Attention Dayton Area Singers
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"If you put 100 people in a room and they were all trying to tell one another that they loved each other, it
would sound like a gaggle goin' on, but when they sing together, they create something that's beautiful and
they're passing (on) the same message."
- David Lee, Hoboken, GA -
Come join us in acapella, shape-note singing from the Sacred Harp.
What is the music of the Sacred Harp?
The Sacred Harp is an eclectic tune book, containing examples of several different forms, genres, and styles, and is written in four part "Shape-Notes". Several of the tunes in The Sacred Harp were composed in England during the period 1690-1810, not for cathedrals or royal chapels, but for churches and chapels in towns and countryside, and for urban charity hospitals. Many tunes were written by New Englanders between 1770 and 1810. Among them were Boston tanner William Billings, New Haven merchant Daniel Read, and Vermont schoolmaster and innkeeper Justin Morgan. During the years 1810-1870, many more tunes were composed or adapted by southerners from popular or traditional songs, including marches, dance tunes, and camp-meeting spiritual songs. These composers include Ananias Davisson of Virginia, William Walker of South Carolina, and Sacred Harp compilers B.F. White and E.J. King of Georgia. Twentieth-century composers represented in the Sacred Harp include members of the McGraw family of Georgia, the Denson family of Alabama, and, since 1991, several composers living outside the southern United States.
Sacred Harp music is sung by common folks with common voices who love to sing. The music is shared by people from all walks of life professionals, students, tradesmen, farmers, the butcher the baker and the candlestick maker. Opera singers, rocket scientists, guitar pickers, drivers of old trucks, doctors, and lawyers and such. Sight reading ability is neither a requirement nor a necessity. We will teach you what you need to know. All you need to bring is your spirit.
If you would like more information about Sacred Harp, please visit fasola.org.
When and where is it sung in the Dayton area?
Schedule
Regularly scheduled singings are held in Dayton on the 4th Sunday of each month, 3:00 - 6:00 p.m.
Unscheduled singings are sometimes held on special occasions. Please check out our
singings page for more information.
Location
Our singings are held at the Lutheran Church of Our Savior (LCOS) in Oakwood, Ohio a lovely community adjacent to the city of Dayton. We sing in the acoustically sound Gold room, which is located in the west wing of the church property. This Tudor style wing is the former home of the Patterson family and is easily accessible for the handicapped. Please park in the front or west parking lot and enter the home from either of the two entrances. As you face the entrance to the church sanctuary, the attached home where we will sing will be on your left.
Directions
155 East Thruston Blvd.
Dayton, Ohio 45419
Click here for
directions
Additional Information
Books
Loaner books will be available to freely use. Or, if you wish, you may purchase a Sacred Harp tune book for $20
Local Dayton area contact
John Bayer - 937-835-3323 - send an email
