Sweet Seraphic Fire
Liner Notes   Cat. No. 80640     Release Date: 2005-01-01

New England Singing-School Music

Norumbega Harmony, Stephen Marini, Singing Master

Sweet Seraphic Fire brings together two unique bodies of American sacred song: choral compositions from the New England singing-school tradition and the most popular Evangelical Protestant hymn texts in historic American use. In the late eighteenth century the New England singing-school movement produced America's first great sacred-music style, employing several genres of unaccompanied four-part choral compositions with the melody in the lead (tenor) part. The enormous popularity of singing-school music also promoted a canon of hymn texts shared across America's competing Evangelical Protestant denominations.

This recording contains neglected masterworks from the New England singing school that also helped to create the American hymn canon. Marking a more recent turn in this process, we have also included some new settings of traditional Evangelical lyrics written by leaders in the revival of singing-school music that has blossomed in the Northeast since 1976. Selection of pieces (35) for this recording was determined by correlating The Norumbega Harmony — our collection of one hundred six historic New England singing-school compositions and thirty contemporary works in traditional style —with a list of the three hundred most frequently printed hymn texts in America from 1737 to 1960.         —Stephen Marini

Norumbega Harmony

Sweet Seraphic Fire

MP3/320 $9.99
WAV $9.99
CD $15.99

Track Listing

New Canaan
Oliver Holden
Buy
Maryland
William Billings
Buy
Bethlehem
William Billings
Buy
Lynn
Oliver Holden
Buy
Funeral Hymn
Oliver Holden
Buy
An Anthem For Easter
William Billings
Buy
Walpole
Abraham Wood
Buy
Beauty
Jacob French
Buy
Happiness
Jacob French
Buy
Woburn
Jacob Kimball
Buy
Montague
Timothy Swan
Buy
Newport
Daniel Read
Buy
Hatfield
Thomas Baird
Buy
Attention
Asahel Behnam
Buy
Crucifixion
M. Kyes
Buy
Mechias
James Lyon
Buy
St. Paul's
Supply Belcher
Buy
Transition
Supply Belcher
Buy
Jubilant
Supply Belcher
Buy
The Lilly
Supply Belcher
Buy
Buckfield
Abraham Maxim
Buy
Pennsylvania
Nehemiah Shumway
Buy
Sounding Joy
J.P. Storm
Buy
Redemption
Jeremiah Ingalls
Buy
Consolation
Lucius Chapin
Buy
Liberty-Hall
Lucius Chapin
Buy
The Babe Of Bethlehem
Anonymous
Buy
Convoy
M.L. Swan
Buy
Hallelujah New
Roland Hutchinson
Buy
Nativity
Bruce A. Randall
Buy
Cortona
M.R. Truelsen
Buy
Great Divide
Stephen Marini
Buy
Arinello
Dennis O'Brien
Buy
Ev'ry String Awake
Glen Wright
Buy
Ten Thousand Charms
Hal Kunkel
Buy