SHAPE-NOTE MUSIC
Shapenote Events in the Chesapeake Watershed Area:
Richmond - Northern Shenandoah Valley - Baltimore - Potomac River - Rivanna River
The Potomac River Sacred Harp Singers
The Potomac River Sacred Harp Singers' Logo © 1996 Miriam A. KilmerMonthly Singings in the Greater Washington DC area are sponsored by the Folklore Society of Greater Washington. Admission is always free. Listeners are welcome, but we encourage active participation. We sing primarily from The Sacred Harp (1991 Edition), Christian Harmony (Deason-Parris revision), and An Eclectic Harmony. Other shape-note tune books, such as Northern Harmony and The Colored Sacred Harp, and contemporary shape-note compositions are occasionally used.Upcoming FSGW-sponsored Singing Ordinarily, the Potomac River Sacred Harp Singers adhere to the following routine:
We meet on the Fourth Sunday of each month except December.
Singing, 4:00 ~ 8:00 p.m., with a potluck supper break at 6:00.
Our March singing will be on the fifth Sunday instead of the fourth Sunday at Strathmore Mansion in North Bethesda, Maryland.
10701 Rockville Pike
Sunday, March 30, 2008, 4:00 ~ 7:00 pm (no potluck, refreshments provided)
admission $5
Please note the location is NOT the new Music Center, but the Music Room of the old Mansion closer to Rockville Pike, with a resonant beam ceiling.
Info: 301.229.8534.
Directions: From Grosvenor Metro, either follow the walkway out of the metro station, take the stairs or elevators to the 4th level of the Metro Garage, walk across the sky bridge into the Music Center's main entrance, and then across the Mansion parking lot to the Mansion entrance; or walk out to Rockville Pike and uphill to the next right to the Mansion. By car, the Mansion entrance is about 1/2 mile outside the Beltway, on the east side of Rockville Pike between Tuckerman Lane & White Flint Mall.
Usual Place: St. Peter's Episcopal Church, 4250 North Glebe Road, Arlington, Virginia
The church is half a mile south of Chain Bridge, the northernmost bridge from Washington to Virginia. Crossing from Washington, the church is on your right. Going toward the bridge on the Virginia side, it's on your left. St. Peter's is not visible from Glebe Rd. Turn on Tazewell St. to get to the parking lot. Singing's in the sanctuary. You can get to Chain Bridge from D.C. or Maryland via MacArthur Blvd. or Canal Rd. (take Clara Barton/Cabin John Parkway from the Beltway). However, returning to Maryland you can't take a left on Canal Rd. Instead, go right and then left on Arizona to MacArthur. There's no Glebe Rd. exit from the George Washington Parkway. From I- 66, exit at Glebe and head north; the church will be on the left shortly after passing Walker Chapel and its Civil War graveyard on the right. If you must take the GW Parkway, take the Rt. 123 exit going toward Chain Bridge, then turn right on Glebe at the river. Before coming to a singing, please check the FSGW web site, or email miriam@risingdove.com.
The Nineteenth Annual Potomac River Sacred Harp Singing Convention
Saturday, April 5th, and Sunday, April 6th, 2008, at the Great Falls Grange, Virginia
details flyer front flyer back
map
Childcare will be provided.
Present Joys/Blessings Past
Two-CD Recording of The Ninth Annual Potomac River Sacred Harp Singing Convention
Chesapeakeshapenotes eMail List: Announcement and Event-Planning Forum for Shape-Note Singers in the Chesapeake Bay Area: Richmond & Northern Shenandoah, VA; Baltimore, MD; Potomac River (Greater Washington, DC); Rivanna River (Charlottesville)
This is a public list; for the safety of all list members, your first post will be moderated. Please do not post anyone's address or phone # on the list without that person's express permission.View Archives
- Information Resources for Sacred Harp and other American Shape-Note traditions
- Brief Explanation of Sacred Harp Singing - Warren Steel
- Sacred Harp: History and Tradition - Steven Sabol
- International Listing of Monthly Singings
- International Listing of Annual Singings
- Isaac Watts Fan Club: Midi Files of Isaac Watts' Tunes from The Sacred Harp and other Tune Books - Michael Moore
Singing Sacred Harp
I love to sing Sacred Harp. Something moves me; when the sound swells and the harmony is awe-inspiring and the poetry speaks with great power, I know I am moved by the Spirit.
I know many of us define the Spirit differently, as Al Frank [remarked]. There is mystery here, and grace, and love. Whether we define the Spirit within one of the many Christian traditions, or simply feel it as the music speaks through us, we are joined at those moments in the Sacred Harp tradition, and the Spirit moves through us, by the meaning of the poetry, or the grace of God, the unfathomable mystery of the music, or the sharing of tradition in community. We each bring a unique experience of Sacred Harp music to the hollow square, and together our individual experiences join to build a community of enormous power and joy.And when from death I'm free, I'll sing and joyful be;Dupuy's Hymns and Spiritual Songs, 1811
Throughout eternity, I'll sing on.- "Wondrous Love"lyrics from
- Anne Pratt
Potomac River Sacred Harp Singings and Schools of the Past
- The Eighteenth Annual Potomac River Sacred Harp Singing Convention
- The Seventeenth Annual Potomac River Sacred Harp Singing Convention
- Sixteenth Annual Potomac River Sacred Harp Singing Convention
- Fifteenth Annual Potomac River Sacred Harp Singing Convention
- Fourteenth Annual Potomac River Sacred Harp Singing Convention
- Thirteenth Annual Potomac River Sacred Harp Singing Convention
- Twelfth Annual Potomac River Sacred Harp Singing Convention
- In Loving Memory of Mary K. Friday April 5, 2001 at St. Alban's Episcopal Church
- All-Day Singing School (October 28, 2000)
- The Eleventh Annual Potomac River Sacred Harp Singing Convention Online Flyer
- Minutes of the 2000 Convention
- Minutes of the 1999 Convention
- The Ninth Annual Potomac River Sacred Harp Singing Convention (1998) - Steven Sabol
- Minutes of the 1997 Convention; from there you can find other years
In 1995 our Convention coincided with the peak of the cherry blossoms.
National Cathedral at Cherry Blossom Time
blossoms branches tower window
