Westville Mirror December 2001 An Oblong Book...

Westville is a living history museum which depicts an 1850 west Georgia village.

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An Oblong Book, A Hollow Square, and A Whole Lot of Fa-Sol-Las

I was introduced to fa-sol-la singing twenty years ago here at Westville. The event had been suggested by Westville Trustee Thornton Jordan, who arranged for a singing through the legendary Hugh McGraw of Bremen, Georgia. He requested the location to be Climax Presbyterian Church, because the wooden walls would reverberate. We were to sing all day, which I couldn’t imagine.

It was the first Sunday in April, 1981. The singers arrived at 9am, each carrying a copy of the oblong Original Sacred Harp, Denson Revisions, 1971. They immediately arranged some wooden benches into a “hollow square” in the front of the church, so that the four harmony parts could be divided into individual sections.

A Matter of Record
The subsequent events are recorded, because Sacred Harp singers publish a “directory and minutes” of all the singings in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and Mississippi: Clewis Hardin begins the day with song 36b (“Ninety-fifth,” by Isaac Watts, 1707) from the center of the square. Following a prayer, the “class” elects Raymond Hamrick as Chairman and Carlton Hitchcock as Secretary.

Mr. Hamrick stands inside the square, with the treble (melody) section facing him. The altos, tenors, and basses are in their respective sections beside and behind him. He calls for hymn #122 (“All Is Well,” arranged by J.T. White, 1844). Mr. McGraw vocally pitches theharmony parts for each group, and the acappella singing begins. The singers don’t sing the words to the hymn at first, but rather the fa-sol-la-mes. Mr. Hamrick beats out the time with broad strokes of his left arm, holding his Original Sacred Harp in his right hand.

Musical Democracy.
Mr. Hamrick calls for Hymn # 27 (“Bethel,” William Cowper, 1779), his second tune. He leads it and yields the floor to the next class member, Joyce Harrison. She leads two numbers, then turns the leadership over to David Grant, and so on, around the four sides of the square.

After 21 leaders have each conducted two songs, the class adjourns for lunch. The singers tour Westville after a “dinner on the grounds,” including fried chicken. At the appointed time, they are all seated, for singing is the purpose of the day.

Fourteen more members lead 19 hymns. Then, suddenly, it is my turn. I choose a hymn that I know, called “Bellevue,” #72b. Outside of Sacred Harp, it’s known as “How Firm a Foundation,” (1787). I beat out the time with my left hand (I’m left-handed), and the singers follow my lead. I also conduct “Russia,” #107, (Isaac Watts, 1793).

The point of the “hollow square” dawns on me. This is “Surround Sound.” Because I’m conducting in the center of the square, all four parts flood my senses as no other choral experience can offer. It is intended that I should enjoy these two tunes as if I were being held up to God by the whole group. I am humbled.

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December 2001