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A Sacred Feast: Reflections on Sacred Harp Singing and Dinner on the Ground
Some have called Sacred Harp singing America’s earliest music. This powerful nondenominational religious singing, part of a deeply held Southern culture, has spread throughout the nation over the past two centuries. In A Sacred Feast, Kathryn Eastburn journeys into the community of Sacred Harp singers across the country and introduces readers to the curious glories of a tr...more
Hardcover, 212 pages
Published
April 1st 2008
by University of Nebraska Press
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I stuck my toe into Sacred Harp singing once upon a time, and I loved it. But, circumstances and a slight feeling of inhospitality in the group I sang with, ran me off. (It was probably me!) Kathryn Eastburn's account of this marvelous "sacred harp" singing tradition, makes me long to join up again. The shape notes take some getting used to and I never quite did, but Eastburn's explanation of how to do it made me feel more secure. She travels widely to group sings and explores the tradition and...more
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I was prepared to be a bit skeptical about this, but it won me over. It's a lovely account of several Sacred Harp conventions and dinner on the grounds. Eastburn captures the flavors (sorry) of both the singing and the food of this tradition. She visits a few different singings and recounts her experiences there. At the end of the chapter there are the recipes for the dishes prepared by the people she's talked with. It's not a comprehensive book, but it's not trying to be. I just wished there we...more
Mar 13, 2009
Joanna
marked it as to-read
A cookbook & musicology/ethnomusicology book about Sacred Harp?!? Sounds like a dream book...
As a Sacred Harp singer, let me point out first are foremost that there are no harps in Sacred Harp singing; the term refers to the human voice as an instrument, and all songs are sung with no instrumental accompaniment. Also known as shape note singing, it is one of the oldest musical traditions in the United States and has an extremely interesting history.
This is a short and sweet little account of shape-note singing communities around the country, full of lovely descriptions of dinner on the ground (and recipes). However, at times, it reads like a somewhat impersonal journalistic "who's who" of the Sacred Harp world. I wish Ms. Eastburn had delved a bit deeper into the effect of Sacred Harp on her personal life.
May 20, 2013
Joel
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