Chapter 9 - Videotapes and DVDs

9. Videotapes and DVDs

"Awake My Soul: The Story of the Sacred Harp" by Matt and Erica Hinton, Standard One-Disc and Special Two-Disc Editions The Hintons, filmakers and Sacred Harp singers from Atlanta, Georgia, produced a feature-length documentary film and DVD, released in 2006, on the history, music, and traditions of Sacred Harp singing. As described in detail on the movie's outstanding Web site, over the course of seven years, the Hintons painstakingly amassed hundreds of hours of digital video footage at traditional Sacred Harp singings (from the Denson/1991 book) in Georgia and Alabama and interviewed the most prominent traditional Sacred Harp singers and composers."Awake, My Soul" includes historical material illustrated by rare archival images, interviews with singers who share their often moving personal histories, and the music itself. Long-time Sacred Harp singer and historian Buell Cobb states: "I found it mesmerizing to see, in the context of a film interview, people I've known for years -- and hear them tell things about their background, their introduction to Sacred Harp, etc., that I had never known. The deft weaving together of so many strands of story, of testimony, of old photographs, of roving camera, of stirring music, makes for a very compelling hour and a quarter." The film is narrated by Jim Lauderdale, edited by Jennifer Brooks, researched and co-written by John Plunkett, and produced by Mac Powell and Tai Anderson. Subtitles accompany most of the interviews to enhance comprehension. The film has been shown at singing conventions and on many public television stations around the nation with very positive feedback. In 2007 the Hintons released a two-DVD Special Edition which contains the original documentary (found on disc 1 but not listed in the Contents printed on the box), plus deleted scenes, additional interview footages from Sacred Harp singers commenting on a variety of subjects (e.g. memories, community, the music, history, faith, etc.), over two hours of Sacred Harp singing (62 songs) from 1998-2006, and other features. Sacred Harp singers will be amply rewarded for ordering the Special rather than the Standard Edition. The Standard Edition (SHR-DVD001 and Special Edition (SHR-DVD002) are available for $20 and $27, respectively, plus shipping when ordered online at the Web site. Educational purchases and licenses are also available. The Web site also has interesting material and photographs concerning Sacred Harp singing, as well as a streaming-audio trailer of as-good-as-it-gets Sacred Harp singing.

"Sweet Is the Day: A Sacred Harp Family Portrait." This outstanding video with accompanying substantial guide booklet was issued in 2001 by the Alabama Folklife Association and is a 'must-have' for those seeking to understand the Southern Sacred Harp tradition. In the Association's words: "This video tells the story of the Woottens, one of the singing families who have helped Sacred Harp music survive and flourish for more than 150 years. Filmmakers Erin Kellen and Jim Carnes [who have sung Sacred Harp with traditional singers for decades in Alabama] intertwine in "Sweet is the Day" scenes of family gatherings, singing conventions, and farm life on Alabama's Sand Mountain with family recollections and more than a dozen songs from the revered shape-note tradition. The songs -- sung with technical mastery, emotional power and a breath-taking blend of voices -- are central to "Sweet Is the Day." As this film reveals, Sacred Harp singing has always been more than music. For inheritors like the Woottens, the tradition is a life-shaping force. The enclosed 44-page study guide, by [historian and Sacred Harp singer] John Bealle, further explains the history of Sacred Harp singing, discusses the many traditions attached to it such as singing schools and "dinner on the grounds" and looks beyond Sand Mountain to the large and enthusiastic community of Sacred Harp singers across the nation." The Alabama Folklife Web site for this video contains a link for downloading the entire guide booklet in PDF format, and also has links to screen shots from the video. The price is $20.00 for one video in VHS or DVD format, plus $2.50 postage and handling regardless of the number ordered. Order from, and make checks payable to, the Alabama Folklife Association, c/o Alabama Center for Traditional Culture, 410 N. Hull St., Montgomery, AL 36104, phone 334-242-3601. Credit card and online orders are now possible.

Web site for videostreaming "Sweet Is the Day". The outstanding Folkstreams.net Web site has been developed by Tom and Mimi Davenport with NEH support to videostream over the Internet films about American traditional culture. The Web pages for "Sweet Is the Day" Web site have the complete guide booklet for the video (in HTML rather than PDF format) as well as a teacher's guide for using this video in grades 7-8 social studies classes.

Professional videotapes and audio recordings of the annual Antioch Baptist Church singings. One of the best one-day southern Sacred Harp singings, the Wootten family singing in Ider, AL, has been recorded annually from 1996 through at least 2001 on a series of professionally produced videotapes commissioned by the Woottens. Two videocameras and special microphones were used, and the entire singing, including spoken words by the singers, was recorded. Rod Willard wrote after receiving his 1996 tapes: "Those who have never attended a singing in its native habitat can now appreciate why those making the pilgrimage South are so enthused as they return home. And you will see the Lee [family of Georgia] walking time, the Woottens' 4/4 beat, two rows of altos overpowering ten rows of tenors...." The 2001 video and audio recordings are now available. The price is $45.00, including shipping, for a set of two videotapes covering the entire singing and talking between songs (4.5 hours) of a given year. Audio recordings with the same mix of sound as on the videotapes are also available for each year's singing in the form of a 4-CD set with complete coverage of the day, including talking, announcement, opening and closing comments; its price is $45.00 including shipping. Also for each annual singing, sets of cassette tapes (generally three for a given year) are available for $20.00 postpaid. Order from Wayne Murphree Enterprises, Inc., 25735 Highway 71, Flat Rock, AL, 35966, phone 256-632-2427, e-mail info@wmeiphoto.com. Their Web site previously had detailed information about these videos, but it is no longer there."

"Teach Me Some Melodious Sonnet: Sacred Harp Singing School" taught by Elder J. L. Hopper. The Joe Beasley Memorial Foundation produced in 2004 an instructional video. This two-cassette package contains over three hours of instructional material taught in 18 easy-to-understand lessons with illustrations using 29 songs. According to Gary Smith, "The tape includes lessons by Elder Hopper, along with illustrations and demonstrations recorded at the singing at Gum Pond Primitive Baptist Church in Morgan County, Alabama in the summer of 2003. The lessons start with the very beginning of the Rudiments, and go through the complexities of the chromatic scale." For information about ordering, contact Sarah Beasley Smith, Executive Secretary, Joe Beasley Memorial Foundation, Inc., 431 Woodland Road, Bessemer, AL 35020 (mail) or gianess@bellsouth.net (e-mail).

[NEW] DVD of the 2006 Cullman County Convention, the last remaining "courthouse" singing in Albama, if not the nation. For information about ordering, contact Sarah Beasley Smith, Executive Secretary, Joe Beasley Memorial Foundation, Inc., 431 Woodland Road, Bessemer, AL 35020 (mail) or gianess@bellsouth.net (e-mail).

"Hoboken in Seattle," Pacific Northwest Sacred Harp Convention, Feb. 21, 1998. David and Clarke Lee and other members of the Lee family of Hoboken, Georgia, conducted a singing school as part of the 1998 Pacific Northwest in Seattle. They described their spiritual approach to Sacred Harp singing from the Cooper Edition and their unique styles of Sacred Harp singing and leading (including "walking time") which developed in isolation from other Sacred Harp singers. The video was made by the Seattle singers and professionally edited by Wayne Murphree. The price of a single copy is $35.00 including shipping. Order from (and make checks out to) Wayne Murphree Enterprises, Inc., 25735 Alabama Highway 71, Flat Rock, AL 35966, phone 256-632-2427, e-mail info@wmeiphoto.com.

Singing School taught by Jeff and Shelbie Sheppard, 1997, Chicago. The Sheppards, life-long traditional singers and Sacred Harp masters from Glencoe, Alabama taught a two-day singing school which was videotaped by Gary Gronau of St. Louis on amateur equipment. A 54-minute video was prepared. According to Mr. Gronau, "This was not an ordinary singing school of the rudiments; rather it was more of a master class in technique, style, and graces of effective leading (including footwork!), combined with a living history lesson and "family stories" of an earlier time, of Tom Denson, A.M. Cagle ..." To order a copy by mail, send a check, payable to Wings of Song, for $10.00 per copy to Gary Gronau, 6240 Rosebury, St. Louis, MO 63105.

"Dreams and Songs of the Noble Old," written, directed, and produced by Alan Lomax. The late eminent folklorist Alan Lomax produced a 60 minute video for the "American Patchwork" series, shown in 1990 on PBS television featuring oldsters responsible for preserving six different genres of American traditional music. There is an 8.3-minute segment featuring the all-day Sacred Harp singing at the Holly Springs Primitive Baptist Church in Bremen, GA, recording in the early 1980s. Lomax admiringly refers to Sacred Harp singing as "country counterpoint" and "backwoods Bach," and is clearly impressed by the singers, many of whom are elderly. The video shows lively traditional Georgia/Alabama style singing from the Denson book, but the most noteworthy moments are interviews with legendary singers Chester and Mac Wootten and a scene from a front-porch singing. ISBN 1-884691-75-7. Available from several online dealers for as low as $12.50, for example, Vestapol Videos.

Web site for video streaming of "Dreams and Songs of the Noble Old." This documentary can be viewed for free by videostreaming over the Internet from the outstanding Folkstreams.net Web site.

"Amazing Grace with Bill Moyers". A 90-min special program first shown on PBS television stations in October 1990 and occasionally repeated on PBS stations. The program describes the history of the hymn Amazing Grace, the life of its author John Newton, the singing of the hymn in its many versions by soloists and groups having a wide variety of styles, and the meaning of the words to a variety of people. One segment features white Sacred Harp singers, led by Hugh McGraw, singing the hymn at the regular June singing at the Holly Springs Primitive Baptist Church in Bremen, GA, in 1989. The social aspects of the singing and the meaning of the tradition to Southern singers are also described. Another segment, longer and very interesting, features black Wiregrass Sacred Harp singers in the area of Ozark, AL, led by 91-year-old Dewey Williams. DVDs can be purchased from several sources, one of which is Shop PBS phone 877-PBS-SHOP, where the price is $29.95 plus shipping and handling.

"Fa Sol La Me," a musical documentary about Sacred Harp, produced by Tracy Chambers. A 20-minute videotape capturing a moment in Sacred Harp history, the 1990 United Convention, held for the first time in its 87-year history outside the South, in Chicago. Judy Hauff, one of the founding members of the Chicago Sacred Harp Singers, discusses the feeling of participating in a singing and the loyalty felt for the Southern singers as the preservationists of the tradition. Buell Cobb of Birmingham, AL, and Richard DeLong of Douglasville, GA, also discuss aspects of the tradition. Many scenes from the convention are shown. The tape is a good introduction to Sacred Harp; however, it emphasizes the history of the Chicago group's experience rather than the history of Sacred Harp itself. For those outside of Chicago, the purchase of one copy of this tape per singing group would be desirable for use as an informational tool when trying to convince skeptical church officials to allow the use of their rooms for Sacred Harp singings. $20.00 per copy plus $3.00 for shipping. Order from Tracy Chambers, 3020 N. Clifton, Chicago, IL 60657.

Videotapes from the Center for the Study of Southern Culture. A large number of color videotapes about most aspects of Southern culture are listed on the Web site for the Southern Culture Catalog of the Center at the University of Mississippi. Order from the Center for the Study of Southern Culture, University of Mississippi, Hill Hall, Room 309, University, MS 38677. Phone 800-390-3527. In the recent past there were listed in the Catalog three videotapes dealing with shape-note music, but they are no longer listed, and their current availability is not certain:

"The Sounds of Faith." This 30-minute video features black Wiregrass Sacred Harp Singers in the area of Ozark, Alabama. Some singing is shown, but much of the program consists of interviews with leaders of this group, including Dewey Williams and H.J. Jackson, son of Judge Jackson, the compiler of The Colored Sacred Harp, who discuss the religious significance of the music in their lives and lament the decline of this tradition. It was produced in 1990 by Dwight Cameron for University of Alabama Television. Catalog no. V1197. Price $39.00.
"They Sing of a Heaven." A 15-minute color video produced in 1972 by Robert D. Osterling of the University of Mississippi Center for Public Service and Continuing Studies. According to Warren Steel, the highly recommended video depicts three distinct styles of class singing, plus other scenes (such as dinner on the grounds) and interviews. The styles are East Mississippi/Alabama Fasola style, North Mississippi white Doremi, and North Mississippi black Doremi. Catalog no. V1210. Price $50.00.
"The Shape-Note Singers." A 30-minute video written and produced in 1984 by William Cole of the Arkansas Educational Television Network. The Web site states: "The film spotlights Orgel Mason, founder of the School of Music at Brockwell, Arkansas, who has been involved in shape-note singing since he learned the method in country churches as a young boy." Catalog no. V1188. Price $60.00.

Amateur videotapes of singings. Several singers frequently take their camcorders to singings to record them and later produce amateur videotapes for sale to other singers. The videotapes generally show mainly the leaders with altos in the background; overview scenes are sometimes done briefly. There is little or no editing. The picture and sound quality are suboptimal. These tapes are of great value to someone who would like to relive a singing in which he or she has participated, to study and compare leading techniques, and/or to learn more names and faces of Sacred Harp singers through consultation with the published minutes for the singing.

Videotapes of singings produced by Bill Windom. Mr. Windom prepares videotapes of singings that he attends around the country and sells them to interested persons for a relatively low price (check with him about current pricing). His wife Reba Dell Windom is a member of the Lacy singing family of north Alabama. Contact him at 21400 Burt Rd., Brant, MI 48614.
Videotape of singing from Christian Harmony at the 1994 Morning Star Singing in Canton, North Carolina, recorded by Dan McCurry. Ms. Diane Eskenasy can provide copies of a videotape which Mr. McCurry made a singing on Old Folks Day, September 11, 1994. It contains 33 songs, the majority of which are sung from the William Walker 1873 Christian Harmony (reprinted in 1979), but others are sung from the 1958 Deason-Parris Christian Harmony. The price is around $10.00 postpaid each. For details, contact her at 3891 Laurel Park Highway, Hendersonville, NC 28739 (e-mail Diane_Eskenasy@aro.enr.state.nc.us).

Steven L. Sabol (sabol@his.com)
HTML version by Warren Steel (mudws@olemiss.edu)