Old Songs, New Voices

For 10 summers, my husband and I worked as volunteers at Great Smoky Mountains National Park where, once a month, I had the opportunity to sing with the East Tennessee Shape Note Singers. These dedicated amateur musicians gathered in the old churches, preserved by the park service, to sing traditional hymns from an 1840s replica hymnal, following notation in which the various pitches are designated by shapes on the staff. Sitting in those dark churches, singing ancient hymns with fellow Christians, I thought of the many forms of music sung throughout the centuries to convey words of faith.From chants to polyphony, chorales to contemporary arrangements, music has carried the words of God's grace from generation to generation. As our voices crack with age, let's continue to sing our favorite songs of praise, and let us learn new songs, too, to sing with a new generation.