In the early decades of the Republic, small towns forged their musical identities through hymn books—collections of homegrown counterpoint that served as the communal heartbeat of a nascent society. When these songs emerged, they were born of necessity: among many functions, they were a means to process collective grief, articulate moral responsibilities, and meditate on their place in “the wheels of time.”  Some of the composers in this tradition get a sentence (or footnote) in the story of American music, William Billings and Daniel Read for example, but there are probably a hundred or so people who wrote music in this time, with thousands of songs published in the early Republic.

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Driven by fervent, full-throated music-making, these hymns are “suggestive of the strife, the commotion, the battle cries of a transitional period of society, struggling onward toward dimly seen ideals” (Harriett Beecher Stowe). 

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Ruckus has been exploring early American hymnody and its connection to the 'shape-note' folk tradition for many years. This all started with our relationship with singer John Taylor Ward, a singer who is deeply connected to shape note traditions and a leading baroque specialist.  We've found for ourselves in this repertoire,  a deeply familiar sound, a little known but crucial part of American music history, and a cornerstone of American early music.  From sing-alongs to rowdy dance-band arrangements, we've taken this repertoire all over the country.  We've gotten to know shape note singers from all over as well, learning from them how this early American music can speak so directly and vividly today.  

One of the first singers we learned we had to meet was Tim Eriksen.  Tim's a one of a kind singer, with a voice that can stop you in your tracks -- and he's been keeping the shape note singing tradition really and truly alive throughout his career.  His research into the way people used this music in the past and the way it is made now has been a guiding light for us.

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Performer and scholar Loren Ludwig introduced us to the instruments that are special and unique to this repertoire's history.  Loren is at the forefront of early American instrument research, and is actively restoring a set of American viols from the 19th century.  These string instruments come in various sizes (tenor, alto, bass etc) and have been basically been forgotten about for the better part of the last 200 years, but were used throughout New England in churches and other contexts.  They represent part of this forgotten corner of American early music.  Loren's also brought us some fascinating works written for instruments that give these special combinations of sounds a chance to really shine, both sonically and creatively.

With the support of the Howard D. and Sarah B. Solomon Foundation, we've commissioned a new work from composer Celeste Oram. Celeste is a brilliant and deeply collaborative musician who has written in creative ways connecting all sorts of musicians from various traditions together.  With an obsessive interest in the human voice, I knew she would approach connecting shape note and early music practices in a thoughtful and unexpected manner, with beautiful and uncanny results.  Working with texts from contemporary authors, her piece "Christopher Street" finds inspiration in the political potency of these hymns at times of political crisis: how these songs sparks various imaginaries of Americas pasts and futures, and the spiritual thirst to bring Heaven down to Earth.

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             --Clay Zeller-Townson

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