Hi Shirley,

I wanted to pass along this exciting news- the Sacred Harp recordings from 1959 are among the 25 recordings named today to the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress.

Their press release is here:

http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2011/11-073.html

16. United Sacred Harp Musical Convention in Fyffe, Alabama; field recordings by Alan Lomax and Shirley Collins (1959)

Folklorist Alan Lomax characterized the folk polyphony that he and English folksinger Shirley Collins recorded at the annual United Sacred Harp Musical Convention as "choral music for a nation of individualists." About 150 southern shape-note singers ranging in age from under 10 to over 90 participated, singing from "The Sacred Harp," a hymnal written in so-called "shape notes." This 19th-century notational system was originally devised to teach untrained singers to harmonize more fluently, but it also enabled the creation of invigorating and complex pieces sung in four parts by participants seated around a square, thus creating the multi-directional cascades of voices heard on these recordings. The future of the tradition was very much in doubt when these recordings were made. Lomax and others had earlier documented Sacred Harp singing on monophonic discs. These stereo tape recordings were the first to capture the music's full vigor and complexity. The dissemination of these recordings helped
preserve and revitalize this uniquely American form both inside and outside of their original communities.

Congratulations! And I hope that all is well with you.

Best,

Don Fleming

-- 
Don Fleming
Alan Lomax Archive