The Sacred Harp participants for the evening.
Do you like to sing? I do, but I haven’t done much formally or had any instruction in it. For 2024 one of my goals was to truly find my own voice without shame or judgment. Lucky for me, Volume Two at Never Ending Books has a gathering of the New Haven Sacred Harp every third Monday of the month, where new and inexperienced singers are always welcome.
Sacred Harp is a musical tradition rooted in the hymns of 18th century New England. It is also known as shape note singing because the notes used correspond to four shapes. The book the songs are chosen from, called The Sacred Harp, has songs in it with these shapes used for notes instead of the more typical notation. The practice is rooted in community and is welcoming to all. That means anyone can join at any time, from someone who has vast experience in reading music and performing to someone like me, who has the most basic grade-school knowledge of reading notes and mostly “performs” in her car or kitchen along with the radio.
According to Charles Biada, who has been a part of the group since its inception in 2010, New Haven Sacred Harp has been gathering at the State Street bookstore once a month for about a year now, also gathering twice a month (the second and fourth Tuesdays) at Stoekel Hall on College Street. Biada joined as an undergraduate at Yale, where music professor Ian Quinn started the group out of a class he was teaching. He and another longtime member, Gwen, spoke of how, though the music comes out of a Christian tradition, all backgrounds are welcome and many who attend do not identify as Christian or any particular religion.
“We are singing religious music, but it is not a religious service,” said Biada.
The group also does not have a leader per se. Though there tends to be a core group, New Haven Sacred Harp also has a “rotating cast,” including some people who only come every few months.
“The medium tends to lend itself to that,” said Gwen. “So people can come and go as they please.”
“There are no requirements,” said Biada, “except you want to be here and sing.”
The pandemic affected the group as it did most gatherings, and New Haven Sacred Harp saw a decrease in overall attendance as people moved away or moved on, but last night there were eight participants including this reporter.
Marie Brandis, who has been participating in Sacred Harp singing for over 40 years, gave a brief introduction to the form, including the corresponding shapes and notes: a triangle for Fa, an oval for So, a rectangle for La, and a diamond for Mi. I was given a card to use to help me learn and follow along. I was also reassured by all that I would pick it up eventually and, most of all, have fun.
The book used and the key I used
“It’s about sight reading,” said Biada. “And mostly about making noise.” Everyone laughed and agreed.
“It’s about community,” added Brandis, who explained how they would be going around the room and letting each participant choose what songs they wanted to sing throughout the night, with one break (which included snacks) after about an hour of singing. She also began with the tradition of singing the names of the notes before getting into specific songs.
The room was set up with the chairs in a square. Participants were seated in sections as bass, tenor, treble (what may be called soprano elsewhere), and alto. I sat with the altos and dove right in, though with some trepidation. At first, I was mostly concerned with getting the right sound for each shape. Then I was concerned with making sure I was reading the correct line as an alto. Next on my agenda was following along with the correct lyrics once I got the notes down. It seemed intimidating until I actually did it a couple of times. This is a good place to note (pun intended) that this group was extremely kind and patient with me because I had a lot of questions, not just as a reporter but as a singer. I also appreciated the snack break, and the brownies were delicious. One other note: Make sure you bring water.
One of the songs we sang.
During the second half I felt like I could follow along with more ease and less self-consciousness. Everyone’s voices were quite heavenly, and when I cupped my ear, I could hear that I had the beginning of an actual voice of my own. As someone who spends an extensive amount of time listening closely to other people’s voices, it was quite exciting.
One important note: Though this is a group that gathers to sing, it is not a performance. Based on my experience here last night, that took some of the stress out of it all. Besides the three monthly meetings, the group has an all-day gathering once a year in April (which actually lasts four or five hours); you can get a sense of what the singing sounds like from the video of last year’s event below.
I would be remiss to not mention the song selections. Many in the group were extremely well versed (another pun intended) in song selection and chose pieces that others exulted and discussed with glee. I even learned about Daniel Read, who apparently was from New Haven and is buried in Grove Street Cemetery. Two of his songs were sung on this evening. I was told that they never sing the same song twice in one day, but since there were literally hundreds of songs to choose from, I doubt that would ever be a problem for anyone.
Even though it was my first time, I got to choose songs, though I was told I did not have to if I did not want to. Again, comfort and community were key. The songs I chose were called “Complainer,” “Love Divine,” and “Expression.” Analyze those choices whichever way you like, but I will say there was something so freeing about it all and inspiring as well. It really was all about the expression. In fact, as I was taking photos, Brandis looked at me, smiled, and said “now come back and sing.” I did, with more gusto than ever before.
New Haven Sacred Harp has a Facebook group and a website where more information can be found. They will also be at the New Year New Hobby New Haven event this Saturday at the New Haven Pride Center if you would like to speak to members of the group in person. And they will be back at Volume Two at Never Ending Books next month on the third Monday at 7 p.m.
