Special Music Sunday: Early American and Gospel Music

Today you’ll be able to hear and join in song as our Chancel Choir, Children’s Choir and Bell Quartet sing and play early American and gospel songs and hymns. In the early days of America, during the time of the Great Awakening between about 1720 and 1740, churches in the British American colonies were experiencing a religious revivalism. Church membership was booming and Protestant churches began to establish their own singing traditions. The hymns and songs written during this prolific time became a fusion of religious reawakening, British traditions and American folk songs. Religious fervor and camp meetings spread to all levels of American society and this music was key to creating excitement in the services. Some well known types of music from this period are Sacred Harp singing, using shape-notes. Shape notes are a musical notation that adds shapes to each note which helps singers find the pitches more easily. If any of you grew up up singing solfege – Do, Re Mi and so on – that system originated with shape notes. The Shakers used this music in simple yet charismatic worship around the 1780s and beyond. We’ll combine this music with some gospel songs, also born out of revival movements and having it’s routes in the American South, as well as having a connection to African-American spirituals. We’ll be singing songs like, “Simple Gifts, Zion’s Walls, Shall We Gather at the River, Amazing Grace, Every Time I Feel the Spirit, and This Little Light of Mine.”