Comments on: Joyful Noise

Joyful Noise

Miko — Sun, 24 May 2009 05:55:03 -0800

Pilgrim Productions Presents: Voices Across America, an archive of gospel music in a variety of genres, submitted for free play and download by church groups and folk and traditional groups across the country and beyond. Style, age, and quality vary greatly, but fans of noncommercial music will enjoy hunting for the gems of blues, Cajun, bluegrass, choral, shapenote, country, vintage, and mountain gospel and more.

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Sun, 24 May 2009 06:25:03 -0800

Thank you, Miko!

By: John of Michigan

John of Michigan — Sun, 24 May 2009 06:57:18 -0800

EXCELLENT post. Thank you. I've always thought that black gospel made me, in the style of that one Onion article, want to believe in God. White people gospel, however, makes me want to worship at the feet of the Dark Lord. Go figure.

By: Marisa Stole the Precious Thing

Marisa Stole the Precious Thing — Sun, 24 May 2009 07:25:05 -0800

By: nebulawindphone

nebulawindphone — Sun, 24 May 2009 08:11:17 -0800

I'm not well-versed in musical theory, so maybe someone who is can clarify something for me: am I hearing a lot of consecutive fifths in the shapenote singing? It sounds like it, to my untrained ear, and that's pretty awesome. Especially given the early Middle Ages church controversy with those arrangements. Yes, you are. The arrangements, many of them, have stronger roots in folk harmony singing than in classical church music, and there are loads of open fifths and octaves. (I saw a website recently for a shape note singing that referred to them as "power chords.") In the nineteenth century, those arrangements got a lot of flak from well-meaning so-called progressives for being "unscientific" and not following the "rules" of proper composition. That campaign against them is apparently part of why they began to fall out of use in bigger cities and the Northeast, and only hung on in Appalachia and the rural South.

By: onkelchrispy

onkelchrispy — Sun, 24 May 2009 08:49:26 -0800

THONKS!

By: abc123xyzinfinity

abc123xyzinfinity — Sun, 24 May 2009 09:02:05 -0800

Shape note city! This is going to make my memorial weekend. Thanks!

By: RussHy

RussHy — Sun, 24 May 2009 09:02:44 -0800

Great find! Thanks for posting. I enjoyed the Amazing Grace sung in Choctaw, among others.

By: trip and a half

trip and a half — Sun, 24 May 2009 09:31:53 -0800

I want to favorite this post ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun! Thank you!

By: Bookhouse

Bookhouse — Sun, 24 May 2009 09:54:41 -0800

If you happen to be in St. Louis, or are driving through the area on a weekend, try to catch Slim Cox and his wife Zella Mae somewhere on the AM dial. They run a gospel radio show out of their furniture store, and it is the stuff.

By: Foci for Analysis

Foci for Analysis — Sun, 24 May 2009 09:55:27 -0800

The Black Gospel music is pretty amazing in all of its soulfulness [.mp3]. Thanks, Miko.

By: Foci for Analysis

Foci for Analysis — Sun, 24 May 2009 10:15:32 -0800

Theremin!

By: The White Hat

The White Hat — Sun, 24 May 2009 10:35:52 -0800

Marisa Stole the Precious Thing: "I'm not well-versed in musical theory, so maybe someone who is can clarify something for me: am I hearing a lot of consecutive fifths in the shapenote singing?" Shapenote singer here. Yes, lots of quartal harmony in the tradition, though the repertoire is split pretty evenly between that sort of "power chord" music nebulawindphone wrote about and more complex baroque-style 6-part harmonization. Here's a good example: #327 Invitation.

By: The White Hat

The White Hat — Sun, 24 May 2009 11:12:11 -0800

Oh, and as an added bonus: meet banjoape, two girls with banjos and an abiding love for arranging sacred harp tunes.

By: nebulawindphone

nebulawindphone — Sun, 24 May 2009 14:31:18 -0800

Oh, and as an added bonus: meet banjoape, two girls with banjos and an abiding love for arranging sacred harp tunes. Oh, holy cow. Thanks for that. (Never thought I'd find myself saying this, but Idumea sounds.... good all low-key and restrained like that.)

By: zarq

zarq — Wed, 27 May 2009 11:54:40 -0800

Fantastic post. Thank you!