Fyffe in nation's spotlight

The Weekly Post

From staff reports
The Weekly Post

Published September 9, 2009

Music lovers from around the nation and at least one foreign country will descend on Fyffe's Corinth Baptist Church Saturday and Sunday, for the 106th annual United Sacred Harp convention.

It will also be the 50th anniversary of the last time it was held at Corinth, in 1959.

"Everyone is so excited that the United convention is coming back to Fyffe," said Dennis George, a Sacred Harp singer and vice chairman of the event. "We have heard from people in 20 or more states and even England, who are planning to come be part of this historic event."

The 1959 singing at Corinth is well-known, as it was the first successful recording of Sacred Harp music.

The man

In 1959, Alan Lomax came to Fyffe and made the historic recording.

Lomax is a noted ethnomusicologist who traveled the world collecting songs and music. He had earlier attempted to record Sacred Harp music with monoaural equipment.

He brought stereo equipment to Fyffe that year and the rest is history.

The event

Seating is limited inside Corinth Baptist, but the Fyffe Church of God's Family Life Center will serve as an overflow facility, with a live audio/video feed.

After Saturday's singing, there will be a social in Fyffe City Park. A special musical performance is being planned and local lodge members will be selling barbecue plates.

Town Creek Productions will videotape the singing and interviews for a future documentary. Two producers from California are planning a CD release of this year's singing.

The music

Sacred Harp singing is not a performance by a singer or group. Singers are divided into four groups — treble, bass, alto, and tenor. The singers sit in a square formation with one voice on each side, all facing the hollow inside of the square. This is done not for the benefit of the audience, as with most singing, but for the benefit of the singers, allowing them to enjoy the blend of voices. There are no rehearsals for these singings.

Audience members are welcome to sit anywhere and listen.

Participants take turns stepping into the middle of the square and directing songs of their choice, keeping time with their hands.

However, Sacred Harp music doesn't feature a harp. Instead, it is sung a cappella. The name comes from a popular book of shape note songs called, "The Sacred Harp," referring to the human voice (God's Sacred Harp).

The original Sacred Harp book was published in 1844. It has been updated annually.

Cold Mountain

In 2003, a movie called "Cold Mountain" was released. It was about a Civil War soldier who had been injured and was trying to make his way home, on foot.

The movie, which features music throughout, has two songs, "I"m Going Home" and "Idumea," both of which are sung by Sacred Harp singers from Sand Mountain.

T-Bone Burnett and Anthony Minghella, two of Hollywood's big names, visited Henagar to record the songs.