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Takeaways from AP's report on why pre-Civil War hymnal 'The Sacred Harp' is getting an update
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Isaac Green, 34, flips through his personal copy of "The Sacred Harp," a shape-note hymnal linked to a more than 180-year-old American folk singing tradition, at Holly Springs Primitive Baptist Church in Bremen, Ga., on Sunday, March 23, 2025. The 1991 edition has undergone a multi-year revision process conducted by a nine-member committee and will be released by the Sacred Harp Publishing Company in September. - photo by AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski
BREMEN, Ga. (AP) — “The Sacred Harp” is a pre-Civil War compilation of sacred songs that uses music notes shaped like triangles, ovals, squares and diamonds, and it is getting an update. Sung in four-part harmony, “The Sacred Harp” is central to its more than 180-year-old American folk a cappella singing tradition that is as much about the community as it is the music. It’s no accident “The Sacred Harp” is still in use today, and a new edition — the first in 34 years — is on its way.