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Latest comment: 10 years ago2 comments2 people in discussion
I'm pretty new to this stuff, but I wasn't aware Sacred Harp had anything to do with Gospel music. One could argue that the songs promote the Gospel, but the songs found in the Sacred Harp song book were generally written in the late 1700's and early 1800's, long before "Gospel music" existed as such. The style is taken from old Protestant and early American singing techniques. Sacred Harp singers sing odes, anthems, Psalms and hymns. When the music was written, it was often referred to as "Psalmody", which is related to "Hymnody". To the best of my knowledge, it is a distinct style from Gospel; thus they called themselves "Sacred Harp singers", not a "Gospel Choir", which could probably have been found in the church a hundred feet down the road..45Colt02:27, 4 August 2014 (UTC)Reply
It's an interesting point to consider. Sacred Harp music had a strong influence on southern gospel, and from the early 20th century, Sacred Harp editions, particularly the Cooper revision, have included a number of revival and camp meeting songs that were part of the early southern gospel repertoire. I think it's fair to include articles like this under the purview of the Southern Gospel taskforce, but I agree that it's a stretch to say that this particular group specialized in gospel music, as the article currently states.
As a side note, I understand the term "psalmody" to mean the singing of biblical psalms, which had been the only sung liturgical music in the centuries prior to the Sacred Harp and similar collections, and thus the term generally used at that time. As it became more common to use other texts like hymns and odes, "hymnody" became a more common term. I think gospel music roughly falls under the definition of "hymnody" but isn't usually described that way because it comes from a later era and originated more in oral tradition. Ibadibam (talk) 19:20, 5 August 2014 (UTC)Reply
Latest comment: 8 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion
It's a bit misleading to present the name "Alabama Sacred Harp Singers" as though it refers to a single ensemble with any continuity. Also, the Cold Mountain session doesn't really belong here, as it took place at Liberty Baptist Church in Henagar, which to my knowledge was never the site of a Lomax recording nor any "Alabama Sacred Harp Singers" recording. To this end, I've undertaken a rewrite of this short article to better differentiate the appearances of the "Alabama" credit, explain the informal nature of this singing culture, and remove the Cold Mountain content. Ibadibam (talk) 00:21, 11 March 2016 (UTC)Reply
