DULUTH — Once a month, typically on a Sunday afternoon, the Friends Meeting House is filled with voices singing together.
It's not a performance because everyone present is involved in the singing. There isn't a single choirmaster directing the group. Rather, each song is led by an individual who joins in the singing as well after they lead. And there isn't any instrumental accompaniment, because shape note singing is traditionally a cappella.
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Welcome to the Duluth Shape Note Singing Group. Shape note singing is a four-part singing style that dates back to the 1700-1800s in the United States.
"People would gather all day and go to singings and everyone would join in," said John Bankson, a longtime member of the Duluth group. "Rock and roll hadn't been invented yet, so there weren't large arenas of concerts. This is what people would do to take part and enjoy the company and the music."
While shape note singing fell out of style in the U.S. with the rise of popular music and the invention of records and other ways of capturing and sharing music, it still lived on in some churches and other groups, especially in the South and East Coast, according to Bankson.
"Back in 2003, when the movie 'Cold Mountain' came out, there was shape note singing in it and I think that brought about a spike of interest in it," Bankson said. "That's when I became interested in it. There was already a big community in the Twin Cities but nothing yet in Duluth, so we started a group in the mid-2000s."
Songs done in shape note style break singing parts into four sections: bass, tenor, alto and soprano. Two sing the harmony, and two the melody. Before each song, Bankson said it's common for groups to go through the notes of each part. Part of the idea of shape note singing is to make it easily accessible to people who aren't trained singers.
"You can certainly dive in and examine the songs and get into the nitty gritty about the notes and work on improving, but it's meant for people with no training to be able to join in," Bankson said. "Don't let not having musical experience stop you."
At monthly meetings, singers gather with one or two songs in mind each to lead the group. The songs are almost always chosen from the main book dedicated to shape note singing, "The Sacred Harp," a collection of songs, hymns, odes and anthems for general use of the singing public.
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"It's a cool exposure to historical music," Bankson said. "Every hymn has a story behind it, whether it's from 1930 or 1720. You'll find ones you know like 'Auld Lang Syne' and others you'd never knew existed before."
Bankson said the experience of standing in the middle of the group, especially if it's a large group that week, and hearing music on all sides can be overwhelming.
"It's almost transcendental," Bankson said. "You can really get into it and people start to blend their voices together and it can become like a nearly out-of-body experience."
Bankson said the group in Duluth spans a wide variety of ages. The meetings are free and open the public and the group provides instruction, songbooks and refreshments.
This month's meeting is set for 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 5 at the Friends Meeting House, 1802 E. First St. Next month's meeting doesn't have a set date yet, but will be announced in the Duluth Shape Note Singing Group on Facebook.
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