| 1 | 1 | | 25 LC 129 0126 |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | House Resolution 221 |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | By: Representative Huddleston of the 72 |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | nd |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | A RESOLUTION |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | Recognizing and commending the Sacred Harp Publishing Company, The Sacred Harp |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | 1 |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | tunebook, and Sacred Harp singers; and for other purposes.2 |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | WHEREAS, Sacred Harp singing, a moving tradition of capella shape-note harmony singing,3 |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | has been practiced in Georgia for more than 175 years; and4 |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | WHEREAS, the first edition of The Sacred Harp, the tunebook at the tradition's core, was5 |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | edited by B. F. White, of Hamilton, Georgia, and E. J. King, of Talbotton, Georgia, before6 |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | its publication in 1844 and has been in continuous use in the state ever since; and7 |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | WHEREAS, annual Sacred Harp singing conventions, many dating to the nineteenth century,8 |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | are still held each year in many corners of the state, forming the wellspring of a tradition that9 |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | has since spread across the country and abroad; and10 |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | WHEREAS, composers, songbook editors, and singing school teachers from Georgia such11 |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | as J. P. and H. S. Rees, Sarah Lancaster, A. M. Cagle, Hugh W. McGraw, and Raymond C.12 |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | Hamrick have composed beloved sacred songs over generations, perpetuating an13 |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | uninterrupted tradition of music composition in the tunebook's distinctive "dispersed14 |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | harmony" style; and15 |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | H. R. 221 |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | - 1 - 25 LC 129 0126 |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | WHEREAS, the Sacred Harp Publishing Company, a non-profit organization established in |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | 16 |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | 1933 and headquartered in Carrollton, Georgia, has supported this tradition through keeping17 |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | the songbook in print and collecting and preserving the tradition's cultural heritage; and18 |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | WHEREAS, The Sacred Harp: 2025 Edition, the first new revision of the tunebook since19 |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | 1991, will be published in September 2025, sustaining and strengthening the Sacred Harp20 |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | singing tradition by introducing new songs by living composers alongside much-loved21 |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | classics; and22 |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | WHEREAS, the new edition of this venerable songbook will be introduced to the singing23 |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | public at the 120th annual session of the United Sacred Harp Musical Association, an annual24 |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | Sacred Harp singing convention founded in Atlanta in 1905 at the Historic DeKalb25 |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | Courthouse in Decatur, the same site of the Sacred Harp performances more than a century26 |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | ago.27 |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that28 |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | the members of this body commend the Sacred Harp Publishing Company, the committee29 |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | tasked with revising The Sacred Harp, and the global community of Sacred Harp singers for30 |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | their participation in and furtherance of this extraordinary tradition representing Georgia's31 |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | and America's cultural heritage and for ushering it into its next storied chapter. 32 |
|---|
| 43 | 43 | | BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized33 |
|---|
| 44 | 44 | | and directed to make appropriate copies of this resolution available for distribution to the34 |
|---|
| 45 | 45 | | public and the press.35 |
|---|
| 46 | 46 | | H. R. 221 |
|---|
| 47 | 47 | | - 2 - |
|---|