Lowcountry Sacred Harp

Here in Charleston, SC, we've started a local shapenote group, singing from The Sacred Harp (1991 edition). 
Our scheduled meetings for spring 2013 are the following Saturdays, at 2-4pm:
                     January 26, February 23, March 30, April 20
Beginners are welcome!  We have extra copies of The Sacred Harp for newcomers to sing from.
If you have any questions, please contact me (Tom Ivey) at 843-853-3976 or email
Click here for information about our annual all-day singing in May.
The minutes from our 2012 singing in Gage Hall are available here.
Other shapenote happenings in our area include monthly singings in Savannah.
Directions to our regular monthly singing:
We sing in lower Lance Hall, at the historic Circular Congregational Church, located at 150 Meeting St. in Charleston. 
Lance Hall is the two-storey building with columns in the southeast corner of the churchyard.
The room we use is at the back of the ground floor, entered from the south side off the courtyard.
On Saturdays, some parking is available in the walled lot to the south of the cemetery, entered off of Queen Street. 
(The entrance is about 100 feet in from Meeting, on the north side of Queen; look for the large convex
mirror on the gatepost.)  Please park only in the spaces marked "Harbor National Bank Customers". 
(Our friend Kathy Thom has checked that this is okay with the tenants; thanks, Kathy!)
You should be able to go through a gate to access the courtyard with the entrance to lower Lance Hall.

If these spots are not available, please park in the City garage on Cumberland Street, across the NBSC lot from the churchyard.
Other Resources:
Click here to download a 1-page beginner's guide to Sacred Harp.
You can find much more information about shapenote singing in the southeast
and across the US at the following sites:
 You can find a recording of the 2011 Piccolo Spoleto singing here
and audio from our 2010 singing at BostonSing.org.

On January 14, 2-4pm, we held a special "demonstration" singing at the Grand Army Hall
at 706 Newcastle St. in Beaufort.  Pictures from the singing can be found here.

Thomas Ivey's Tunebook

Here you'll find PDF files for various shapenote hymns I've written, arranged, or found in old books. 
If you'd like to go back to my main page, click here.

Compositions:

Nicholas written in 2002, revised 2006; same hymn text occurs at the close of Britten's "St. Nicholas"
Hartsfield written in Atlanta airport, Dec. 2005; text by W.D.McLagan (1826-1910), Archbishop of York
Cornish
written Sept. 2006; same text as Hartsfield, title refers to Robertson Davies' novel What's Bred in the Bone
Higher Ground Oct. 2006
Royal Arch Nov. 2006; title refers to a rock formation in the Flatirons near Boulder, Colorado
Campian Nov. 2006-Jan. 2007; text from a song by Thomas Campian or Campion
Howard Park
 June 2007; text by H.H.Hopson, with a verse from Westford added; title is a street in Toronto
Glenarm
 July-Aug. 2007; title refers to the site of Denver Sacred Harp's weekly practice singings
Epitaph
 Aug. 2007; first verse taken from tombstone of Thomas Ivey, 1742-1809, Sithney, Cornwall (my great-great-great-great-great-grandfather's first cousin)

Arrangements:
Martial Trumpet melody from The Southern Harmony, 1835
Otterbein from The Church Harmony, 1841; alto part added
Ustick from The Church Harmony; alto part added
Heavenly Dove from The Social Harp; alto part added
I Shall Be Satisfied melody transcribed from Boston Camerata's CD, "The American Vocalist"

Transcriptions:
Colchester from The Easy Instructor
Martyrs from The Easy Instructor
Friendship from The Kentucky Harmony
Sylvia from The Kentucky Harmony; Dr. Warren Steele says that Wetmore wrote this in memory of his wife, who died young.