A New Four-Shape Tunebook
We first encountered ShH 184 SINAI (1801) in Hauser’s Hesperian Harp (1848). It is the best known composition of the teenaged Woodruff, who drowned at the age of nineteen. Back in the day, the alto, or counter, part was often sung by boys, and we like to think that Merit wrote this fantastic alto part to sing himself. This recording is from the Northern Shenandoah Valley All-Day Shenandoah Singing,...
read moreIn the current pre-publication packet some of you may have noticed that the composer of the anthem ShH 453 CRUCIFIXION is no longer given as “M. Kyes”. The identity of this composer has been a tantalizing enigma for some time; who could write such an extraordinary piece as Crucifixion, and yet remain utterly unknown? Ten pieces are ascribed to M. Kyes in Asahel Benham’s Social Harmony, two more tunes in Benham’s Federal Harmony, and a single tune (ShH 452 SOLITUDE) in Wyeth’s Repository, Part II. A look at Benham’s indices brings up the question: why is “Kyes” the only composer there with an initial before his surname? There is no record of any other composer of the period with the same surname, so why was the distinction necessary? The clue lies in the name...
read moreNow that our preview packet is out, we’ve received several questions and comments about our editorial policy. As the “resident academic” on the music committee, I thought I’d try to explain our process for everyone. This is the result of an ongoing conversation—so I’m sure I’ll be editing this post plenty in the coming months! –Rachel General policy. The Shenandoah Harmony is a book for singers. Successful singing books such as The Sacred Harp have undergone substantial revisions in their history, with the general goal of making songs more satisfying to sing and lead in the context of a practice or all-day singing. However, changes must be made with extreme caution. Often harmonic or rhythmic irregularities—both features that make a song tricky to sing—are what gives a song its life. Eliminating them all can...
read moreI hope you’ve had a chance to check out our preview packet! You will notice that each song—with the exception of songs by living composers—has a little code in the top corner of the page. The letters tell you the source and the numbers indicate the page number in that source. See the second page of the preview packet for a list of abbreviations. As I am explaining in a lengthy post about editing the book, we have made various changes to songs, so if you’re interested in this sort of thing we encourage you to check out the original sources, too. Many of these sources are freely available online; others belong to the Early American Imprints Series (EAI). You can find the EAI series and index number through the Hymn Tune Index. Many major...
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