Music...The Common Denominator

Last Sunday afternoon, we went to a gospel music program at our local museum. The program was presented as part of a traveling farm-life exhibit that will be on display for several weeks.

Three groups performed. The first - members of a shape note music school - presented a program describing the history of shape notes. According to Wikipedia, "shape notes are a music notation designed to facilitate congregational singing. Shape notes of various kinds have been used for over two centuries in a variety of sacred music traditions practiced primarily in the southern region of the United States." The notes, in various shapes (squares, triangles, etc.) represent the musical scale "do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti-do." For an illustration of shape notes, go to http://www.shapenote.net/. Information may also be obtained at http://www.fasola.org/. This was my first experience with shape notes, and I found it to be fascinating.

Following the shape notes program, a group of 24 folks from three Mennonite churches performed several low-key, soothing spirituals, in keeping with their quiet lifestyle of simplicity. Their music provided a perfect contrast to the exuberant music performed by several women members of a local African-American Baptist Church choir.


A spokesman for the Mennonite group noted that their ancestors migrated to our state from Pennsylvania in the 1800's. He mentioned that the Dutch (a West Germanic) language has essentially disappeared from their tradition, but some parents still teach their children the language in order to keep it alive. And even though they do not speak German, the group did perform a couple of spirituals in the language. For more information on Mennonite history, go to http://www.religioustolerance.org/.


The spokeswoman for the African-American group pointed out that when their ancestors were slaves, they used uplifting spirituals to help them endure their life. During the Civil War, the songs contained hidden messages directing fugitive slaves along the underground railroad to freedom. See http://www.negrospirituals.com/ for a history of the evolution of African-American spirituals.