Sacred Harp Singing--Fasola and our Taylors

Haunting, fierce and lovely harmonies, beautiful, sacred, uplifting, soul soothing, all-day singing .... these are words that have been used to describe Sacred Harp singing.  Our Taylor ancestors living in Alabama surely knew about Sacred Harp, and many sang it.  The tradition lives on today as well!

The lyrics to one of the favorite songs of many Sacred Harp singings is written below. The words speak for themselves.

Wondrous Love

What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this
That caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul!

When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down
Beneath God’s righteous frown,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul for my soul,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul.

To God and to the Lamb I will sing, I will sing;
To God and to the Lamb I will sing;
To God and to the Lamb,
Who is the great I AM,
While millions join the theme, I will sing, I will sing,
While millions join the theme, I will sing.

And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on;
And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on.
And when from death I’m free
I’ll sing His love for me,
And through eternity I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on,
And through eternity I’ll sing on.

The singings brought rural country folks together, who often lived miles apart.  Both adults and young people attended Singing Schools where they learned the rudiments of music and practiced the songs.  

The human voice, the instrument we were given at birth, is the only instrument used in Sacred Harp singing, also known as Fasola singing.  A tradition that dates back to colonial times in America, Sacred Harp singings are still alive and prosper today around the country. 

Singers sit facing each other, forming a hollow square, with each singing part--treble, alto, tenor and bass--sitting in the four sections.  Singers take turns leading the group.  Standing in the middle of the square, the leader calls the song by page number as the Sacred Harp book is held in one hand, and the beat is kept with the other hand.  The singers begin by singing the appropriate notes using Fa So La Me.  Then they immediately begin singing the song using the words.

Also known as shape note singing, the music is written in the books using shapes to help the singer easily identify the tone:  Triangle is the shape for "Fa," oval is the shape for "Sol," rectangle is the shape for "La," and diamond is the shape for "Me."

From "Original Sacred Harp" (Denson Revision) Standard Melodies, Page 1, Rudiments of Music,
Published by Sacred Harp Publishing Company, Inc., Haleyville, Alabama

Singing Conventions were annual gatherings of singers.  In Winston County,  conventions date back to the The Clear Creek Mountain Home Singing Association of Winston County, formed in 1874. Then in 1896, the Bear Creek Sacred Harp Memorial Singings of Winston County was organized.  Neighboring Alabama counties also held conventions. 

The following accounts of family links to Sacred Harp singing have been shared by Taylor descendants:

I remember my grandmother, Sarah Elizabeth (James) Taylor, saying that my grandfather, William Verpo Taylor, loved fasola singing.  He became a Christian and began attending church regularly later in his life.  I'm not sure how long he did this or exactly where, but they lived near the Hopewell community between Ashville and Gadsten Alabama for many years and I always assumed it was there.

William Alexander (Bill) Taylor

Kyle, Texas

In the Minutes of the Sacred Harp Centennial Celebration held in Double Springs, Alabama September 18-24, 1944, several Taylors are listed as singers: Mr. and Mrs. J. F. Taylor, Columbus Taylor, Helen Taylor, Sulu Taylor, Theodore Taylor, Mrs. O. H. (Oscar Harrison) Taylor, Mr. and Mrs. Lonnie Taylor, Harrison Taylor, W. M. Taylor and Eugene Taylor.  At this same centennial celebration, the monument that sits on the grounds of the Winston County courthouse to honor Seaborn M. Denson and Thomas J. Denson was dedicated. The talented Denson brothers were well known for their work in writing Sacred Harp music, singing and teaching others to sing.

Memorial to Seaborn M. Denson and Thomas J. Denson,
Erected Summer 1944 during  the Centennial Celebration of Sacred Harp music
Winston County Courthouse, Double Springs, Alabama

Ada Taylor Godsey, daughter of George Washington and Lucinda (Swims) Taylor, was highlighted in an issue of Country Home magazine, June 1995, Page 58: 

Ada Godsey, 87, also of Double Springs, remembers going to all-day singings in a horse and buggy around 1919.  More often, she walked the mile from her home to the Pleasant Ridge (Hill)  Primitive Baptist Church.

"My family couldn't all fit in the buggy," she explains.  Her father once organized a singing school at the church and brought in Tom Denson, one of the best teachers the tradition has ever produced."

"Papa hitched Molly to the buggy and drove twenty miles to Haleyville to meet him at the train," Ada says.  When the 10-day singing school ended, Denson taught another one 5 miles away in the community of Posey's Mill. "For ten days we walked there (Posey's Mill) through the woods, sang all day, and then walked home again,"  Ada recalls.

Shared by Kay Wojack,

Descendant of Columbus Taylor

Daddy used to talk about fasola singing when we were growing up.  He liked it.  I don't know if he sang it or not, but he talked about it.  (Daddy is Hosey Stevens, oldest son of Pachie Taylor Stevens.  This family moved from Winston to Lawrence County, Tennessee in 1920).

Ann Stevens Rohling

Lawrenceburg, Tennessee

 .

At the close of the Centennial Celebration of Sacred Harp music held in 1944, the minutes of the event denoted a special song that is still often chosen to end each gathering of singers:

"The great body of singers and listeners joined in singing page 62, "Parting Hand" and mid smiles and tears, they bade each other a loving farewell; some to meet again soon, to sing again these songs of Zion; some to meet in that Land where there'll be no sad parting; where we'll sing, forever, a song of Moses and the Lamb, with our loved ones who are watching and waiting for us." Page 24 

L.O. Odem President

Ruth Denson Edwards, Secretary 

Page 62, "Parting Hand"
From "Original Sacred Harp" (Denson Revision) Standard Melodies,
Published by Sacred Harp Publishing Company, Inc., Haleyville, Alabama