Shape Note Singing in Florida

Florida Folklife Program Sacred Harp Presentation (1980)

In 1980, the Florida Folklife Program created brief presentations on various topics using audio recordings and photos from fieldwork across the state. The presentation on shape note singing in Florida focused specifically on the singing community of Old Chicora, a ghost town on the border of Polk and Hillsborough counties, south of present day Lithia and Mulberry. Floridians there have been singing from the Cooper revision of The Sacred Harp since its initial publication at the turn of the century. In 1978 and 1979, folklorist Peggy Bulger made trips to document all-day singings at Bethlehem Primitive Baptist Church in Old Chicora.

Bulger's photos and field recordings from an all-day singing in October of 1978 form the basis of the Florida Folklife Program’s presentation, to which she added a brief introduction to shape note singing and The Sacred Harp. The overview includes an account of the solfège system and its history in American music education as well as information about the changing popularity of The Sacred Harp in the United States. In addition to Bulger’s formal overview, Lane Albritton (1924-2001), a patriarch of the Old Chicora community, explains the history of shape note singing in the area as well as the shape note system. His perspective as a longtime practitioner emphasizes the importance of oral history and local culture in shape note singing communities.

The presentation also includes examples of shape note songs, including “Closer Walk with God” and “The Crucified Saviour,” both of which are unique to the Cooper revision of The Sacred Harp. Compositionally, they are influenced by the seven-shape gospel music popular during the Third Great Awakening, including the use of a call-and-response choruses and close harmonies.

In comparison, the songs “Ninety-Fifth Psalm” and “The Father’s Boundless Love” (titled “Columbiana” in earlier versions of The Sacred Harp) can both be found in mid-19th century editions of The Sacred Harp. While both tunes feature the open harmony characteristic of early four-shape hymns, “Ninety-Fifth Psalm” also includes a fuguing passage in which each choral section enters in a staggered manner akin to a musical round. This fuguing style was popular in the early 1800s but was eventually displaced by the call-and-response choruses of seven-shape gospel music.

The shape note presentation was transcribed by the Folklife Program. A complete record of the Florida Folklife Program’s slide-tape presentation can be found in the Florida Folklife Collection (S1576, Container 5, Cassette Tape C81-22). Additionally, the 1979 all-day singing at Bethlehem Primitive Baptist Church that is the basis of that presentation can also be found in the Florida Folklife Collection (S1576, Reel-to-reel Audiotapes T78-348, T78-349, T78-350).