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Singing School
A singing school is a school in which students are taught to sightread vocal music. Singing schools are a long-standing cultural institution in the Southern United States. While some singing schools are offered for credit, most are informal programs. Historically, singing schools have been strongly affiliated with Protestant Christianity. Some are held under the auspices of particular Protestant denominations that maintain a tradition of a cappella singing, such as the Church of Christ and the Primitive Baptists. Others are associated with Sacred Harp, Southern Gospel, and similar singing traditions, whose music is religious in character but sung outside the context of church services. Often the music taught in singing schools uses shape note or "buckwheat" notation, in which the notes are assigned particular shapes to indicate their pitch. There are two main varieties: the four-note, or ''fasola'', system used in Sacred Harp music, and the seven-note system developed by Jesse B. A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bluebells Of Scotland
The Bluebells of Scotland is the usual modern name for a Scottish folksong (Roud Folk Song Index, Roud # 13849). It was written by Dora Jordan, an English actress and writer. First published in 1801. Text As with most folk songs, it exists in multiple versions. In the version printed in 1803 in the ''Scots Musical Museum'', with "bluebells" in the title, and a different tune to the current one, the words are: :O where and O where does your highland laddie dwell; :O where and O where does your highland laddie dwell; : He dwells in merry Scotland where the bluebells sweetly smell, :And all in my heart I love my laddie well' A broadside ballad version (words only) from slightly later in the 19th century makes references to George III and the Napoleonic wars: : Oh, where, and oh, where is my highland laddie gone, : Oh, where, and oh, where is my highland laddie gone, : He's gone to fight the French, for King George upon the throne, : And it's oh in my heart I wish him safe at hom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Psalms Of David
The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived from the Greek translation, (), meaning "instrumental music" and, by extension, "the words accompanying the music". The book is an anthology of individual Hebrew religious hymns, with 150 in the Jewish and Western Christian tradition and more in the Eastern Christian churches. Many are linked to the name of David, but modern mainstream scholarship rejects his authorship, instead attributing the composition of the psalms to various authors writing between the 9th and 5th centuries BC. In the Quran, the Arabic word ‘Zabur’ is used for the Psalms of David in the Hebrew Bible. Structure Benedictions The Book of Psalms is divided into five sections, each closing with a doxology (i.e., a benediction). These divisions were probably intro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states that had seceded. The central cause of the war was the dispute over whether slavery would be permitted to expand into the western territories, leading to more slave states, or be prevented from doing so, which was widely believed would place slavery on a course of ultimate extinction. Decades of political controversy over slavery were brought to a head by the victory in the 1860 U.S. presidential election of Abraham Lincoln, who opposed slavery's expansion into the west. An initial seven southern slave states responded to Lincoln's victory by seceding from the United States and, in 1861, forming the Confederacy. The Confederacy seized U.S. forts and other federal assets within their borders. Led by Confederate President Jefferson Davis, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Solfège
In music, solfège (, ) or solfeggio (; ), also called sol-fa, solfa, solfeo, among many names, is a music education method used to teach aural skills, Pitch (music), pitch and sight-reading of Western classical music, Western music. Solfège is a form of solmization, though the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably. Syllables are assigned to the notes of the Scale (music), scale and enable the musician to Gordon music learning theory#Audiation, audiate, or mentally hear, the pitches of a piece of music being seen for the first time and then to sing them aloud. Through the Renaissance music, Renaissance (and much later in some shapenote publications) various interlocking 4, 5 and 6-note systems were employed to cover the octave. The tonic sol-fa method popularized the seven syllables commonly used in English-speaking countries: ''do'' (or ''doh'' in tonic sol-fa),''Oxford English Dictionary'' 2nd Ed. (1998) ''re'', ''mi'', ''fa'', ''so(l)'', ''la'', and ''ti'' (or ''si'') ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Music Notation
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect of all human societies, a cultural universal. While scholars agree that music is defined by a few specific elements, there is no consensus on their precise definitions. The creation of music is commonly divided into musical composition, musical improvisation, and musical performance, though the topic itself extends into academic disciplines, criticism, philosophy, and psychology. Music may be performed or improvised using a vast range of instruments, including the human voice. In some musical contexts, a performance or composition may be to some extent improvised. For instance, in Hindustani classical music, the performer plays spontaneously while following a partially defined structure and using characteristic motifs. In modal jazz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stoughton Musical Society
Organized in 1786 as The Stoughton Musical Society, it is America's oldest performing musical organization. For over two centuries it has had many distinguished accomplishments. In 1908, when incorporated under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the name was changed to Old Stoughton Musical Society and it has retained that designation. Early years From the inspiration of a singing school given in Stoughton in 1774 by Boston composer, William Billings, a group of male singers in town decided to form a singing society. There were 25 names and all of them listed in the membership journal with the date of organization being November 7, 1786. Their first President was Elijah Dunbar, 1740–1814, from Canton. He was also their conductor and a singer. The first music collection the musical society purchased was ''The Worcester Collection of Sacred Harmony'' compiled by Isaiah Thomas in 1786, which contained the first American printing of the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Billings
William Billings (October 7, 1746 – September 26, 1800) is regarded as the first American choral composer and leading member of the First New England School. Life William Billings was born in Boston, Massachusetts. At the age of 14, the death of his father stopped Billings' formal schooling. In order to help support his family, young Billings trained as a tanner. He possibly received musical instruction from John Barry, one of the choir members at the New South Church, but for the most part he was self-taught. Billings had an unusual appearance and a strong addiction to snuff. His contemporary wrote that Billings "was a singular man, of moderate size, short of one leg, with one eye, without any address & with an uncommon negligence of person. Still, he spake & sung & thought as a man above the common abilities." Billings' wife died on March 26, 1795, leaving him with six children under the age of 18. He died in poverty in Boston on September 26, 1800. His funeral was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas Walter (minister)
Thomas Walter may refer to: *Thomas Walter (botanist) (1740–1789), British-born American botanist *Thomas Ustick Walter (1804–1887), American architect *Tom Walter Tom Walter is an American college baseball coach. He has been the head coach of Wake Forest Demon Deacons baseball, Wake Forest since the start of the 2010 NCAA Division I baseball season, 2010 season. Before coming to Wake Forest, Walter held ..., American college baseball coach See also * * Tom Walters (other) {{hndis, Walter, Thomas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Tufts (music Educator)
Reverend John Tufts (26 February 1689 – 17 August 1750) was an early American music educator. Biography He was born in Medford, Massachusetts. He graduated from Harvard in 1708, and was minister at Newbury, Massachusetts, from 1714 until 1738, where he preached sermons that disparaged music illiteracy. Retired from the ministry in 1738, moved to Amesbury, Massachusetts, and set up as a shopkeeper there until his death. He wrote the first American textbook meant to solve the problem, ''An Introduction to the Singing of Psalm Tunes, with a Collection of Tunes in Three Parts'' (Boston, 1715). He also published a sermon, “Humble Call to Archippus” (1829). He died in Amesbury. Music book The appendix of ''An Introduction to the Singing of Psalm Tunes'' presented the rudiments of music, instructions for tuning the voice, musical notation, intervals, scales, clefs, and meter signatures. The book became the prototype for numerous other books written during the 18th century. The t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Religious Minister
In Christianity, a minister is a person authorised by a church or other religious organization to perform functions such as teaching of beliefs; leading services such as weddings, baptisms or funerals; or otherwise providing spiritual guidance to the community. The term is taken from Latin ''minister'' ("servant", "attendant"). In some church traditions the term is usually used for people who have ordained, but in other traditions it can also be used for non-ordained people who have a pastoral or liturgical ministry. In Catholic, Orthodox (Eastern and Oriental), Anglican and Lutheran churches, the concept of a priesthood is emphasized. In other denominations such as Baptist, Methodist and Calvinist churches ( Congregationalist and Presbyterian), the term "minister" usually refers to a member of the ordained clergy who leads a congregation or participates in a role in a parachurch ministry; such a person may serve as an elder (presbyter), pastor, preacher, bishop, or chaplain. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut [Massachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət],'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders on the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Maine to the east, Connecticut and Rhode Island to the south, New Hampshire and Vermont to the north, and New York (state), New York to the west. The state's capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city, as well as its cultural and financial center, is Boston. Massachusetts is also home to the urban area, urban core of Greater Boston, the largest metropolitan area in New England and a region profoundly influential upon American History of the United States, history, academia, and the Economy of the United States, research economy. Originally dependent on agriculture, fishing, and trade. Massachusetts was transformed into a manuf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
