Several dozen people gathered at Grace Episcopal Church in Berryville this past weekend to sing hymns in the shape note style, celebrating a musical tradition in the Shenandoah Valley going back more than 200 years. WMRA's Calvin Pynn reports.
(singers tune up)
The group of more than 70 people sang for nearly six hours, as members took turns leading the hymns.
Edward Ricemeyer is up next.
(next song starts)
These are all spiritual melodies, but Ricemeyer said the gathering is non-denominational.
EDWARD RICEMEYER: It's not based on any specific religion or anything. We have people from all sorts of backgrounds here, and we just really like to sing together.
He added that singing ability doesn't matter as much here, either.
RICEMEYER: And you also don't need to be good. You can just come and make noise.
With the Sacred Harp, or ‘shape-note’ style, if you have enough people singing at once, harmony happens naturally. And that aspect ties into its history.
KEVIN ISAAC: It is social at its core, it's not choral, not congregational…
That’s singer Kevin Isaac, who described shape-note singing as "democratic."
ISAAC: All the individual voices come together to make this unique and overwhelming sound that can only be created by a group of individuals, and it's not de-individualized, like a choir singing where you want to have the effect of just one great mass.
All hymns were sung from the recently published Valley Pocket Harmonist, which includes previously published hymns dating back to the 19th century.
It also includes contemporary works, many of which were written by composer John Bayer Jr. He died before the book was finished.
The gathering concluded with one of his songs, aptly titled "Farewell."
(sound of group singing "Farewell")
