Anthony A. Treadway, reviews Strong Songs on Amazon:
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I was surprised by the strong element of mysticism running through the book. I began with a robust ignorance but was gradually initiated into the deeper experiences the singers undergo. These in turn seem to originate from the central fact of Sacred Harp: that all its members sing at the top of their lungs for up to three hours or more in one session! The resultant states of mind Metzger describes are transcendent. Rising above ego, there is a sense of merging with the other singers. It is apparently quite common to have the distinct awareness of singing out of someone else’s mouth, and vice versa.
I’m a performing musician myself, and when the band enters “the zone,” I rise to a state of joy, of freedom from ego, from the physical world. This is what keeps me playing, and I suspect it may be what keeps Metzger and his wife Eileen returning again and again to Sacred Harp gatherings across the eastern US.
Singing for the Dead: What went straight to my heart were the descriptions of performing Sacred Harp at funerals, or simply singing at the bedside of friends preparing to die. These narratives resonate with authenticity, with deep feeling. I like to think that the long-term effect of singing, or playing music, is to open us up to these depths of joy and woe.