In Memoriam Susan Garber

Subject: In Memoriam Susan Garber
From: Charlie Baum
Date: 24 Sep 00 - 10:57 PM

Susan Garber passed away on Thursday evening, September 21, 2000 of a sudden massive heart attack. She was only 40 years old.

Susan was deeply involved with folk music ever since I knew her. I think her interest only intensified when she studied world music/ethnomusicology at Wesleyan University with Neely Bruce. I first met her because of an interest in singing Sacred Harp and other shape note music. Soon, she took over many of the duties of organizing the Connecticut Sacred Harp scene from Neely. Susan created and managed Connecticut Valley Harmony, a performance group, to sing shape note hymns at festivals and concerts and generally proselytize for the genre.

Her great love was singing the vocal musics of America, especially anything that lent itself to a cappella or unaccompanied singing. I particularly remember a symposium she ran in the music hall at Wesleyan, examining vocal harmony systems from around the world. I sang with some friends to demonstrate Russian and Georgian harmonies, Neely Bruce and Connecticut Valley Harmony provided examples of "dispersed harmony" and fugueing tunes, and Sandy and Caroline Paton were on hand to show different kinds of sing-along American folk harmonies.

She rose to positions of leadership in the folk community of Connecticut. For several years she ran the Sounding Board in West Hartford, Conn., as well as staging the Connecticut Family Folk Festival in Elizabeth Park in Hartford. She had help--Susan's mother Dorothy (Dot) was always by her side, doing much of the work and humbly accepting credit only when it was forced upon her. In fact, Dot was there at every occasion with Susan, setting up the food in the back room and listening quietly to the proceedings from some chair hidden off at the edges where she thought nobody would notice her, proud of her daughter's accomplishments and ever ready to make sure things went perfectly.

Susan was often struggling with health problems, some of them leftover discomforts from a serious car crash she had suffered while in her teens. But she always triumphed over her debilitations and spent her life trying to promote folk music and to help others, while always looking after her mother. Dot has been battling cancer for the past couple of years. She and Susan were so mutually supportive and inseparable that I had a hard time imagining Susan being able to put her life together when her mother was no longer around. I never could have dreamed that her mother would outlive her.

My prayers go to Dorothy Garber, and also with an attempt to force her to take credit for raising a wonderful daughter, whose life, unfortunately, was far too short in this world.

--Charlie Baum

Subject: RE: In Memoriam Susan Garber
From: bbelle
Date: 24 Sep 00 - 11:06 PM

Charlie ... a lovely way to say goodbye to a friend.

Subject: RE: In Memoriam Susan Garber
From: katlaughing
Date: 24 Sep 00 - 11:09 PM

Once again I find myself regretting not knowing of all these wonderful people and events when we lived in Mystic.

Susan sounds like an incredible person, Charlie, as does her mother. What a tragedy for Dot and the folk world. Thank you for letting us know. How sad that she is gone, but it sounds as though she left quite a legacy.

Sending prayers of solace to Dot and the community, as well as ease of passing and letting go for Susan.

kat

Subject: RE: In Memoriam Susan Garber
From: catspaw49
Date: 24 Sep 00 - 11:24 PM

A fine tribute you have written. My best thoughts to all of her friends and family and a few extra thoughts for her mother.

Spaw

Subject: RE: In Memoriam Susan Garber
From: Marymac90
Date: 25 Sep 00 - 01:09 AM

Dear Charlie,

Once again we meet on this crossroads where Mudcat meets Sacred Harp.

For once, I am seriously considering going to the New England convention, and now I will not be able to meet this woman who was so important in bringing Sacred Harp back to the Northeast, (where it started during the colonial era), 25 years ago. I KNOW how much work Susan and Dot must have done for all those New England conventions in Hartford, because I have been on the planning committee, and been the person in charge of the food, for each of our two Keystone Conventions.

Perhaps if I do make it to the convention, I'll see you there, Charlie. I know she'll be remembered, and many songs will be sung for her.

Now the time has come to grieve for those we love.....

Could there be a way to meet another day?...

Sing with all your might into the dark of night
Hope springs anew with each living breath.

Crossing the river now, crossing the river now,
Vict'ry shines through our words above!
Loudly our voices rise mounting up to the skies,
Across the flood to the ones we love.

...selected lines from Mount Hope, a shaped note hymn written by Daniel Hertzler in 1998.

Mary McCaffrey

Subject: RE: In Memoriam Susan Garber
From: hesperis
Date: 25 Sep 00 - 01:22 AM

What is "shape note" music?

Subject: RE: In Memoriam Susan Garber
From: Lonesome EJ
Date: 25 Sep 00 - 01:50 AM

Ah Charlie,my sympathies go to you.The world needs folks like Susan.

Hesp...Shape Note is also known as Sacred Harp,or Fa So La.It is a very old form of gospel-style singing,done by a group of people seated in a hollow square,and reading the notes from hymnals that display the individual notes (do re mi fa sol la ti do) as triangles,squares,circles,etc,hence "shape note".

Subject: RE: In Memoriam Susan Garber
From: CamiSu
Date: 25 Sep 00 - 08:19 AM

My prayers go with all of you. She sounds like a wonderful friend and daughter.

Subject: RE: In Memoriam Susan Garber
From: Charlie Baum
Date: 25 Sep 00 - 09:19 AM

Heperis--for an introduction to shape notes, (or for that matter, for the complete graduate seminar), go to www.fasola.org.

--Charlie Baum

duplicate postings deleted
- elf/joeclone -

Subject: RE: In Memoriam Susan Garber
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 25 Sep 00 - 10:24 AM

Very sad to lose another. Thanks for the notice Charlie.

Rick

Subject: RE: In Memoriam Susan Garber
From: Burke
Date: 25 Sep 00 - 06:38 PM

I was going to ask what tune we should lead for Susan. Then I went back to the message he sent to the Fasola list & see he requested All is Well as one of Susan's favorites. Here it is. It's also in the online Southern Harmony.

All Is Well 122

Tune: J. T. White, 1844
Lyrics: Revival Melodies, 1842
Meter: Particular Meter: 8,3,8,3,8,8,8,3

What's this that steals upon my frame?
Is it death, is it death?
That soon will quench this mortal flame,
Is it death, is it death?
If this be death, I soon shall be
From ev'ry pain and sorrow free.
I shall the King of glory see,
All is well, all is well.

Weep not, my friends, weep not for me,
All is well, all is well!
My sins forgiv'n and I am free,
All is well, all is well!
There's not a cloud that doth arise,
To hide my Jesus from my eyes.
I soon shall mount the upper skies,
All is well, all is well.

Tune, tune your harps ye saints on high,
All is well, all is well!
I too will strike my harp with equal joy,
All is well, all is well!
Bright angels are from glory come,
They're 'round my bed, they're in my room,
They wait to waft my spirit home,
All is well, all is well.

Hark! Hark! my Lord and Master's voice,
Calls away, calls away!
I soon shall see -- enjoy my happy choice,
Why delay, why delay?
Farewell my friends, adieu, adieu,
I can no longer stay with you,
My glittering crown appears in view,
All is well, all is well!