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Sat-Sun 9-10 Mar 2013 Western Massachusetts Sacred Harp Convention Northampton, MA Sat 23 Mar 2013 Vermont State Singing Location TBA Sat 20 Apr 2013 Rhode Island All-Day Singing Providence, RI Sun 21 Apr 2013 New Haven All-Day Singing Connecticut Hall, Yale University Sat 11 May 2013 Boston All-Day Singing Boston, MA Fri-Sat 17-18 May 2013 Garden State Convention Montclair, NJ Sat 1 Jun 2013 Shaker Meetinghouse and Francis Bliss Birthday Singing Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, ME Sat 6 Jul 2013 Pioneer Valley All-Day Singing Sunderland, MA Sat-Sun 27-28 Jul 2013 Maine All-Day Singing (Saturday) D.H. Mansfield American Vocalist Singing (Sunday) Union, ME Sat 14 Sep 2013 New York City All-Day Singing New York, NY Sat-Sun 5-6 Oct 2013 New England Convention Hosted by Maine Sat-Sun 19-20 Oct 2013 New York State Sacred Harp Convention Ithaca, NY Sat 9 Nov 2013 Berkshire Foothills All-Day Singing Granville, MA Wed-Th 27-28 Nov 2013 Cornucopia All-Night Singing Princeton, NJ Sat-Sun 25-26 Jan 2014 Keystone Convention Landsowne, PA Sat 8 Feb 2014 Plymouth All-Day Singing East Sandwich, MA |
Sacred Harp singing is back in New Haven!
During the school year we sing 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?
[SUMMER BREAK LOCATION] We sing in Room 103 of Linsly-Chittenden Hall on the campus of Yale University. This room is subject to change, but if we aren't in Room 103, a sign will tell you where to go! Linsly-Chittenden Hall (also known as LC) is located at 63 High Street (between Chapel and Elm) in New Haven. LC is a brownstone building with entrances on High Street and on Yale's Old Campus. 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?
Route 15 (Wilbur Cross/Merrit Parkways):
From North: Take Exit 61. Drive south on Whitney Avenue for approximately five miles. Turn right on Sachem Street at the Peabody Museum traffic light. Continue to next traffic light (at Prospect Street) and turn left. Proceed for two blocks until Prospect Street becomes College Street at the Woolsey Hall Rotunda. Continue for three blocks to Chapel Street and turn right. Take the next right onto High Street. Linsley-Chittenden Hall will be the first building on your right at 63 High Street
From South: Take Exit 57. Drive east on Route 34 (Derby Avenue) for approximately five miles past the Yale Athletic Fields). Take a left onto Route 10 North, Ella T. Grasso Boulevard. Proceed to fifth traffic light, and turn right onto Whalley Avenue. Continue straight for 1.3 miles. Whalley becomes Broadway, and Broadway becomes Elm Street. Turn right onto College Street and then take another right onto Chapel Street. High Street will be the first street on your right and Linsley-Chittenden Hall(LC) will be on the right side of the street at 63 High Street.
Interstate 95
From North: Turn off the turnpike at I-91 North (Hartford, Springfield Exit) and continue for a short distance on I-91 to Trumbull Street, Exit 3. Take Exit 3 (Trumbull Street Exit). Continue to end of Trumbull Street to the fourth traffic light. Turn left onto Prospect Street and continue for one block. Prospect Street becomes College Street at this point. Continue for three blocks to Chapel Street and turn right. Take the next right onto High Street. Linsley-Chittenden Hall will be the first building on your right at 63 High Street.
From South: Take Downtown New Haven Exit 47. Proceed to the 3rd exit and the city streets. Turn right onto York Street and then take another right onto George Street. Take a left onto High Street and Linsley-Chittenden Hall (LC) will be the first building on your right at 63 High Street.
Interstate 91
From North: Take Exit 3 (Trumbull Street Exit). Keep on Trumbull Street past the third traffic light. Turn left onto Temple Street and then take another right onto Chapel Street after 0.5 mile. Turn right onto High Street and Linsley-Chittenden Hall (LC) will be the first building on your right at 63 High Street.