Old Harp- The New Harp of Columbia
The New Harp of Columbia is a repository of Odes, Anthems, Fuging pieces, Marching Tunes, Sea Chanteys, Dirges, Folk Tunes, Calvary Tunes put to meter and matched to the prime sermons of the day and written by the tune smiths into hymns.
(The Hymn "Amazing Grace," was mixed and matched to a tune New Britain or Middleton is contained therein but not to J. Cowper's Hymn of John Newton's sermon.) This singing school manual breaks the music into separate parts for easy reading and written into character notes or shapes to help distinguish the notes for a people in a time who could not read let a lone read music.
It is part of a two hundred year plus ongoing American social community and spiritual tradition. More information can be found www.oldharp.org or www.fasola.org. Larry Olszewski- Old Harp Singer
new edition of the NHoC
The New Harp of Columbia is the seven-note "old harp" tune book for shape note singers in and around Knoxville in east Tennessee. The 1975 University of Tennessee Press reprinting is probably out of print (though we have a few extra copies) as of March 2001. A new edition, scheduled for publication by the University of Tennessee Press in July 2001, will include the present (1867) New Harp of Columbia, with about 40 additional tunes from the earlier (1848) Harp of Columbia which M.L. Swan omitted from the new book in 1867. Meanwhile, come sing with us! - Bob Richmond (RSRICHMOND@aol.com)
An essential for the east Tennessean Harp Singer!
I have gotten many hour of enjoyment for this book.
