15th Sacred Harp Singing at Oxford City Hall

Each year on the second Sunday in March singers and Southern culture enthusiasts gather in the City Hall courtroom, not for a trial, but for a Sacred Harp singing sponsored by the City of Oxford and the Center for the Study of Southern Culture. The 40 to 60 singers sound like much more than their number, and their notes fill the resonant courtroom and ring out through the open windows across the Square. The music is sung in four parts, without harps or any other instruments, and includes stately psalm-tunes by the earliest American composers, as well as rollicking spirituals and revival songs based on ancient folk melodies. The singers sit in a hollow square, facing inward; there is no leader or director -- each singer, young and old, takes a turn "leading a lesson," that is, standing at the center of the square, selecting a couple of songs, and keeping time with a graceful vertical motion of the hand, while the whole "class" sings along, following the notes in The Sacred Harp, a large oblong songbook first printed in 1844.

Lee Wise of Byhalia, Miss. take his trun in the hollow square

In the days before television and auto travel, Sacred Harp singings, often combined with a church homecoming and decoration day, were events shared by entire communities with their visiting friends and kinfolk. They were days for gossip, for courtship, and for politicking. The centerpiece of the festivities was the Dinner on the Grounds, usually spread at noon on groaning tables in the churchyard. This custom has been maintained at Oxford, where a sumptuous dinner is served at the Senior Center next door to City Hall.

The Oxford singing was founded in 1981 by George W. Boswell and Warren Steel. It is one of the largest and most spirited singings in the state, attracting singers from several neighboring states. This year s singing was dedicated to George and Emily Boswell. This dedication proved to be a final tribute to this dedicated folklorist: George Boswell passed away a few days later, on March 22.

The repertory and style of Sacred Harp music originated in colonial New England, but the style took root and survived in the Southern states. Now there is a growing movement nationwide to revive and cultivate this early American tradition. Every year increasing numbers of Northerners, from Boston, Chicago, Ohio, Vermont, and as far away as California and Seattle, make annual pilgrimages to Southern singings and conventions, then return home to rebuild this tradition in their own states and communities.

Despite their rural roots, Sacred Harp singers have emerged into Cyberspace, where they maintain an active Fasola electronic mailing list, and at least three World Wide Web "home pages," filled with sound files, artwork, bibliographies, indexes, and schedules of singings throughout the country. Computer-savvy readers can access Warren Steel's Sacred Harp Singing Home Page

Singings for the Season

Second Sunday in March: Oxford City Hall, on the Square, Oxford

First Sunday in April: Bethel Primitive Baptist Church, Bruce

Third Sunday in April: Enon Primitive Baptist Church, south of Hwy 8, 8 miles east of Houston

First Sunday in May: Poplar Springs Baptist Church, Hwy 331 north of Vardaman

Third Sunday in May: Concord Baptist Church, west of Hwy 32 at Ellard

First Sunday in June: Sherman Baptist Church, Hwy 32, 10 miles west of Bruce

Second Sunday in June: Oak Springs Church, Derma

July 4th: Mt. Herman Primitive Baptist Church, north of Hwy 8, 3 miles west of Vardaman

Fourth Sunday in July: Chickasaw County Convention, Enon Primitive Baptist Church, south of Hwy 8, 8 miles east of Houston

August 6: Mt. Herman Primitive Baptist Church, north of Hwy 8, 3 miles west of Vardaman

Fourth Sunday in August: Cherry Tree Singing, James Creek Primitive Baptist Church, east of Tremont

Fourth Sunday in August, and Saturday before: Mississippi State Convention, Macedonia Primitive Baptist Church, southwest of Decatur

Fourth Sunday in September: Loosascoona Church, Air Mount, north of Hwy 330, 11 miles west of Bruce

Second Sunday in October: Bailey Memorial Methodist Church, Loyd

Fifth Sunday in October: Taylor Methodist Church, Taylor

Second Sunday in November: Carey Springs Baptist Church, Randolph

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