Sacred Harp Singing, Fourth Wednesdays at St. John's

Join us to sing from The Sacred Harp, an American tunebook! Sacred Harp singing is a uniquely American tradition that brings communities together to sing four-part hymns and anthems. It’s participatory, non-instrumental, choral music that anyone is invited to sing — there is no rehearsing for performance — with strong roots in the early music of New England and the deep South, and which has spread throughout the United States and to Canada, Europe, and Australia.

The Sacred Harp uses a system of musical notation, called shape notes, that allow even relatively new singers to sing tunes at a first reading. Singers typically sit in a square, with one voice part on each side, and everyone is invited (though not required!) to lead from the center of the square. Participants are not concerned with re-creating or re-enacting historical events. Our tradition is a living, breathing, ongoing practice passed directly to us by generations of singers, many gone on before and many still living.

More information on singing in Boston can be found at BostonSacredHarp.org