Southern Harmony

Donald Grantham

Donald Grantham

General Info

Year: 1998
Duration: c. 10:30
Difficulty: VI (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Piquant Press
Cost: Score and Parts (Rental) - $300.00    |   Score (Purchase) - $55.00

Instrumentation

Full Score
Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
English Horn
Bassoon I-II
Contrabassoon
Eb Soprano Clarinet
Bb Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
Bb Bass Clarinet
Bb Contrabass Clarinet
Soprano Saxophone
Alto Saxophone
Tenor Saxophone
Baritone Saxophone
Trumpet (in Bb) I-II-III-IV
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III-IV
Euphonium (2 players)
Tuba (2 players)
String Bass
Piano (doubles Celesta)
Timpani
Percussion I–II-III-IV, including:

• Bass Drum
• Cymbal (crash and suspended)
• Glockenspiel
• Gong (Tam-tam)
• Snare Drum (2)
• Tambourine
• Triangle
• Tubular Bells
• Vibraphone
• Wind Chimes (metal)
• Xylophone

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

In 1835, William "Singin' Billy" Walker's songbook Southern Harmony was first published. This remarkable collection contains, according to its title page, "a choice collection of tunes, hymns, psalms, odes and anthems; selected from the most eminent authors in the United States." In fact, few of the numbers in the book are identified as the work of a particular composer. Many are folksongs (provided with religious texts), others are traditional sacred tunes, while some are revival songs that were widely known and sung throughout the south. The book was immensely popular, selling an amazing 600,000 copies before the Civil War, and was commonly stocked "along with groceries and tobacco" in general stores across the American frontier. From 1884 until World War II, an annual all-day mass performance of selections from Southern Harmony, called the "Benton Big Singing", was held on the Benton, Kentucky court-house lawn. The event drew participants from Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri and Illinois.

The music of Southern Harmony has a somewhat exotic sound to modern audiences. The tunes often use modal or pentatonic rather than major or minor scales. The harmony is even more out of the ordinary, employing chord positions, voice leading and progressions that are far removed from the European music that dominated concert halls at the time. These harmonizations were dismissed as crude and primitive when they first appeared. Now they are regarded as inventive, unique, and powerfully representative of the American character.

In his use of several tunes from Southern Harmony, the composer has attempted to preserve the flavor of the original vocal works in a setting that fully realizes the potential of the wind ensemble and the individual character of each song.

Southern Harmony was commissioned by the Southeastern Conference of Band Directors.

Program Note by Donald Grantham

Commercial Discography

• Audio CD: North Texas Wind Symphony (Eugene Corporon, conductor)
• Audio CD: University of Georgia Wind Symphony (John N. Culvahouse and H. Dwight Satterwhite , conductors)

State Ratings

• New York: VI

Recent Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

Works for Winds by this Composer

• Baron Cimetiere's Mambo (2004)
• Baron Piquant on Pointe (2011)
• Baron La Croix's Shuffle (2010)
• Baron Samedi's Sarabande and Soft-Shoe (2005)
• Bum's Rush (1994)
• Cloudless Day, Bitter Sky (2002)
• Come, Memory (2002)
• Concerto in One Movement for Bass Trombone (1979)
• Court Music (2005)
• Don't You See? (2001)
• Fantasy on "La Golondrina" (2003)
• Fantasy on Mr. Hyde's Song (1998)
• Farewell to the Gray (2001)
• Fayetteville Bop (2002)
• From an Alabama Songbook (2007)
• JS Dances (2003)
• J'ai été au bal ("I went to the dance") (1999)
• Kentucky Harmony (2000)
• Music for the Blanton (2006)
• Northern Celebration (2001)
• Phantasticke Spirits (2002)
• Southern Harmony (1998)
• Spangled Heavens (2010)
• Starry Crown (2007)
• Symphony for Winds and Percussion (2009)
• Trumpet Gloria (2006)
• Tuba Concerto (Grantham) (2012)
• Variations on an American Cavalry Song (2001)

Additional Resources

• Donald Grantham - Official Website (Piquant Press)
• Davis, Paul Gordon (2007). The historical and musical correlation of "The southern harmony and musical companion" with Donald Grantham's "Southern harmony". University of Texas at Austin, Doctoral Dissertation.
• McCutchen, Mathew G. (2009) An Examination of the History and Winning Pieces of the National Band Association's Composition Contest: 1977-2008. Florida State University, Doctoral Dissertation.
• Southern Harmony and Musical Companion Web-site.