Planning Ahead

You can thank Jane and Judy for the subject of this post. Jane started it by saying that she wanted The Church’s One Foundation and I Know That My Redeemer Liveth played at her funeral. Judy commented that her father, too, had loved The Church’s One Foundation. 

We often teased Dad, when he was living, that we’d play this hymn at his funeral. He’d just smile. We did so on June 18, 1992. He was a man who focused on the big picture of what God is doing in the world.

At my husband’s memorial service, we sang I Know Whom I Have Believed because he really loved that hymn. He sang it all the time around the house, managing to consistantly mangle the words, which was what he did with the words to almost every song he ever sang. We also sang The Old Rugged Cross because it was a song sung at his mother’s funeral and a song that is familiar to people from a variety of backgrounds. And truly, he had been clinging to the cross.

So what about you? Have you given any thought to what hymns you’d want included in your funeral or memorial service? What reasons do you have for choosing those hymns? What about funerals for your loved ones? What songs have been played or sung?

And what about scripture? What scripture passages would you like to have read? What scripture passages have been read at the funerals of those close to you? 

Can I let you in on a secret? Just composing this post and thinking about this subject made me more joyful than when I started. The center of our hope can be seen in our funeral service choices, don’t you think?

Update on Saturday, September 15, 2007 at 12:59PM by rebecca

Carla gave her answers on her own blog.

Sacred Harp Singing

My mother used to talk about it. Some of her older relatives did this shaped note singing, and when we lived in Tennessee, she said, some of the hymnals in the country churches were shaped-note hymnals. What is shaped note singing?

The Sacred Harp tradition developed out of the singing school movement which began in New England in the late 1700’s, then spread to the rural South and finally to Texas. The early singing schools employed the English solemnization technique, which uses syllables “fa, sol, la, mi” to denote the tones of a musical scale.

Each note (fa, sol, la, mi.) is denoted by a different shape, and that way people with no musical training, who couldn’t read notes or recognize sharps or flats, could sing in four part harmony, a cappella. It has an unusual, but quite lovely sound.

Sacred harp singing is done traditionally in this way:

Singers would learn a tune by first “singing the notes” then repeating the song with the lyrics. This custom remains a distinct aspect of Sacred Harp singing, which takes its name from one of the most popular shape-note songbooks… .

The singers sit in a hollow square with space in the middle for the leader. Tenors face altos, and basses face the trebles. The goal is to build a sound and spirit for the singers to enjoy.

Here is an example of a score for sacred harp singing:

The treble, which is the top line (and is not the melody), and the lead, which is the third line (and is the melody), are sung by both men and women, but with women singing an octave above the men. True tenors and true sopranos would normally sing treble. The lead, because it is the melody and easiest to learn, is often sung by the more inexperienced singers. The second line, which is alto, is sung only by women; and the fourth line, which is bass, is sung only by men. That both men and women sing two of the four parts makes for a very full sound.

Now, I bet you’re curious to hear what this all sounds like, right? Here’s an example of sacred harp singing. You’ll hear them sing with the names of the notes first, and then move on to singing the words of the verses of the song. You’ll find more info on the site from which these quotes, the images, and the mp3 file come.

O Sacred Head, Now Wounded

O sacred Head, now wounded,

With grief and shame weighed down;
Now scornfully surrounded
With thorns, thine only crown;
O sacred Head, what glory,
What bliss till now was thine!
Yet, though despised and gory,
I joy to call thee mine.

What thou, my Lord, hast suffered
Was all for sinners’ gain:
Mine, mine was the transgression,
But thine the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Saviour!
‘Tis I deserve thy place;
Look on me with thy favor,
Vouchsafe to me thy grace.

What language shall I borrow
To thank thee, dearest Friend,
For this thy dying sorrow,
Thy pity without end?
O make me thine for ever;
And should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never
Outlive my love to thee.

Be near when I am dying,
O show thy cross to me;
And for my succor flying,
Come, Lord, to set me free:
These eyes, new faith receiving,
From Jesus shall not move;
For he who dies believing,
Dies safely, through thy love.

—Bernard of Clairvaux (Listen.)

 
You’ll find more Good Friday reading and listening in A Few Good Reads at the top of the sidebar.