TABLE OF SONGS BY A. N. WHITTEN
Harp of Ages by A. N. Whitten, 1925-1946
13 How
Sweet to Die Words
& Music by Whitten
“In Memory of Eld. S. A. Pain, and
his last words, “O how sweet to die.”
36 Struggle
On Alto
by A. N. Whitten
51 Peaceful
Slumber, 1924 Words &
Music by Whitten
52 Beyond Arr. by A.
N. Whitten
55 Remembers Arr.
by A. N. Whitten
57 Better
Farther On, 1924 Words &
Music by Whitten
61 It
Must Have Been At Easter Time Long Ago Music
by A. N. Whitten
“Sent in by A. N. Whitten to the
Dublin Progress
“Copyright, 1946, by A. N. Whitten
“(The Model Church)”
63 I
Would See Jesus Alto
by A. N. Whitten
65½
Parting,
When Langour and Disease Invade Music
by A. N. Whitten
73 Dear
Mother Words &
Music by Whitten
74 No
Vacant Seats in Heaven Harmony
by Whitten
Soprano by Mrs. J. B. Edwards
“P. S. Composed by Mrs. J. B.
Edwards. After hearing a sermon preached
by Elder E. C. Mahurin.”
75 All
Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name Music by A. N. Whitten
92 Rees Alto
by A. N. Whitten
93 Through
the Shadow, 1925 Music
by A. N. Whitten
97 I’d
Like to See Beyond the Vail Music by A. N. Whitten
TABLE OF SONGS BY A. N. WHITTEN (continued)
106 The
Loved Ones Alto
by A. N. Whitten
121 Leaning
on Jesus’ Breast Arr.
by A. N. Whitten
126 I’m
Going O’er Home, O Wonderful Trip Arr. by A. N. Whitten
“Composed by Mrs. J. B. Edwards and
dedicated to A. N. Whitten and Elder S. F. Moore”
127 From
the Heavenly Choir Words &
Music by Whitten
129 Christ
Our King, 1924 Words & Music by
Whitten
135 I’ll
Shout and Sing Music
by A. N. Whitten
147 New
Jerusalem Arr.
by A. N. Whitten, 1925
157 We’ll
Cross the River of Jordan Arr.
by A. N. Whitten
170A Your
Office is a Sacred Trust Words
by Len Dalton, Music by A. N. Whitten
172 Oh,
Jesus, My Saviour Music by A.
N. Whitten
175 There’ll
Be No More Goodbyes Words
& Music by Whitten
187 When
the Evening Shadows Gather Music
by A. N. Whitten
“Dedicated to C. R. Brannen, Houston,
Texas”
188 Morning
Meditation Harmony, A. N.
Whitten; Soprano by Gilbert Dalton
191 Where
Jesus is Will Be Heaven for Me Arr.
by A. N. Whitten
61 Leave
Me Not Alone (removed
1946) Arr. by A. N. Whitten
Harp of Ages
credits Whitten as the composer of 16
tunes.
Harp of Ages
credits Whitten as the composer of alto for 4 tunes.
Harp of Ages
credits Whitten as the arranger or harmonizer of 10 tunes.
Harp of Ages
credits Whitten as the author or arranger of 7 texts.
Parting, When
Langour and Disease Invade and How Sweet to Die are
the same tune.
TABLE OF SONGS BY A. N. WHITTEN (continued)
The Good Old
Songs by C. H.
Cayce, 1913-14
17 The
Loved Ones Alto
56 I
Would See Jesus Alto
243 Still
Better Alto
259 Can
I Leave You Alto
273 Struggle
On Alto
274 New
Harmony Alto
401 Thou
Art Passing Away Alto
416 Fight
On Arranged
Alto
429 Rees Alto
450 New
Hosanna Arranged
Alto
The Good Old Songs credits Whitten as the composer of alto for 8 tunes.
The Good Old Songs credits Whitten as the arranger of alto on 2 tunes.
4 of these
songs are also in Harp of Ages:
The Loved
Ones, I Would See Jesus, Struggle On, and Rees
Still Better is in Harp of Ages, but there with Minnie Floyd’s alto.
All songs attributed to A. N. Whitten are not original
compositions. They fall within the common practice of older shape note publications.
Nineteenth century tune book compilers did not have consistently applied
standards for tune or text attributions. The concept of authorship in the older
shape note traditions such as Sacred Harp
(in which Whitten was steeped) is adequately ambiguous, so that it supplies a
spectrum of meaning. It may be used, then, of original compositions,
transcriptions (and harmonization) of orally transmitted songs, as well as
arrangements of existing songs.
William Walker described this process in his preface
to The Southern Harmony, writing, “I
have composed the parts to a great many good airs, (which I could not find in
any publication, nor in manuscript,) and assigned my name as author.”[1] In
his Union Harmony, William Caldwell
explained, “Many of the tunes over which the name of the Subscriber is set are
not entirely original, but he has harmonised, and therefore claims them.”[2] Comparing
Whitten’s use of attributions throughout his book seems to indicate that “arranged” meant arrangements of harmony
parts or tunes that he found in printed sources. The other attributions, then,
probably refer to both original compositions and existing songs that he wrote
down which were not based on a printed source.
Listing A. N. Whitten as the arranger of I’m Going O’er Home, O Wonderful Trip
(126) is my interpretation of the information supplied on the page. Underneath
the title is “Composed by Mrs. J. B. Edwards and dedicated to A. N. Whitten and
Elder S. F. Moore. A. N. Whitten, owner. All rights reserved.” To the left the
author of the poetry is “Mrs. J. B. Edwards.” To the right the composer of the
tune is “A. N. Whitten.” This is open to several interpretations. By
“composer,” Whitten may have only meant that Mrs. Edwards “composed” the words
of the song. This is certainly an allowable use of the word, though in music
“composer” most often refers to the person who wrote the tune. This may well be
an original composition by Whitten, but I have chosen the more cautious
interpretation of naming him as the arranger. Other songs need to be inspected
carefully for small details that may alter the understanding of Whitten’s
attributions.
Combining the information in Harp of Ages and The Good Old
Songs and then removing the duplicates, the extent of A. N. Whitten’s known
contributions to the field of song is as follows:[3]
Fifteen tunes are credited to Whitten (16 if I’m Going O’er Home is added).
Eight alto parts are credited to Whitten.
Two arrangements of alto parts are credited to
Whitten.
Ten arrangements/harmonizations are credited to
Whitten (9 if I’m Going O’er Home
is removed).
Seven texts (whether authored or arranged) are
credited to Whitten.
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