Shadows of dissent on the fasola mailing list:

Although this may best be a message left to the Discussions list, it involves a recent press article that will doubtless be at the center of attention among singers at upcoming singings since it is one of the first nationally distributed articles in awhile. For that reason, and to get us thinking yet again about what our music is and isn't, I offer this note to the Singings list.

For those with heartfelt desire to preserve the tradition of Sacred Harp singing, regardless of whether they are motivated by religious or secular considerations, it is important to recognize the central message contained in most of the music. Contrary to the primary themes of the Time article, the music was not written and sung to create a trendy art form, generate a place for "hip advocates" to gather, or necessarily even do it merely for "the sound." Many - I would hope most - of the early singer/composers were writing and singing as a form of worship of our savior, Jesus Christ the Son of God. Whether a portion of the singers, even a majority of the singers, now sing the music for other reasons (such as is their right), we must faithfully recognize the centrality of the spiritual roots of Sacred Harp. To do otherwise is to risk that Sacred Harp singing will go the way of all trends and fads; a flash in the pan rather than a continuing tradition.

Tom Mitchell