The ''Kentucky Harmony'' is a

shape note Shape notes are a musical notation designed to facilitate congregational and social singing. The notation, introduced in late 18th century England, became a popular teaching device in American singing schools. Shapes were added to the noteh ...

tunebook, published in 1816 by

Ananias Davisson Ananias Davisson (February 2, 1780 – October 21, 1857) was a singing school teacher, printer and compiler of shape note tunebooks. He is best known for his 1816 compilation '' Kentucky Harmony'', which is the first Southern shape-note tunebook ...

. It is the first Southern shape-note tunebook. The first edition of the ''Kentucky Harmony'' was 140 pages and contained 143 tunes. Davisson released four more editions: 1817 (which expanded the book to 160 pages), 1819, 1821 and 1826. The 1817 edition used fewer northern tunes but included more Southern folk melodies; the three subsequent editions made only slight changes to the 1817 edition. The ''Kentucky Harmony'' was influenced by the work of

John Wyeth John Wyeth (1770–1858) was a printer in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania who is best-known for printing ''Wyeth's Repository of Sacred Music, Part Second'' (Harrisburg, PA: 1813), which marks an important transition in American music. Like the original ...

and his two "Repositories of Sacred Music", with 98 of the tunes in ''Kentucky Harmony'' also being found in Wyeth's books. But Davisson rarely printed any piece of music exactly as it appeared in the books of others. Unlike some books printed prior to and after it, the ''Kentucky Harmony'' consistently contained four part settings for its tunes. Fifty-seven of the 143 tunes of the first edition are

fuguing tune The fuguing tune (often fuging tune) is a variety of Anglo-American vernacular choral music. It first flourished in the mid-18th century and continues to be composed today. Description Fuguing tunes are sacred music, specifically, Protestant hymn ...

s, and the first Southern fuguing tunes appear, such as Reubin Monday's "New Topia," in which there is call-and-response between dueting voices (alto & bass for 4 measures, followed by treble & tenor for 4 measures), rather than individual voices coming in soon after one another. Roughly 60% of the tunes are minor. The influence of the ''Kentucky Harmony'' can be seen in later tunebooks, even as late as Walker's ''

Southern Harmony The ''Southern Harmony, and Musical Companion'' is a shape note hymn and tune book compiled by William Walker, first published in 1835. The book is notable for having originated or popularized several hymn tunes found in modern hymnals and s ...

'' and B. F. White's ''

Sacred Harp Sacred Harp singing is a tradition of sacred choral music that originated in New England and was later perpetuated and carried on in the American South. The name is derived from ''The Sacred Harp'', a ubiquitous and historically important tune ...

''.

Irving Lowens Irving Lowens (19 August 1916 – 14 November 1983) was an American musicologist, critic, and librarian in the Washington, D.C. area. He served as the chief music critic at the ''Washington Star'' newspaper, the Assistant Head of the music divi ...

considered the ''Kentucky Harmony'' "one of the most important and influential collections of American folk hymnody ever compiled..." Despite the name ''Kentucky Harmony'', Davisson lived most of his life in the

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge- ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

References

*''Kentucky Harmony''. Facsimile Edition; Introduction by Irving Lowens; Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1976. Photographic reproduction of a copy of the first edition owned by the Clements Library, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

External links

Digitized images of ''A Supplement, to the Kentucky Harmony''
housed in the University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections Research Center
Digitized images of ''Kentucky harmony, or, A choice collection of Psalm tunes, hymns and anthems; in three parts taken from the most eminent authors, and well adapted to Christian churches, singing schools or private societies''
housed in the University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections Research Center Shape note Hymnals 1816 in music 1816 books {{Music-publication-stub