TheSouthern Harmony, and Musical Companion is ashape note hymn and tune book compiled byWilliam Walker, first published in 1835. The book is notable for having originated or popularized several hymn tunes found in modernhymnals and shape note collections likeThe Sacred Harp.
The roots ofSouthern Harmony singing, like theSacred Harp, are found in the American colonial era, whensinging schools convened to provide instruction in choral singing, especially for use inchurch services. This practice remained popular withBaptists in theSouth long after it fell from use in other regions.
In 1801, a book calledThe Easy Instructor[a] by William Smith and William Little was published for the use of this movement; its distinguishing feature wasthe use of four separate shapes that indicated the notes according to the rules ofsolfege. A triangle indicatedfa, a circlesol, a squarela and a diamond,mi. To avoid proliferating shapes excessively, each shape (and its associated syllable) except formi was assigned to two notes of the musical scale. A major scale in the system would be notedFa – Sol – La – Fa – Sol – La – Mi – Fa, and a minor scale would beLa – Mi – Fa – Sol – La – Fa – Sol – La.
The Southern Harmony, and Musical Companion was compiled by William "Singin' Billy" Walker and printed in 1835, with subsequent editions printed inPhiladelphia. It contained 335 songs, went through several editions, and became one of the most popular southern tunebooks in the 19th century. In 1867 Walker claimed over 600,000 copies had been sold. Walker added an appendix of additional tunes in 1840 with a further enlargement in 1847. An 1854 revision deleted several tunes and added still more. The present edition is a facsimile reprint of the 1854 edition.
In 1866, Walker published a tunebook entitledThe Christian Harmony, in which he changed from four shape to seven shape notation. He incorporated over half of the contents ofThe Southern Harmony in theChristian Harmony. Walker died on September 30, 1887.
TheSouthern Harmony has remained unchanged since 1854, unlike its counterpart theSacred Harp, which went through several revisions in the 20th century. About 75% of the songs are presented in three-part harmony.
Besides Walker, notable contributors toSouthern Harmony includedMatilda T. Durham andJohn Gill Landrum.[1]
The American composerWilliam Duckworth used some of the songs in the Southern Harmony as a starting point for his own minimalist choral arrangements of thesame name.
ComposerDonald Grantham also composed a four-movement piece forwind ensemble based on the anthology, entitledSouthern Harmony.
The Black Crowes named their second albumThe Southern Harmony and Musical Companion after this song anthology.
See also the bibliographic entries underShape note.