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Sat 24 Mar 2012 Vermont State Singing Burlington, VT Sat 14 Apr 2012 Rhode Island All-Day Singing Providence, RI Sun 15 Apr 2012 New Haven All-Day Singing Connecticut Hall, Yale University Sat 12 May 2012 Boston All-Day Singing Boston, MA (near Copley Square) Sat 2 Jun 2012 Shaker Meetinghouse and Francis Bliss Birthday Singing Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, ME Sat 30 Jun 2012 Pioneer Valley All-Day Singing Sunderland, MA Sat-Sun 28-29 Jul 2012 Maine All-Day Singing (Saturday) D.H. Mansfield American Vocalist Singing (Sunday) Union, ME Sat 15 Sep 2012 New York City All-Day Singing New York, NY Sat-Sun 29-30 Sep 2012 New England Convention Hosted by Vermont Sat-Sun 20-21 Oct 2012 New York State Sacred Harp Convention Location TBA Sat Nov 10, 2012 Berkshire Foothills All-Day Singing Sat 9 Feb 2013 Plymouth All-Day Singing East Sandwich, MA Sat-Sun 9-10 Mar 2013 Western Massachusetts Sacred Harp Convention Northampton, MA |
Sacred Harp singing is back in New Haven!
During the school year we sing weekly (well, mostly weekly) from the Denson revision of The Sacred Harp, the shape-note tunebook most widely used today. All are welcome to join us, regardless of experience, skill, affiliation, or... well, anything.
Where and when do you sing?
We sing in Room 209 of W.L. Harkness Hall on the campus of Yale University. This room is subject to change, but if we aren't in Room 209, a sign will tell you where to go! Harkness Hall (also known as WLH) is located near the southwest corner of College and Wall in New Haven. Somewhat confusingly, WLH is wrapped around Sprague Hall, the red brick building that sits on the corner. WLH itself is clad in gray limestone. WLH has an entrance on Wall Street, and two entrances onto the quad that borders on College Street. The entrances on the quad are most likely to be unlocked, or to have people going in and out if they're locked. Driving directions can be found at the bottom of the page.
We're singing Tuesday evenings from 7:00 to 9:00 pm, with a break somewhere around 8:00.
How do I join?
Just come to one of our singings! Sacred Harp is an amateur and participatory tradition with a historical connection to congregational hymn singing. We sing for each other, and not for an audience. We wouldn’t dream of holding auditions, and don’t ask for any commitment. If you’d like to be placed on the YNHRS email list, visit our Google Groups page (click on the “Join this group” link at the right of the page) or contact Ian Quinn.
Do I need a book?
No. Loaner books are available. You can also purchase your very own book for $20. There are many editions and versions of the Sacred Harp; if yours isn't the Denson edition (with red covers) from 1991 you'll probably want to borrow or buy one from us.
What does "Regular Singing" mean?
In 18th-century New England, church music had fallen into such decline that congregations in some churches knew just five or six tunes, and they sang them, in ragged unison, to whatever texts needed to be sung. There were no church choirs, members of the congregations couldn't sing very well, and almost nobody knew how to read music. Some clergymen and lay leaders felt that the situation could be improved if more people had access to printed music in four-part harmony and knew how to read from it. They encouraged the establishment of “singing schools,” where members of the community learned to read music and to sing in harmony. The music-reading method taught in these singing schools was called singing by rule, singing by note, or Regular Singing. By creating a population of musically literate churchgoers, the Regular Singing movement prepared the way for the first flowering of indigenous American music: psalms, hymns, and anthems by composers like William Billings, Timothy Swan, and New Haven's own Daniel Read. These tunes formed the foundation of the repertory embodied in shape-note tunebooks, and are still sung today by Sacred Harp singers around the world.
How can I learn more?
To learn more about YNHRS, contact Ian Quinn.
To find out more about Sacred Harp singing, visit fasola.org, Warren Steel's comprehensive Sacred Harp Singing website, or the Wikipedia entries on Sacred Harp and shape-note music.
For other Sacred Harp singing opportunities in and around southern New England, visit the websites of the thriving Sacred Harp communities located in Western Massachusetts, New York City, and Rhode Island.
How do I get to the singing by car?
From the North via Interstate 91: Take exit 3 (Trumbull Street), stay in the middle lane, and continue on Trumbull. For best parking, turn left on Temple, go past Grove, and enter the parking lot on the right, just past Wall St. W .L. Harkness Hall (WLH) is on the next block over on College Street, at the far end of the parking lot. To drive directly to WLH, go to the end of Trumbull. Turn left onto Prospect and proceed to the second light. (Prospect here becomes College Street, at the Woolsey Hall Rotunda.) Just past Woolsey, past the intersection of College and Wall, on your right you will see W. L. Harkness Hall (WLH).
From the North via Route 15: Take exit 61. Drive south on Whitney Avenue for about 5 miles. For best parking continue on Whitney past Trumbull, where it becomes Temple Street. Go past Grove, and enter the parking lot on the right, just past Wall Street. W.L.Harkness Hall (WLH) is on the next block over on College Street, at the far end of the parking lot. To drive directly to WLH, turn right on Trumbull (the next light after the one at Sachem and the Peabody Museum, on your right) and then left ontto Prospect and proceed to the second light. (Prospect here becomes College Street, at the Woolsey Hall Rotunda.) Just past Woolsey, past the intersection of College and Wall, on your right you will see W. L. Harkness Hall (WLH).
From the South via Route 15: Take exit 57. Drive east on Route 34 (Derby Avenue) for 5 miles to the fork of Derby Ave. and George St. (3 blocks past the Yale athletic fields). Bear right onto George. Continue for nearly 1 mile and turn left onto York St. Drive to the third traffic light (at Elm). Turn right onto Elm St. and proceed to the second light (at College). Turn left onto College Street. W. L. Harkness Hall (WLH) is on the left on that block. For best parking, just past WLH turn right on Wall St., go one block, then right on Temple, and the parking lot is immediately on the right.
From the South and West via Interstate 95: Take I-91 (the Hartford/Springfield exit) and continue for a short distance on 91 to exit 3 (Trumbull Street), stay in the middle lane, and continue on Trumbull. For best parking, turn left on Temple, go past Grove, and enter the parking lot on the right, just past Wall St. W.L.Harkness Hall (WLH) is on the next block over on College St., at the far end of the parking lot. To drive directly to WLH, go to the end of Trumbull. Turn left onto Prospect and proceed to the second light. (Prospect here becomes College Street, at the Woolsey Hall Rotunda.) Just past Woolsey, past the intersection of College and Wall, on your right you will see W. L. Harkness Hall (WLH).
From the North and East via Interstate 9: Take Downtown New Haven, exit 47. Drive to the end of the connector and turn right onto York Street. Drive to the third traffic light (at Elm). Turn right onto Elm Street. Proceed to the second light (at College). Turn left onto College Street. W .L. Harkness Hall (WLH) is on the left on that block. For best parking, just past WLH turn right on Wall St., go one block, then right on Temple, and the parking lot is immediately on the right.