OLD HARP SINGERS OF EAST TENNESEE: Weep Not for Me: An Old Harp Memorial for Larry Olszewski

Old Harp Singers of East Tennesee

Weep Not for Me: An Old Harp Memorial for Larry Olszewski

© 2006 John Lamb

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Old Harp Singing is an a capalla shapenote religious music tradition unique to East Tennessee

tracks

1 Boylston
2 Evening Shade
3 Holy Manna
4 Warrenton
5 Paradise
6 Shawmut/Shirland
7 Heavenly Armour
8 David's Lamentation
9 Northfield
10 Edom
11 Clinton
12 Sion's Security
13 Lenox
14 Rowley
15 Zion
16 Hamburg
17 The Saint's Adieu
18 Windham
19 Samanthra
20 Whitestown
21 Never Part Again
22 Coronation
23 Morning Trumpet
24 Liberty
25 Dundee
26 Old Hundred

notes

Who Was Larry Olszewski?
Lawrence Edward Olszewski (1948-2005) known to many as “Larry O,” was an ardent promoter of singing from the shapenote tune book, The New Harp of Columbia, in East Tennessee, also known as “Old Harp Singing.”

Originally from North Tonawanda, NY, Olszewski earned an associates degree in construction technology, and served 21 months in Vietnam. He came to Knoxville in 1974 to work with TVA, and attended his first Old Harp Singing about 1978.

His work was in the construction industry – 13 years with S&ME Inc., and 16 with TVA’s Organization of Engineering Design and Construction. Larry also coached girl’s softball and basketball and women’s softball, and was active with an Explorer Post.

Larry grew from being a new-comer to the Old Harp tradition, to being its most active supporter: by leading singings, visiting older singers, helping preserve the Laurel Theatre (home to the Epworth Old Harp Singers and Jubilee Community Arts), working to arrange the reprinting of the New Harp of Columbia, producing the Old Harp newsletter, and supporting the production of recordings of singings.

Arriving on the scene as many traditional singers were passing away, Larry raised up new singings, brought in new singers, and helped document knowledge that would otherwise have been lost. Larry’s thought was that when one receives a gift, one should try to return it ten-fold. That is how Larry felt about Old Harp Singing, and he did everything in his power to share the gift with others. Because of his influence, the Old Harp Singing tradition continues in East Tennessee.

Larry’s voice was stilled in December 2005, after a lengthy battle with stomach cancer, but he lives on in the hearts of those whose lives he touched.

The singing on this recording is an expression of the Old Harp community’s thanks for Larry’s investment of his heart and soul in Old Harp Singing.

What is Old Harp Singing?
In East Tennessee, Old Harp singing refers to intense a capella singing from 19thcentury shapenote tune books like the Sacred Harp, and New Harp of Columbia, Southern Harmony, or Christian Harmony.

The “harp” in Harp singing has always only been the human voice. Those who sang the old songs from the old books (often with harp in the name, or on the cover) in the old way became known as Old Harp singers. Old Harp music is polyphonic - each part has a unique melody. This is called dispersed harmony.

Old Harp also refers specifically to a shape note singing tradition in East Tennessee, and Western North Carolina based on the New Harp of Columbia, published in 1867.

Shapenote singing descends from a movement started in New England in the mid-1700s. Church music then, save for scattered pockets of greater musical development, was often lined-out hymnody. A leader, deacon, or other literate person, perhaps owning the only copy of a song book in town, would lead the congregation by singing the words to a verse of the hymn, the congregation would join in, and the process would be repeated, often with less than musical results.

To raise the quality of music during worship, church leaders encouraged singing schools to teach the basics, or “rudiments” of music. Traveling singing masters would come to town, and hold classes, often every evening for a week or more. These were important social events in small communities, especially for young people. When the singing master left, those who had learned to sing wanted to continue and they wanted more tunes.

Singing masters obliged by compiling their own books of original and borrowed tunes.

Just after 1800, several tune book compilers took an old European idea of using syllables as an aid to teaching music and combined it with musical notes with distinctive shapes representing each syllable. These shapenotes, also known as character or patent notes, made sight reading easier. With the ability to read the notes readily, once the opening pitch is given, complex pieces with three or four parts can be learned quickly.

Many competing systems arose, but the most popular used geometrically shaped flags atop notes in the music - a triangle for Fa, an oval for Sol, a square for La, and a diamond for Mi. To sing a scale, one would sing Fa So La Fa So La Mi Fa. This system was used in the Sacred Harp and Southern Harmony.

The Harp of Columbia, first published in 1848 in Knoxville, Tennessee, drew heavily on two earlier books, the Union Harmony and Knoxville Harmony. However, its compilers, W.H. and M.L. Swan, took it in a different direction – it was the first book using a 7-shape system compiled in the South. Seven-shape systems eliminated the need to reuse syllables when singing a scale. In this system a major scale would be sung as Do Re Mi Fa So La Si Do. The Harp of Columbia was revised and published in Nashville, Tennessee as the New Harp of Columbia, in 1867.


Though it began in the North, shapenote singing fell out of use there as gospel songs and more “correct” styles drawn from European music replaced the old-fashioned tunes composed by untrained singing school masters or arranged from the folk tradition.

However, in the South singers kept the old ways alive. Some books like the Sacred Harp, Christian Harmony and Harmonia Sacra have evolved through years of revisions and printings. Others, like The New Harp of Columbia and Southern Harmony have been kept alive into the 21st Century by periodic reprints of previous editions.

As the years took their toll and supplies of the 1970s reprint of The New Harp of Columbia ran out, concerned singers proposed a new edition. The result, published in 2001 by the University of Tennessee Press, restored songs omitted when the Harp of Columbia was transformed into the New Harp of Columbia. The New Harp is used at approximately 25 singings a year in East Tennessee (as of late 2005).

The Singing Experience
Old Harp singings are descendants of 18th and 19th Century singing schools. Singings usually begin with prayer. The moderator - a senior singer or “Elder” of the singing community, comes to the front and leads the first lesson, often Holy Manna – “Brethren We Have met to worship and adore our God.”

The moderator then calls members of the “class” - the singers and visitors – forward one at a time to lead the song of their choice, called a “lesson.” As the make their way forward, the leader calls out the page number and either sings the first note of each of the parts, or asks assistance from the designated “pitcher.” The pitcher uses a pitch pipe to blow the key note for the piece, then sings the first note of each part, from the Lead part, to Alto, to Treble and then down to Bass. Over the years, pitches for many songs have been agreed on by the singers – these are often marked in the books of the pitchers and other Elders among the group. They may be adjusted up or down based on the capabilities of the class at the moment.

When the pitch has been found, the leader asks for the “chord” which everyone sings together. The leader says “shapes” - then the class sings the piece using the names of the shapes. The shapes may be sung several times if the class is struggling with a lesson.

When the piece has been sung with shapes, the leader says “now with the poetry,” and it is sung again. The “lesson” may be found in the tune, in the experience of singing the harmony, or in the song’s poetry which a leader may emphasize by saying “mind the words.”

The singers sit with others singing the same part – treble alto, lead, and bass – each seated several rows deep along one side of a hollow square. The leader stands in the center and uses one hand to mark the beat. The leader selects the verses to be sung, and may raise or lower the pitch if the class is struggling. The song may be speeded up or slowed down. Everything is adjusted for the proficiency of the leader and singers. Some singers sing with their heads down over their books. Others, who know their parts by heart, keep their books closed in their hands. Some mark time with their right hand to help themselves keep with the class. A rhythmic beating of feet often punctuates particularly driving songs.

The style of singing is direct, generally without much vibrato, and not polished. It is a community event, not a performance - all are encouraged to sing – even if halting or not always on key. It is a collective effort for each other and God.

Singings may last several hours, or the better part of a day, and encompass 20 to 50 lessons. Longer singings include a “Dinner of the Grounds.” To which each family brings a covered dish. Food at shapenote singings throughout the South is the stuff of which legends are made!

The Recording/ Venue
This field recording was made at a singing held as part of Larry’s memorial service at the Laurel Theatre in Knoxville, Tennessee on December 18, 2005. The class was a mix of Old Harp singers from Knoxville, and surrounding East Tennessee communities, as well as Sacred Harp and Christian Harmony singers from around the region. The Laurel Theater is home to Jubilee Community Arts, a regional, community cultural center dedicated to preserving and presenting the traditional arts of the Southern Appalachians, and is the meeting place of the Epworth Old Harp Singers.

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