Traveling Home: Sacred Harp Singing and American Pluralism

by Kiri Miller

A compelling account of contemporary Sacred Harp singing, Traveling Home describes how this vibrant musical tradition brings together Americans of widely divergent religious and political beliefs. Named after the most popular of the nineteenth-century shape-note tunebooks--which employed an innovative notation system to teach singers to read music--Sacred Harp singing has been part of rural Southern life for more than 150 years.

 

In the wake of the folk revival of the 1950s and '60s, this participatory musical tradition attracted new singers from all over America. All-day "singings" from The Sacred Harp now take place across the country, creating a diverse and far-flung musical community. Meanwhile, the advent of internet discussion boards and increasing circulation of singer-produced recordings have changed the nature of traditional transmission and sharpened debates about Sacred Harp as an "authentic" form of southern musical expression. Blending historical scholarship with wide-ranging fieldwork, Kiri Miller presents an engagingly written study of a musical movement that some have christened "a quintessential expression of American democracy."

 

Genres: Music, History

272 pages, Hardcover

First published December 10, 2007

Reviews

[Joel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I understand that only a certain population would be interested in reading anything at all about Sacred Harp. But as someone who has been introduced to and very much enjoyed singing shape note from the hymnal The Sacred Harp, this is a good read. A sociological approach to the tradition, this book covers the basics, distinctive nature of the music, personality of local singings, them coming together in a national capacity, the nature of the words and how people of different backgrounds connect and wrestle with the content, and the development of community through singing together.

"When speaking provides no relief, singing might render the unspeakable bearable." p. 138

[Nandra Perry · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introduction to Sacred Harp for anyone who has caught the bug and wants a thorough introduction to the community and its history, complete with an analysis of the external drivers and internal tensions that have shaped and continue to shape its evolution.

[Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most in-depth 21st Century examination of the state of the Sacred Harp I've read so far.

[Sarah Beaudoin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice anecdotal examination of Sacred Harp music. As a critical analysis, I think it is lacking - Miller seems too close to the subject matter to truly look at it objectively but with this kept in mind, the book as a whole is provides a good overview of a little known segment of American music.

[Maura · Rating 4 out of 5]

At once an academic and a personal read. Probably not a great deal of interest if you don't have experience or intense interest in Sacred Harp singing. I stayed up way too late reading this, though, because it gave me a great deal of food for thought about my own experiences and place within the Sacred Harp "diaspora."

[Micah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great read. Some fairly good thinking about the social life of music in a number of discourses, with really wonderful writing describing what makes Sacred Harp singing what it is.