Travis John

Here is a jpg-image file of that song I brought in a few weeks ago. If you click on it, you can see it larger or print it out. Or download a pdf here. It was my advanced notation skills that typed the score into Finale, but I can't get all of the 'fas' into perfect triangles.


It's an arrangement of a song by Kate Power, a Portland songwriter, the story of a fallen American soldier. She said the spirit of Travis John came to her & helped her write his story. The folksinger Tracy Grammer sings it & hands out copies of the music, to spread it around as a latter-day war memorial. Hence the shape-note arrangement. The full story of the song is here.

To see what it sounds like, I sang all four parts using my ancient retro-ghetto synthesizer & sound-editing software. Warning, the sound of a quintet of my voice accompanied by old synth noises may induce nightmares! But, it's a rough idea of the harmonies.

Cooper 2006 tunes not in Denson 1991

I've compiled a list of tunes in the 2006 Cooper Sacred Harp that are not found in the 1991 Denson edition of the Sacred Harp. I used Gaylon Powell's Tune Comparison Index to make this list, which can be found at:

http://www.entish.org/sh/cooper_not_in_denson.txt

If you can't find a tune that you expect to be there (Angel Band, for example), check Gaylon's list; it's probably listed under another name (in this case, the Land of Beulah). 

Use it for good, not for evil. 

And thanks. Linda, for setting me up to post here.

Golden Gate '08

The short version

We came. We sang. We ate. We sang some more. We went to Philip's house for the social, where we, suprisingly, ate and sang. Some of us went home, but some of us showed up on Sunday and again on Monday, to... you guessed it: sing and eat. 

The longer version, with pictures

Here's Katie leading Vernon with Will's help. We miss you, Katie. San Francisco isn't THAT far, really!

Here's Connie, who came to Berkeley Monday night, too. Hooray!

Here's a shot of the alto bench, partially obscured by the front-row trebles beating time. You may be noticing a trend in the photos: shots of tall people and the far right side of the room. You may wonder at the absence of certain people from the photos. That is what happens when you spend most of a singing sitting behind very tall men. 

Here's Marion from San Diego:
Susan is from Stockton now, but I first met her when I attended the Twin Cities local singing last summer. It's great to have her with us. She even makes the drive from Stockton on some Monday nights. Brave woman.

Hal did an amazing job of outreach, finding friendly singers to help the new and nervous. As a result, the newbies look like pros. We got the idea from the Portland Convention, and Hal carried it off wonderfully, preventing all those awkward moments that must arise when a new person stands up all by themselves in front of a hundred expectant singers.

Here's Bruce, getting a little help from Chris:

And here's Melissa getting some help from Inder. Inder is cracking up, because she had no idea what she was getting into when she agreed to help-- a page-turning, fuguing tune in a major key, no less (Inder just loves those minor tunes). They pulled it off just fine, though.
Far too soon, the singing was over. Here are Lara and Will, giving thanks to all the folks who contributed to the singing. 

Battle of the Bands, Sacred Harp Style?

While nothing can touch the awesomeness of the Denson book, a little change is character building. So to that end, we are having a special singing Monday, May 19 at 6 p.m. in the All Saints Chapel. We'll sing from the Cooper book (loaners available), Norumbega Harmony (bring yours if you have one), Eclectic Harmony (loaners available), and whatever else you bring enough copies of for us to sing. We'll break after an hour for a light supper/hearty snack. Bring something if you can, but don't sweat it if you can't. Just come heavy laden with all your tunebooks.

Golden Gate '08

Will says:

     "I've put MP3 files of the 2008 Golden Gate Singing at:

     http://entish.org/sh/gg_2008/

     Unfortunately, only the afternoon session was recorded. Still, enjoy!"

Thanks, Will!

Here are some of my trademark bad photos:

Tenors!



Jessica leading:



More tenors!



Connie leading:



Lara leading:



We had a lot of wonderful visitors from out of town, and Shelby passed on something Charles said that I thought was really apt: "This is what it looks like when people are cooperating." Thanks for a great singing, everyone!

MP3 files - Live EP?

Hello, friends - - I cut up the recording, so it was mostly just the music, & I think it makes a nice little "Live EP". I think we sound great.
You can download them as mp3 files here.
-James

Our KUSF show!

Will from Kalamazoo, Michigan recorded our appearance on M. Theo's KUSF show Classics Without Walls and had it posted on his web space within minutes of our completing the show.

He writes:

Hello all,

I stayed up too late listening to you all sing on KUSF tonight (till
after 2 am Michigan time!)

I recorded the show and you can listen to it at the following URL:

http://www.entish.org/sh/KUSF_Sacred_Harp_2008.m4a

There are a couple of minutes of non SH music at the start, and a bit
of static in the middle, but you might be glad to hear what it sounded
like.

Good job on the commentaries, by the way.

Thanks, Will!

I thought it went well too; thanks again to David for arranging it.