I don't care to stay here long

[debs]

I am growing steadily more obsessed with sacred harp singing. A film about the style (Awake My Soul & Help Me To Sing) came out recently and I'm asking for it and the soundtrack for Christmas. This is probably the most "polished" version of this type of singing, but I've been listening to it on repeat for a couple of days now. I unabashedly love Cold Mountain and I think I wouldn't like the movie nearly as much if the soundtrack wasn't so amazing.

"I'm Going Home" by Sacred Harp Singers at Liberty Church

In unrelated news, it's possible that chlorate and I had a chance encounter with a zombie outside my house just now. o_O

Comments

[chlorate.livejournal.com]

he was breathing loudly and staggering and everything!!! that was so weird.

[shoelacedreamer.livejournal.com]

I couldn't decide whether it was the "differently abled" man who lives up the street, or one of the other neighbors just stone drunk. *shakes head*

[chlorate.livejournal.com]

Haha. He looked really young (18ish?) and he was carrying something heavy (CPU?), so maybe the wheezing and groaning was just the result of Great Exertion. Still. It was very zombie-ish.

[soar38.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I found it a bit loud. :-) I think at the moment, my mind is fixed on Christmas and how much I miss old style carol singing, you know, proper carols, very old fashioned English, church or salvation army band choirs. Really stirs up a lot of feeling for me, even though me and religion don't really wander the same paths.

[shoelacedreamer.livejournal.com]

I think one of the reasons I love the sacred harp/shape note style is that "loudness." It's a participatory tradition, and one that encourages people to use their voice to the full extent to praise god, or whatever. Because they sing essentially for themselves and each other and not for traditional audiences, they're not bound by the rigid conformity of more mainstream choral performers.

Old style caroling is one of the only reasons I was a C&E Christian for so long. I love traditional church services and traditional forms of music, even if the religion bit doesn't quite appeal. Now I just listen to my recordings and leave it at that. :)

[soar38.livejournal.com]

What's a C&E Christian?

[shoelacedreamer.livejournal.com]

Christmas & Easter. :) Basically it refers to those folks who only attend church services on "special" days.

[soar38.livejournal.com]

LOL I feel weird when I think about, because I love the idea of their being some real meaning to Christmas, but then I'm scared to commit to the whole religion thing, believing in something so intangible and warped by time and man's ideals.