Link to Old Regular Baptist Hymns MP3's

Subject: RE: Link to Old Regular Baptist Hymns MP3's
From: GUEST,W y s i w y G ! (23 Jan 2015) 3696809
Date: 21 Feb 15 - 05:02 PM

I don't think Doc's version is prettied up at all. I think he grew up singing it and the way he recorded it was the way it came out of his soul.

I LOVE having the AA version. I had done an extensive search when I came across Doc's version and that one never turned up. From them, it sounds like a 'shout' as described in the Spirituals permathread.

~Susan

Subject: RE: Link to Old Regular Baptist Hymns MP3's
From: GUEST,leeneia (20 Jan 2015) 3695866
Date: 21 Feb 15 - 05:01 PM

The link in the first post has gone 404, so I googled 'Old Regular Baptist Hymns' and found some on YouTube. Here's the URL for one of them:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA8393B9C16EB1832

I've never heard hymns done like that before. Thanks.

Subject: RE: Link to Old Regular Baptist Hymns MP3's
From: GUEST,Jennifer
Date: 22 Jan 12 - 11:12 AM

I awakened this morning thinking about attending church in Swannee Valley, Florida with Aunt Amie and hearing the the deacons and deaconesses line and sing hymns. The one that I resounded over and over again in my head was "What A Friend We Have In Jesus" which was written by an Irishman named Joseph M Scriven. All these years, I was under the impression that the song was a part of the old Pentacostal tradition.

I can hear the rising and falling of the voices that led the lining of each hymn. It always fascininated me that the hymn leaders never needed any musical accompanst. They just felt the music and led the hymns. This morning, I longed for that time in my life. However, thanks to technology, I could listen to links that allowed me to listen to brothers and sisters who are still carrying on the tradition.

Subject: RE: Link to Old Regular Baptist Hymns MP3's
From: Janie
Date: 11 Jan 11 - 07:22 PM

Found an interesting article from the 1997 American Folk Life Program on the song tradition of Old Regular Baptists. Decided it didn't warrant it's own thread, but was worth posting.

Old Regular Baptist Singing

Subject: RE: Link to Old Regular Baptist Hymns MP3's
From: Janie
Date: 11 Aug 07 - 08:20 PM

That'll work!

Subject: RE: Link to Old Regular Baptist Hymns MP3's
From: wysiwyg
Date: 11 Aug 07 - 01:26 PM

Brain arriving today: I'll just put a link to this thread into the Max Hunter one!

~S~

Subject: RE: Link to Old Regular Baptist Hymns MP3's
From: Janie
Date: 10 Aug 07 - 08:36 PM

After I was given my grandfather's "New Baptist Hymnal" and "The Sweet Songster", I had some correspondence with Joseph White (who maintains the United Baptist.org website and whose family recorded some of the MP3s linked above.) He opined that many of the songs in these two books were not known outside of the walls of some of the ORB and United Baptist churches. For many of them, the melodies exist(ed) only in oral tradition. The song books themselves are lyrics only. With lined out singing, the song leader chose a known melody that worked with the meter of the lyrics, but many, if not most of these lyrics were traditionally associated with specific melodies. My guess, and fear, is that many of these songs are no longer known, even within the walls of these churches.

Janie

Subject: RE: Link to Old Regular Baptist Hymns MP3's
From: Janie
Date: 10 Aug 07 - 08:12 PM

Hi susan,

Hope the vacation was great.

What follows is very much my lay, uninformed perspective and opinion, steeped long in real ignorance regarding the scholarship around folk music.

The point is not that they are ORB, or any particular demonination. But the Old Regular and United Baptists are very to extremely conservative (in the classical sense of the word). As such their congregational singing is a living tradition in terms of rural American (and especially Appalachian) music. The evolution of 'folk' congregational singing is apparent and contiguous when listening to these modern recordings of congregational singing, and then comparing them to, as in your example, Max Hunter's field recordings in the Appalachian digital library. One hears how the singing, even the lined out singing, is changed by the fact that isolation is nearly non-existent. The voices of the congregation, no longer isolated from the rest of the country and the world, through media exposure if nothing else, are changed. The mountain accents are diluted. The tone of voices is different from the Hunter recordings. While still regional, they are not so very distinct as they were even 30 years ago. Compare these recordings to the field records of not just Max Hunter, but a number of collectors who moved through eastern Kentucky, West Virgina, southwest Virginia, Tennessee and North Carolina from the late 60's to the mid to late 70's. Both are sets of field recordings. (Pawpaw was asked to do some field recording by someone, I forget who - it wasn't Lomax -whoever was the main name behind the Berea Collge archives. To my great regret, he declined. Decided it wasn't a Godly thing to do.) One hears the change over time in the 'folk' singing of the congregations, brought about by the end of virtual isolation. What we have, in comparing these recordings that are 30 to 40 years apart, is documentation of the folk process.

You've 'heard' me talk about my grandfather's voice and singing. He sang in the 'old way.' But he was not a performer, and wasn't in the business of preserving a way of singing. He sang like everybody else of his time, region and culture, including his religious culture. It just happened that he was a fine singer. His own church and Association were ultra conservative, to the point of not allowing PA systems or instrumental accompaniment (yment?) in church. (That may have changed, I've had no direct contact since he died in 1993.) He was 97 when he died. Among the congregation at his funeral, I noted some fine voices, but they were younger voices. They sang lined out hymns, and they sang them deloriously slow. But no one among them sang with the pure 'old timey' mountain voice of my grandfather. He was one of the last to whom that style of singing was absolutely usual and natural. They were younger (even those by just 10-15 years). Their youths were not so isolated. Even those born just post WWI had much greater exposure, beginning in childhood, to the radio, to immigrants, accents, voices - from outside of the hills and hollers of eastern Kentucky. And their natural voices reflected a greater degree of homogeny with the larger world.

In our American ballads, especially in the mountain ballads of the Appalachians, we can easily trace the songs from their origins in the British Isles. but we can not directly trace the evolution of the voices and the song styles over time from across the pond. With the advent of technology that allows field recordings, however, we can observe in a pretty continuitous (did I just make that word up?) way, the process of change and transition of the music sung by the people in their daily lives. We can observe the process of the 'folk' in terms of their music.

Only in churches has the music remained a part of the routine, integral life of people in this country. You don't hear field hands, prisoners, or sailors singing to mark the cadence of their work.    Singing and music, outside of church, has been largely consigned to the arena of performance in our modern life. That is not to say that some families and friends don't gather to make music, but it is no longer commonly a part of living, working and home entertainment.

I'm rambling and will stop now. One of these days I'll learn to use fewer commas and more periods. But you get my drift.

Janie

Subject: RE: Link to Old Regular Baptist Hymns MP3's
From: Bill D
Date: 10 Aug 07 - 06:36 PM

'brain' deserves a little extra time to amble in at its own pace...as awkward as that can be...*grin*

(hi, Susan)

Subject: RE: Link to Old Regular Baptist Hymns MP3's
From: wysiwyg
Date: 10 Aug 07 - 06:23 PM

... an already existing thread that archives links of this sort...

.... hm, been away.... not aware of any destination thread at the moment. There's a Max Hunter thread where I tossed a bunch of links to gospel material, but it's not a permathread or anything. And I think a thread on old or primitive Baptist singing is great, as IMO there is a LOT of interest in what is (nowadays) a number of approaches that are distinct in their own ways and yet seem similar when viewed or heard from the outside.

There are a lot of sound examples at the Digital Library of Appalachia as well (comprises what, 7 huge libraries' collections?), although I only think so by having heard them whne opeing interesting titles... I don't recall that their archiving separates the differences searchably.

~Susan~just~back~from~vacay,~brain~to~follow~I~hope!

Subject: RE: Link to Old Regular Baptist Hymns MP3's
From: GUEST,Kathy
Date: 10 Aug 07 - 02:41 PM

The Blessed Hope Old Regular Baptist Church, Why being open minded to recordings, they are more conservative in practice than the New Salem.There are some songs that they sing are not traditional ORB but many of the hymns are of an ancient origin.These recordings are made live, so mistakes and imperfections are noted.The download is free and they aren't making money off the site.Very Good over all
                Kathy

Subject: RE: Link to Old Regular Baptist Hymns MP3's
From: Janie
Date: 06 Aug 07 - 12:42 AM

Below are links to a couple of other sites with mp3s of congregational singing. On the united baptist.org site, scroll down to "Songs of Zion" for additional links.

http://www.oldregularbaptist.com/music.html

http://unitedbaptists.org/downloads.html



Janie

Subject: RE: Link to Old Regular Baptist Hymns MP3's
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 05 Aug 07 - 02:53 PM

I agree. Thanks for posting.

Subject: RE: Link to Old Regular Baptist Hymns MP3's
From: emjay
Date: 04 Aug 07 - 03:34 PM

Very interesting site! I only listened to one , but it's worth checking out more. The leader lined out the words with group following very slow. I chose the only familiar song I found, but I'll go back and I recommend the site.

Subject: Link to Old Regular Baptist Hymns MP3's
From: Janie
Date: 03 Aug 07 - 11:00 PM

The website linked below is loaded with MP3's of songs sung during services at Blessed Hope Old Regular Baptist Church, in Liberty, KY. They are recorded during the service so would classified as field recordings, I think. These are current and recent recordings so provide an example, when compared to earlier field recordings, of how the singing in these congregations may be changing over time.

http://www.cumberlandbooks.com/bhservices/


Bear in mind, however, that an Old Regular Baptist Church that countenances these recordings and posting them to the web, is likely to be more modernized than some other current Old Regular and United Baptist congregations, and their hymn singing most likely reflects that also.

The value of this site may rest more with the way it iluminates the 'folk process', as songs and ways of singing them change over time.


Joe, a clone, or WYSIWYG, if this link needs moved to an already existing thread that archives links of this sort, it is fine with me to move it and delete this thread.

Janie