south and found a home in Hoboken, primarily among the Primitive Baptist people, who did not use musical instruments. It spoke to something inside of them and gave them an opportunity to share time together.
Sacred Harp, or “shape note†music, is built around four simple shapes of musical notation designed to make the tune easy to follow for the musically untrained.
Singers sit in a “hollow square,†where each side of the square carries a different voice part. The largest section is the tenor section, where men and women sing the melody part. Immediately to their right is the treble section, immediately to the left is the bass section, and directly across from the tenors is the alto section. Singers come one at a time to the middle of the square to lead a song of their choice.
Hoboken’s annual all-day sing attracts singers from more than twenty states and two countries. As documentary filmmaker Will Payne pointed out, "Hoboken’s population more than doubles for that one day. It’s an incredible event to witness.†In 2006, Payne produced and directed an Emmy-winning short documentary featuring Hoboken’s Sacred Harp tradition.
“This music that we sing is the way we love one another,†explains David Lee, a fifth-generation Sacred Harp singer and lifetime resident of Hoboken. “This music has been important to us because it gives us a way to express our love for each other. If you put two hundred people in a room, all trying to tell of their love for one another at the same time, it would just be a cacophony. But when we sing, we create something beautiful and we're passing the same message.â€
“We sing this music when we go to the river to baptize another family member into our belief. We sing this music when we return one to the ground. Singing is how we comfort one another and how we share our joys with one another. Some folks may call this a tradition, but we call it a way of life.â€
Will Payne
Film Producer, WTBS
Located in southeast Georgia, Hoboken’s Sacred Harp roots run centuries deep. Acapella music originated in Europe and made its way to 18th-century America, where it was also used as a social function, allowing people to gather and create music together in the New England states. From there, it moved south and found a home in Hoboken, primarily among the Primitive Baptist people, who did not use musical instruments. It spoke to something inside of them and gave them an opportunity to share time together.
Sacred Harp, or “shape note†music, is built around four simple shapes of musical notation designed to make the tune easy to follow for the musically untrained.
Singers sit in a “hollow square,†where each side of the square carries a different voice part. The largest section is the tenor section, where men and women sing the melody part. Immediately to their right is the treble section, immediately to the left is the bass section, and directly across from the tenors is the alto section. Singers come one at a time to the middle of the square to lead a song of their choice.
Hoboken’s annual all-day sing attracts singers from more than twenty states and two countries. As documentary filmmaker Will Payne pointed out, "Hoboken’s population more than doubles for that one day. It’s an incredible event to witness.†In 2006, Payne produced and directed an Emmy-winning short documentary featuring Hoboken’s Sacred Harp tradition.
“This music that we sing is the way we love one another,†explains David Lee, a fifth-generation Sacred Harp singer and lifetime resident of Hoboken. “This music has been important to us because it gives us a way to express our love for each other. If you put two hundred people in a room, all trying to tell of their love for one another at the same time, it would just be a cacophony. But when we sing, we create something beautiful and we're passing the same message.â€
“We sing this music when we go to the river to baptize another family member into our belief. We sing this music when we return one to the ground. Singing is how we comfort one another and how we share our joys with one another. Some folks may call this a tradition, but we call it a way of life.â€
Will Payne
Film Producer, WTBS
