Is The Sacred Harp the only book used?
At a Sacred Harp singing, the songs are usually limited to those found in one of two editions of The Sacred Harp. The B.F. White Sacred Harp (Cooper Revision) predominates in Florida, Texas, and south Alabama. The Sacred Harp (1991 Edition) is generally used elsewhere in the South, and by most Sacred Harp singers outside the South. The Sacred Harp was only one of many similar tunebooks published by southern compilers. There are similar traditions, though less widespread, involving the following books, with their initial dates of publication: • Southern Harmony (1835): western Kentucky • Harmonia Sacra (1832/1851): Shenandoah Valley of Virginia • The New Harp of Columbia (1848/1867): east Tennessee • Christian Harmony (1867): western North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi • Colored Sacred Harp (1934): south Alabama Usually, at a traditional singing, only a single book is used, even if many of the singers may use another book at another singing. At non-traditional singings, other
