Pilsbury’s The United States Sacred Harmony

A recent addition to the Archive.org book family:

• The United States Sacred Harmony, Amos Pilsbury, Boston, MA: Isaiah Thomas and Ebenezer Andrews, 1799.

Additionally, there is an article about this book in The Hymn, July 1981:

• “A Yankee Tunebook from the Old South: Amos Pilsbury’s The United States Sacred Harmony,” by Karl Kroeger.

And this one is American Music, Winter 1995:

• “Seven ‘New’ Tunes in Amos Pilsbury’s United States’ Sacred Harmony (1799) and Their Use in Four-Shape Shape-Note Tunebooks of the Southern United States before 1860,” by David W. Music (must log in to JSTOR.org to read)

Thanks to Barry Johnston!

Amos Pilsbury was born in Massachusetts in 1772, and died in 1812 in Charleston, South Carolina. In addition to being a composer and book compiler, he was a schoolteacher, silversmith, and a clerk in the Presbyterian Church. In 1809 he published a collection of hymn texts titled The Sacred Songster: or, a Collection of Hymns and Spiritual Songs, For the Use of Religious Assemblies (Charleston, SC: G. M. Bounetheau). Apparently he was also a music teacher, and his Find-A-Grave memorial suggests he preached at the Methodist Church in the years prior to his death.

The Charleston Mercury, November 3, 1828, p 3

Rufus Norton Grisham (reprise)

In June 2020, I posted a short piece on singer/songwriter Rufus Norton Grisham. Since that time, I have located a newspaper obituary of Grisham.

The Daily (Mississippi Coast) Herald, Saturday, September 26, 1936, page 1

Also here is a list of the songbooks with which I know he was involved in publishing:

• Songs of Heaven: a Collection of the very Best Songs to be found, for Church, Sunday School, Revival, the Singing Conventions, and all Religious Gatherings, Greenville, SC: R. N. Grisham, circa 1924
• Heavenly Light, No. 2: a Collection of the Best Songs to be found for Church, Sunday School, and all Religious Gatherings, Fort Worth, TX: Quartet Music Co, n.d.
• Service Songs for Christian Work and Worship, ( J. W. Gaines, editor), Austin, TX: Firm Foundation (Memphis, TN: Showalter Publishing), 1929 
• Our Bells of Heaven, Laurel, MS: R. N. Grisham, n.d.
• Gospel Carols, Ellisville, MS: R. N. Grisham, n.d.
• Heaven’s Message: a Collection of the very Best New, and Old Songs that can be found, for Church, Sunday School, Singing Conventions and all Religious Gatherings, Ellisville, MS: R. N. Grisham, n.d.
• Heaven’s Highway, Ellisville, MS: R. N. Grisham, n.d.
• The Gates of Glory: a Book with a Song for any Occasion where a real Spiritual Uplift is Desired (with J. L. Moore, J. R. Baxter), Ellisville, MS: R. N. Grisham, circa 1935

Tidings of the Cross

Back in the fall of 2016, I published my List of Baptist Hymn Books and Hymnals. Research today once again proves “of making many [lists] there is no end.” In researching Alonzo Nunnery and his Baptist Worker periodical, I found an advertisement of a new Baptist song book.

In The Baptist Worker (Granite, Oklahoma, Wednesday, February 7, 1917, p. 7) Tidings of the Cross, by Baptist preacher Woodie Washington Smith is advertised as “A Real Baptist Song Book.”

“Tidings of the Cross by Rev. Woodie W. Smith, a Baptist preacher, is a new song book which has all the old songs we all love so well, and every song in the new book rings out with BAPTIST doctrine. Not only are all the old-time Baptist songs in this book but there are hundreds of the newest songs also...‘Tidings of the Cross’ is not a song book with some Baptist’s name on the outside but gotten up by a Campbellite or some Pedo—it is a BAPTIST book throughout, with the author’s picture on the cover, who is a Baptist preacher...Books may be had in round or shaped notes, as may be desired. Be sure to state which…”

According to Worldcat.org, the complete title of the book is Tidings of the Cross: for Church, Sunday School, Evangelistic, Chorus and Class Work. Not only that, there are a number of other song books by Woodie Washington Smith, including:

• Evangel Message: for Church, Sunday School,  Young People’s Meetings, Evangelistic Service, Singing Conventions and Singing Classes, Fort Worth, TX: Evangel Music Company, 1912
• Revival Power: for the Church, Sunday-school, the Revival, Young People’s Meetings, Conventions and the Home, with Joe W. English, Fort Worth, TX: Woodie W. Smith Company, 1918
• Gospel Hymnal for Every Kind of Gospel Service, with Charlie Tillman, James C. Moore, Bernard B. Edmiaston, Dallas, Tx: Stamps-Baxter Music Company, 192?
• Gospel Light: for the Church, Sunday-school, the Revival, Young People’s Meetings, Children’s Services, Conventions and the Home, with Joe W. English, Fort Worth, TX: Woodie W. Smith Company, 1921
• The Messenger, Revival edition, Fort Worth, TX: Woodie W. Smith Company, 1948

A List of Possible Editions of the Harp of Ages

Proposed List of Editions of the Harp of Ages

Based on my research, up to this point, of the history of the Harp of Ages and its editions, I offer the following thoughts and proposed list of editions of Harp of Ages by A. N. Whitten. Your thoughts on my thoughts will be especially welcome. As they say, “two heads are better than one.”

First Edition. 1925. The original publication of Harp of Ages by A. N. Whitten, Dublin, Texas, occurred before September 25, 1925.[i] The second page of the index of a book belonging to a Sacred Harp singer identifies the printer, The Armstrong Printing Company in Cincinnati, Ohio.[ii] There is some degree of assumption that this is the first edition; it is not iron clad. The preface mentions, “It is customary in offering a new book to the public for the author to assign a reason of its need.” Yet, it is possible that an original preface will be reprinted in a second edition.

Second Edition. The second printing, between 1925 and 1939.[iii] Printings that change the songs Alabama to Am I a Soldier of the Cross and Happy Day to Happy to Meet Again will be either the second or the third edition. This is a deduction based on the two latter songs appearing in the fourth edition, rather than Alabama and Happy Day.[iv]

Third Edition. The third printing, between 1925 and 1939.[v] Printings that change the songs Alabama to Am I a Soldier of the Cross and Happy Day to Happy to Meet Again will be either the second or the third edition. This is a deduction based on the two latter songs appearing in the fourth edition, rather than Alabama and Happy Day.

Fourth Edition. Circa 1939, by A. N. Whitten, Dublin, Texas. This book appeared by or before August 18, 1939.[vi] This book expands the size of Harp of Ages from 159 numbered songs and hymns to 191 numbered songs and hymns. (Though, with the second and third editions undetermined, it is possible one of those had previously increased the size of the book.)

Fifth Edition. Circa 1946, by A. N. Whitten, Dublin, Texas, published in or after 1946. Song number 61, It Must Have Been at Easter Time Long Ago, is dated 1946.[vii] There are two printings of this with slight differences, though none apparently in the songs and hymns. The second “corrects” the index by adding the titles of five songs. These songs had previously appeared in the book but had been left out of the index. These titles are added underneath the previously printed index.

Sixth Edition. After August 18, 1949, by W. A. Whitten, Lake Charles, Louisiana. The cover changes “Published by A. N. Whitten, Dublin, Texas” to “Published by W. A. Whitten, Lakes Charles, La.” The title page changes “Published by A. N. Whitten Dublin, Texas” to “Originally Published by A. N. Whitten (now deceased) Dublin, Texas.” Otherwise, this appears to be a reprint of the last printing by A. N. Whitten’s lifetime.[viii]

Seventh Edition. 1973, by Harp of Ages, Incorporated, Muleshoe, Texas. (Source: Title page, Harp of Ages, 1973)

Eighth Edition. 1977, by Harp of Ages, Incorporated, Muleshoe, Texas. (Source: Title page, Harp of Ages, 1977)

I have not included any further detail on the 1973 and 1977 Harp of Ages’ books, since they are the best known and most readily available. Information about the earlier books is subject to change as more early printings of the book are found. This could prove more editions or printings exist than those I have found.

Currently the greatest difficulty, in my opinion, is whether we have/know what is the first edition of the book. There are no dates in the early printings. Not all four of the first through fourth editions have been identified. To my knowledge, we have three books that could qualify for the first through fourth editions. The fourth edition is known by that fact (“fourth edition”) being mentioned in the preface. That leaves two books that are slightly different that could qualify for either the first and second, or second and third editions. All of which means we need to find four different early books to be satisfied we “know” what is the first edition. At least I do, to be satisfied. Does that make sense?

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[i] “Pleasant Summer,” A. N. Whitten, Glad Tidings, September 25, 1925, p. 1; Title page, Harp of Ages, 1973

[ii] Book owned by Sheldon Finlay; Armstrong printed The Sacred Harp by W. M. Cooper of 1902 and William H. Crouse’s Pilgrim's Hymnal in 1908. There is another songbook of the same period (1922) and the same size (159 songs) printed by The Armstrong Printing Company – Hymns of Zion (Austin, TX: Firm Foundation Publishing House). It would be interesting to compare the two for similarities.

[iii] No source currently available proves the specific edition number, but second and third editions must be between the first and fourth.

[iv] Book owned Joseph Weyel of San Antonio, Texas.

[v] No source currently available proves the specific edition number, but second and third editions must be between the first and fourth.

[vi] Taken together, the “Preface” of the Fourth Edition of the Harp of Ages and “Wise, Unwise, and Otherwise,” in The Dublin Progress, Friday, August 18, 1939, p. 1.

[vii] Book owned by R. L. Vaughn of Mt. Enterprise, Texas.

[viii] Pictures from Harp of Ages songbook sold on eBay, by robinsnestoriginals. Nathan Aldrich copy of the Harp of Ages.

Our Life Tune on the Harp of Ages

While searching for information on the origin of the phrase “Harp of Ages,” I found this following interesting paragraph. I do not expect this is where A. N. Whitten got his songbook title, but who knows?

Ah, it is a fearful thing to set ourselves to play our life tune on the Harp of Ages. The melody begins so soft and low in the infant’s cradle that the voice can just be heard; but it remains not always thus; alas, too often does it end in one long, harsh, discordant note. But, as I look down the flight of years to come, I think I hear the music of souls yet unknown to us, and it comes like the harmony of the gentle Zephyrs in the mild evening time, and I see the great human throng coming up the narrow way a true united choir. I see the gates of Paradise open, and behold, there stand the Heavenly band. I hear their songs still more melodious, till they thrill the very soul with joy as the two unite in one to chant their praises in the Home above forever.

“Each Life A Tune,” By ‘An Unknown Friend,’ Nassau Literary Review, William E. Lupton, Editor (Volume 23, Number 4, December 1862, p. 173)

A. N. Whitten and the Harp of Ages

An Old Harper: A. N. Whitten and the Harp of Ages

In 1925 A. N. Whitten of Dublin, Texas compiled and presented a small seven-shape songbook titled Harp of Ages.[i]  Besides an interest in his music and songbook, I have a genealogical interest in the man Archibald Newton Whitten. My dad’s mother was a Whitten, but I have not been able to figure out where the families connect. Her people were Methodists and came to Texas from Tennessee via Missouri. His people were Baptists, and he was born in Georgia. Interestingly, the “Archibald” given name crops up over and over again in my Whitten family genealogy/history.

Archibald Newton Whitten was born in Georgia on March 16, 1856 to Andrew Jackson Whitten and Mary Ann Davis.[ii] His father was a Primitive Baptist preacher. A. N. was living in the household of his parents in Georgia in 1860 (Murray County) and 1870 (Mitchell County). He was living in Tallapoosa County, Alabama when the census was taken in 1880. He was a farm laborer living with his first wife Nancy Horsley and their two sons: Jonathan and Patrick.[iii] A letter referenced in A Portion for the Singers indicates Whitten had been teaching singing schools for 45 years, indicating he started around 1880 while still in Alabama.[iv] The family came to Texas in early 1894.[v] Inza (later Inez) was born in Texas in 1895. Nancy died sometime between that time and September 18, 1898, when A. N. married Rachel Florida Whitfield, daughter of John Miles Whitfield and Mary Jane Kinney. They had 3 children – Henrietta Bernice, Archibald Viron, and Gladys Wilma – before her untimely death February 15, 1906 at age 33.[vi]

After Rachel’s death, A. N. married Dora Finger Norton, daughter of Elder J. W. Norton and Nancy Caledonia Elliott.[vii] She had a daughter, Willie, from her previous marriage to Clark Moore.[viii] Dora and A. N. had three children, Archibald Newton Jr., Redford Cayce, and Winston Albion.

According to Drummond, A. N. Whitten helped Elder C. H. Cayce produce The Good Old Songs and then later disassociated with him.[ix] In a letter to the periodical Glad Tidings, Whitten gives this apology for his upcoming songbook: “We are aware of the fact there have been published several hymn and tune books for the Old Baptists; but none of these seem to satisfy a majority of Texas Baptists. I have in mind a book that I believe they would adopt in their church worship…” [x] The first Harp of Ages was a relatively small book published in 1925. It had approximately 160 pages, ending on song number 159.[xi] Like many song books of that period and before, Harp of Ages included “Rudiments of Music.”[xii] Apparently Whitten expanded the book a few times during his lifetime, and others did so after his death. His son Winston Albion Whitten published the book sometime after his father’s death in 1949, while he was living in Lake Charles, Louisiana. According to the Primitive Baptist Library, the “4th edition” has 191 hymns. It is not clear whether the 2nd and 3rd editions are also that size.[xiii] In 1971 Harp of Ages, Inc. was formed. This body published the 1973 and 1977 editions (about 416 songs/382 pages). These editions do not give edition numbers that could help clarify which edition was the last complied by Whitten – but likely it was the 4th edition.

A. N. Whitten was active in his local Primitive Baptist Church and associations. From currently available information it is not clear to me of which church he was a member – probably the one sometimes described as the Primitive Baptist Church in East Dublin. Whitten sent an announcement to paper of a protracted meeting at the Primitive Baptist Church in East Dublin, with Elder E. C. Mahurin.[xiv] The Dublin Progress reported his leading the singing at the Duffau Primitive Baptist Association held in De Leon in 1913.[xv] In 1938 A. N. Whitten was in charge of the song service at the “revival” at First Primitive Baptist Church in Dublin, with Elders J. C. Morgan and Len Dalton.[xvi] He announced to the Progress the meeting of the Old Harmony Primitive Baptist Association, July 11-14, 1940.[xvii]

Whitten frequently announced and/or was associated with singings mentioned in the Progress, some which included four-note books, Christian Harmony and “late books.”[xviii] With “Mr. Free of Abilene,” A. N Whitten taught a free Sacred Harp singing school at the Primitive Baptist Church in East Dublin in 1933.[xix] He was a leader in the Erath County Singing Convention, and was the local chairman of arrangements for the State Sacred Harp Association when it met in Dublin in 1938.[xx] In 1929 Progress Editor Francis E. Perry highlighted Whitten in his column “Wise, Unwise, and Otherwise,” noting him as “a citizen who not only writes songs but is a song publisher…” Perry mentions that Whitten has issued a new edition of Harp of Ages, lists songs that he wrote, and concludes by calling A. N. Whitten “one of the best loved citizens in this territory.”[xxi] In 1943 and 1944 The Dublin Progress published several letters in which A. N. Whitten recorded his “boyhood reminiscences.” Unfortunately, the online scans of most of these are quite hard to read.[xxii]

Elder M. W. Miracle began publishing The Sacred Harp Monitor in December 1912, under the auspices of the State Sacred Harp Association of Texas. In that issue, A. N. Whitten is listed as one of 12 associate editors, and there are two letters written to the paper from him. The October 1913 issue still listed him as such.[xxiii] Around 1915 Elder Miracle moved on to edit “The Good Old Songs Department” in C. H. Cayce’s periodical The Primitive Baptist. Whitten joined Miracle as part of the editorial staff of “The Good Old Songs Department.”[xxiv]

In 1917 A. N. Whitten was the vice-president of the State Sacred Harp Singing Association of Texas, and then served as president in 1918, 1919, and 1920. Some records indicate singings in Erath County that used both the Sacred Harp and Harp of Ages.[xxv] Two songs in The Sacred Harp, 2012 Cooper Edition, came from Harp of Ages (added to The Sacred Harp book in 1992) – Eden of Love, 39 and John 4:14, 133.[xxvi]

Archibald Newton Whitten died August 18, 1949 at the Dublin Hospital in Dublin, Texas at age 93. His cause of death was prostate cancer. His “usual occupation” is listed as farming (he may have derived a minor income from his songbook and teaching singing schools). He, Dora, and several other family members are buried at the Live Oak Cemetery in Dublin (at the time of his death called New Dublin Cemetery).[xxvii] The newspaper reported that he died “after several weeks’ illness” and that the funeral services were held at the First Baptist Church “with Rev. R. V. Sorrells (sic) of Abilene officiating.” The paper described A. N. Whitten as “well known in Dublin and the surrounding communities and has many friends here who extend their sincerest sympathy to the bereaved relatives.”[xxviii]

Paul Drummond’s assessment of the Harp of Ages, musically, is that the largest percentage of songs are folk hymns and Sacred Harp songs – 51 percent. He adds that almost 25 percent “may be categorized as Gospel Songs.” By “Gospel Songs” he means songs from what he considers the Kieffer/Showalter tradition, the Sankey/Bliss tradition, and the Stamps-Baxter tradition. He does not indicate how he categorizes the roughly other 24 percent. Other categories Drummond uses in A Portion for the Singers are Mason/Bradbury hymns, Traditional Protestant hymns, and original hymn-settings by Primitive Baptists. The songs written by A. N. Whitten would fall in this latter category, but possibly some of the other categories as well.[xxix]

There is no date in the Harp of Ages book that I have, but it was published in 1946 or later. Number 61 is a song titled It Must Have Been at Easter Time Long Ago (The Model Church), and is dated 1946. Whitten sent the words in to the Progress and they were printed in it April 19, 1946.[xxx] I counted the pages in this book; the song numbers are not page numbers. There are 192 total pages – the cover page and rudiments, pages 1-12; songs numbered 1-191 (with some “As” and “1/2s” in the page numbers), but actually 178 pages; finally, 2 unnumbered pages of Index.

By my count, the Harp of Ages credits 16 songs to A. N. Whitten, plus nine more that he arranged or harmonized and 3 Sacred Harp tunes to which he added alto. In addition, Francis Perry lists a song titled Leave Me Alone among those written by A. N. Whitten.[xxxi] The books I own do not have a song by that title in their indices. The accurate title is Leave Me Not Alone, which was removed and replaced by It Must Have Been at Easter Time Long Ago. Songs from Harp of Ages have found their way into other books, such as the two mentioned above (Eden of Love and John 4:14). Balm in Gilead from the 1973 Harp of Ages is included in The Shenandoah Harmony.

Whitten’s Harp of Ages songbook achieved its greatest success in his home state of Texas. Drummond indicates it found a home as well in churches in Louisiana, Oklahoma, Virginia, and California.[xxxii] The book still has a following, not only among Primitive Baptist churches that still use it, but also among Sacred Harp singers introduced to it at the Saturday Night Social of the Southwest Texas Sacred Harp Convention. It has a number of original tunes that are not available elsewhere.[xxxiii] Nevertheless, its use will be limited and constricted because it is no longer in print and a reprint seems unlikely.

Sources

• A Portion for the Singers: A History of Music Among Primitive Baptists Since 1800 by Robert Paul Drummond, Atwood, TN: Christian Baptist Library & Publishing Co., 1989
• Ancestry.com
• Find-A-Grave.com
• Gaylon Powell, e-mail
• Harp of Ages, A. N. Whitten, Dublin, Texas, no date
• Harp of Ages, A. N. Whitten, Harvey L. Bass, Afton E. Richards, Muleshoe, TX: Harp of Ages, Inc., 1977
• Primitive Baptist Library web site
• The Dublin Progress newspaper, Dublin, Texas, May 19, 1905—August 19, 1939
• The Sacred Harp Monitor, M. W. Miracle, Dallas, Texas, December 1912 and October 1913

PDF, 1973 edition of the Harp of Ages

Download the Harp of Ages

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[i] A few songs in the book are printed in 4 staves and 4 shapes. See, for example, Let Us Sing, song number 120.

[ii] Some sources give “Head” as her maiden name, but I believe this is in error. Andrew Jackson Whitten was married twice, first to Ann Head, and second to Mary Ann Davis in 1850. A. N. Whitten’s death certificate gives the maiden name of his mother as “Davis” and the date of A. J.’s marriage to Mary Ann Davis would confirm this is correct. Archibald Newton Whitten

[iii] He married Nancy November 8, 1877 in Tallapoosa County.

[iv] Portion, Drummond, p. 169

[v] The children of Archibald and Nancy include Jonathan, Patrick, Mary Lucinda, Kieffer, Grover W., Samuel Cicero, and Inza/Inez.

[vi] Rachel Florida Whitfield Whitten; sometimes the middle name of the son “Viron” is given/spelled as “Vernon.”

[vii] Dora Finger Norton Whitten

[viii] The 1910 census indicates she also had lost a child in addition to the two living, Willie Moore and A. N., Jr.

[ix] “We are under many obligations to Brother A. N. Whitten, of Dublin, Texas, for the great help he has been to us in the preparation of the work.” – “Preface,” C. H. Cayce, The Good Old Songs, 1913, p. 3

[x] Letter to the editors of Glad Tidings, November 1, 1922, cited in Drummond, p. 168.

[xi] E-mail from Gaylon Powell, February 15, 2019

[xii] Harp of Ages, pages 3-12.

[xiii] “Listing of Our Holdings of Primitive Baptist Periodicals and Hymnals”; the 191 page book that I have includes the song It Must Have Been at Easter Time Long Ago, which was written in 1946. Perhaps this was the 4th edition; I suspect earlier books also ended on song 191, and that the song number 61 was substituted for another song. The text of this 1946 song was sent in to The Dublin Progress and printed on the front page April 19, 1946.

[xiv] The Dublin Progress, Friday, April 23, 1937, p. 1

[xv] The Dublin Progress, Friday, August 22, 1913, p. 5

[xvi] The Dublin Progress, Friday, June 3, 1938, p. 1; It is not clear whether First Primitive Baptist was using the term “revival,” or if that terminology was chosen by the newspaper.

[xvii] The Dublin Progress, Friday, July 5, 1940, p. 1

[xviii] The Dublin Progress, Friday, May 19, 1905, p. 8

[xix] The Dublin Progress, Friday, July 21, 1933, p. 3

[xx] The Dublin Progress, Friday, July 15, 1938, p. 1

[xxi] The Dublin Progress, Friday, August 18, 1939, p. 1

[xxii] In the August 20, 1943 issue of the Progress, Whitten describes “the old church yard,” “Elder William Hubbard…the old Cornfield Preacher,” and Old Brother Clinkscales who “takes charge of the song service.” Whitten mentions the church singing Promised Land, Holy Manna, and Parting Hand. No doubt, this describes some of the earliest foundations and roots of his music. Whitten’s reminiscences are found at least in these issues: The Dublin Progress, Friday, June 25, 1943, p. 6; Friday, August 20, 1943, p. 6; Friday, October 8, 1943, p. 5; Friday, November 19, 1943, p. 4; Friday, December 10, 1943, p. 2; Friday, March 10, 1944, p. 5

[xxiii] The Sacred Harp Monitor, M. W. Miracle, Dallas, Texas, Volume 1, Number 1, December 1912; The Sacred Harp Monitor, M. W. Miracle, Dallas, Texas, Volume 1, Number 11, October 1913; these are the only two issues I have located.

[xxiv] Drummond, pp. 161-162, 165

[xxv] Including Drummond, p. 169; Also a Memorial Sacred Harp Singing held November 14, 1943 with The Sacred Harp and Harp of Ages – The Dublin Progress, Friday, November 12, 1943, p. 1.

[xxvi] John 4:14 in this Sacred Harp book is the original by Morris Nowlin rather than the revision/arrangement by Carolia Johnson printed in Harp of Ages in 1973. When the 1992 edition of the Cooper Book came out, I was given information on sources of all the tunes added to the book. John 4:14 was listed as an original composition by Morris Nowlin, rather than as coming from the Harp of Ages. I was told that this was because the song, as printed in the Cooper Book, was submitted by Brother Nowlin as originally written by him.

[xxvii] State of Texas Certificate of Death, Number 37999

[xxviii] The Dublin Progress, Friday, August 19, 1949, p. 1

[xxix] Drummond, pp. 168-169, 225-328; it appears that Drummond collated the edition with 191 numbered songs. He says it was probably released around 1946 (based on the song number 61).

[xxx] The Dublin Progress, Friday, April 19, 1946, p. 1

[xxxi] The Dublin Progress, Friday, August 18, 1939, p. 1

[xxxii] Drummond, p. 171

[xxxiii] Whitten’s tune From the Heavenly Choir (127) is an exquisite minor tune, in my opinion. No Vacant Seats in Heaven (74) combines well the doctrine of the preservation of the saints with a very nice tune by Whitten and Mrs. J. B. Edwards. How Sweet to Die (13) was written in memory of Elder S. A. Paine, incorporating his last words, “O, how sweet to die.”

Pure Gold

New Acquisition

Pure Gold for the Sunday School: a New Collection of Songs, prepared and adapted for Sunday School Exercises

By Robert Wadsworth Lowry and William Howard Doane, editors 

(Biglow & Main, 1871)

Online shape note song books

Several years ago I posted links to Old song books online. Here are some more shape note song books I have found online since then.

• Class, Choir and Congregation: for Singing Schools, Conventions, Normal Schools, Chorus Choirs and Congregations, A. J. Showalter, editor (Dalton, GA: A. J. Showalter Co., 1888)
• Dortch's Gospel Voices, No. 1: for Sunday Schools, Church Services, Gospel and Evangelistic Meetings, Young People's Societies, Etc., David Elijah Dortch, editor (Nashville, TN: The Southwestern Company, 1900)
• Favorite Songs and Hymns: a Complete Church Hymnal, Homer F. Morris, et al., editors (Dallas, TX: Stamps-Baxter Music & Printing Co., 1939)
• Happy Praise: Our Second 1956 Book for Singing Schools, Conventions, Etc., J. R. Baxter, Jr., et al., editors (Dallas, TX: Stamps-Baxter Music & Printing Co., 1956)
• New Life; or, Songs and Tunes for Sunday Schools, Prayer Meetings, and Revival Occasions, R. M. McIntosh, W. G. E. Cunningham, editors (Nashville, TN: Southern Methodist Publishing House, 1879)
• Songs of Zion: the New Official Hymnal of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, W., T. Dale, New York, NY: A. S. Barnes Co., 1915
• Sweet Fields of Eden: for the Sabbath School, John Harrison Tenney, Aldine S. Kieffer, William B. Blake, editors (Dayton, VA: Ruebush, Kieffer & Co., 1882)
• The Temple Star: for Singing-Schools, Conventions, Choirs, Day-Schools and Musical Societies, B. C. Unseld, Aldine S. Kieffer, editors (Singer's Glen, VA: Ruebush, Kieffer & Co., 1878)

William Bell Gillham

Last Monday Rachel Hall posted about a tune book of which I had not heard, by William Bell Gillham, the Aeolian Lyrist: a New Collection of Psalm and Hymn tunes adapted to the Various Metres in General Use; with a few Anthems and Set Pieces, W. B. Gillham, Cincinnati, OH: Applegate and Co., 1853.

"In 1854 [apparently, 1853, rlv] William B. Gillham, Columbia, Tennessee, published the Aeolian Lyrist (printed by Applegate & Co., Cincinnati, and by the Cumberland Presbyterian Board in Louisville) in shapes the three novel ones of which are described as follows..."

"My mother had a cousin, the Rev. Wm. B. Gillham, at one time pastor of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Columbia, Tenn., and author of a music book, "The Aeolian Lyrist," who had a similar experience to my own. He was brought up in the same church I was [Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church], and was educated in that church for the ministry. But when he took up the study of theology and began to compare his Confession of Faith with the Bible, with its plain "whosoever will" doctrines, as he afterwards wrote me, he had not been a Calvinist, and so entered the ministry of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, placing himself under the care of the Tennessee Presbytery, which presbytery I also joined in April, 1870, at Athens, Ala., being licensed by this same presbytery in April, 1872, at Madison, Madison County, Alabama." -- From page 6 in The Difference in Creedal Statement Between the Confessions of Faith of the Presbyterian Church, U. S. A., and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church; Accompanied by An Earnest Plea for the Perpetuation of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church with its " Whosoever Will " Doctrines, William Thomas Dale, Franklin, TN: W. T. Dale, 1905

"MALE AND FEMALE SCHOOL.  Vernon, Alabama.
"The Trustees of the Vernon High School take pleasure in announcing that they have made an arrangement with REV. W. B. GILLHAM to take charge of their Institution for the ensuing school year – to commence on the 1st Monday in November.  Mr. Gillham’s long and successful experience as educator of the youth of both sexes warrant us in giving him our highest endorsement and soliciting for our School a liberal patronage..." -- From The Vernon Pioneer, February 23, 1877

A couple of Gillham's songs can be seen in Songs of Zion: the New Official Hymnal of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church by W., T. Dale. 

• YONGST C.M., No. 21 on page 17
• EXPIATION L.M., No. 73 on page 46 (written by Gillham and arranged by Dale)
• GILLHAM C.M., No. 243 on page 138 is written by W. T. Dale and (probably) named for W. B. Gillham

Old-Line Primitive Baptist Hymn and Tune Book: First Impressions

Old-Line Primitive Baptist Hymn and Tune Book for All Lovers of Truth in Sacred Song. Jason R. Fruit, Fox Lake, WI, USA: Jason R. Fruit, 2016. $9.00, hardcover, 446 pages.  I recently received a copy. Here are my first impressions

Jason R. Fruit is a Primitive Baptist, computer programmer Sacred Harp singer and composer -- among other things. These interests join in producing this newly-introduced song book for Primitive Baptist churches..

I am very favorably impressed. It seems to be much in the spirit and style of Durand and Lester's Hymn and Tune Book. The book is nicely bound in an upright SATB format, with black and gold hard cover. It contains 847 hymn texts and 201 tunes (some of which appear more than once, with at least two by the compiler). The tunes are set in seven-shape-notes.

The arrangement is topical, divided into 12 major sections -- such as "Glories of God" or "Ordinances, Institutions and Occasions" -- and one "Miscellaneous" section. The topical headings appear in the top center of each page. Within the sections the arrangement proceeds by hymn meter (Long Meter, Common Meter, etc.). Each tune and each hymn is labeled appropriate to its meter. Often a short hymn tune will occupy the top quarter of the page, with the rest of the page filled by hymns that match that meter. Longer tunes may fill a half page or even the whole page. The printing of notes and words is clean and clear, making it easy to read. (There are a few occasions where the type font is reduced for space considerations, making the reading a little harder on old eyes.) The back of the book provides two indices, by first lines of the hymns and by the tune names.

There are a few printing errors of the shapes that have been discovered, and the compiler asks that you contact him if you notice errors -- so that they may be corrected in future editions.

The tunes are mostly early American, folk tunes, Sacred Harp and reform music of the Hastings/Mason style (as far as I am able to judge). There is a wide range of Christian hymns, in which the compiler "tried to ensure that its texts are sound in doctrine and express true Christian experience." The book rises from within and is intended for the use of Old Line Primitive Baptists -- so the doctrinal beliefs will reflect that -- but a majority of conservative Christians will agree with most of the sentiments found therein.

The book is an excellent buy at $9 per hymnal. The author is not trying to make a profit, but rather provide a service for churches. Discounted pricing is available on larger quantity orders. It can be purchased from the compiler, Jason R. Fruit of Fox Lake, Wisconsin (see Hymn Book web page), and The Primitive Baptist Library of Carthage, Illinois.

Some sample pages from the Old-Line Primitive Baptist Hymn and Tune Book can be found HERE.

I like the book and recommend it to you. If you like metered hymns and fine tunes you will like this book. Libraries should have a copy. Hymnal collectors should obtain one. The title will probably limit its use to those churches who find themselves in the name "Old-Line Primitive Baptist," but few will hurt from hymning the Lamb with the hymns and tunes provided here!

Great God of grace, forgive the lays,
That fall so far beneath thy praise;
By grace we hope to sing ere long,
Eternal love in sweeter song. (#421 John Kent)