“Modern day witches talk about "raising power," Catholics feel true reverence in the power of the consecrated host. Muslim pilgrims experience transforming power as they near the Kaaba. Snake handling Christians feel a holy anointing which protects them from deadly venom. All of these are spiritual cousins of Sacred Harp.” ―Th. Metzger, Strong Songs of the Dead: The Pagan Rites of Sacred Harp
I have known Thom Metzger for over 20 years as a Sacred Harp singer in Rochester, and as a writer of YA novels based in Western NY. He has sometimes mentioned his other interests, and he is truly an eclectic man. He said he was a hard rock-and-roller until he met Sacred Harp, then he sold his electric guitar and amp and never looked back.
When I got an email from the publisher of this book announcing its debut, I leapt upon it. When it arrived in the mail I read it quickly, and was fascinated by Thom’s insights into all aspects of Sacred Harp [shape-note] singing and the singers who sing it. It is a random account of his various forays into both the Southern and the Northern singing styles, describing in detail the places and people in a mostly positive-but-honest way. He paints vivid pictures that show the contrasts and cultural differences between our regions, but never looks down on anyone. I have participated in some of the Northern singings he describes, but never traveled to the South to sing. After reading Thom’s accounts, I wish I had. A man named Kester, who hosted Thom and his wife Eileen on many of their visits to Sand Mountain, AL, was a particularly interesting fella, as were the “Snake Handlers” he witnessed, a teen-created spook house, and plenty of other people and places.
As the 25 participants in our Sacred Harp workshop at the last Turtle Hill learned, you really have to participate to find out what it is like, then it blows the top of your head off. Thom says, “Many people, on first hearing it, say shape note music sounds ancient and primitive, something resurrected from the tombs of the ancestors. This is due partly to the style of the singing: unbridled and buzzing with discords…More than one person has said it sounds like a huge human bagpipe….One of the reasons I love Sacred Harp is its strange relationship to time itself. While singing, the hours fly past. And years too: a blur of then and now and some day.”
Most of the songs in the shape note books have religious themes, many would be considered “fire and brimstone” style. So what is pagan about it? Thom Metzger uses short, individualistic chapters to get the reader to feel the connection to ancient beliefs and practices, to our ancestors and their manners and music. From the back cover: “Free and democratic, this is music for…those compelled by love, rather than a desire for money or accolades. Underneath the thin veneer of piety, singers—both old and new—feel a powerful, insistent heartbeat. [This book] is the tale of a journey, not a mere travelog, but venturing back into ancestral time.” As folks interested in folk music, you can go with Thom and feel some of the strangeness, the pull and love, the companionship inherent in these ancient communal rites. [Th. Metzger is present on the Internet, and the book is sold on Amazon and in local bookstores.]
―Sue Hengelsberg, for Golden Link Folk Singing Newsletter