Old form of singing still a communal fete

By Kimberly Haas

PHILADELPHIA — Raw, powerful, unbridled … and LOUD, sacred
harp singing is like the heavy metal of choral music.

“For every 10 people who walk in, nine might say, ‘Oh, it’s so
loud,’ but for the 10th, it hits them in a visceral part of their
being,” says Chadds Ford resident Laura Densmore, who has sung
sacred harp for more than 30 years.

For me, as a fan of many kinds of music, loud wasn’t an issue.
What got me hooked were the harmonies.

Sacred harp is a style of four-part a cappella shape-note music
that was widespread in colonial America, the name being a euphemism
for the human voice. Many tunes are set in minor keys or use open
chords that lend them a haunting quality. The 18th- and
19th-century lyrics are often equally harsh, foretelling of death
and travail and, occasionally, hard-earned redemption.

A sacred harp “singing” can range from a dozen or two
participants for a local event to a multiday “convention” that
draws more than 200 singers from many states. The four voice parts
each sit together facing the others, with individual singers taking
turns leading songs in the center.