Hawkins, J. B. b. Res.

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SOURCE: CRmf 369: Waynesville 1st B/ C. Vol. 1

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The Baptists have a new hymnal! Published in March 1991 , compilers have realized anew that Baptists are a singing people, I have a copy of the ne~11 hymnal and can say we Baptists agai n ha1,e a singable song book. Ironically, the last hymnal, pub] ished in 1975, ~11as supposed to sing us into the year 2000, but by my ca l culations, we are nearly a decade short of that memorable date. Most peopl e I kno1A, are •J.Jilling to let the previous 1.Jersion slip away quietly to the basements, attics, and boiler rooms to mold in peace. I understand several area church have alread y purchased the newer version.

The Methodists also have a new hymnal which was published in 1989, and I also have a copy of it. Everyone remembers the uproar when some well-meaning Methodist suggested that "Ont.\Jar·d Chri'::.tian Soldiers" and "Battle Hymn of the Republic " be omitted lest they make the people too militant. These two beloved hymns ar·e in The Bapti ·::.t Hymnal as they ar·e in t he Methodist counter·par ·t, and if one believes the media covering the Southern Baptist Convention meetings, they are most appropriately included .

Being educated in a Lutheran College, I learned to appreciate their heritage of mus ic as ~<Je 11. I have hymn a 1 s published by the Presb;.-ter i an and the Episcopal churches as well as other groups in my 1 ibrary . Christians of every persuasion love to sing the h>·mns they know. Mo'st congregations are agre eable to singing 1 ess fam i 1 i ar hymns occas i ona 11 y if they are generous 1 y i n ter sper ced wi t h old favorites.

I re call 1/Jhen I was gr o1,11ing up, that music programs in the smaller churches t.\Jere practically non-existant. That doesn' t mean· they didn't sing. Mos t churc hes did not have an organized choir and anyone who wanted to could join in the singing. Many r ur a 1 churches used paperback son g books and sang •JJi th gus to if not w i th ski 11. Some of the '::,ongs I remember singing in those days are " How Beautiful Heaven Must Be, " "Kneel at the Cross," and "Victory in Jesus." The last named gospel song has found its way into the last two Baptist hymnals and i s no1,v being sung not on 1 y in the sma 11 rura 1 churches but in the larg er city churches as well where it is widely received ,

My friend, Sherrill German, Minister of Music and Education, at Yadkin Baptis t Church, tells me that the 1991 Baptist Hymnal 1,11ill not be published in shap ed notes. The 1975 edition was available in a shaped note editon which did not pay fo r i ts elf -- probably due more to t he unsingable content than the shape of the notes . It reminded me that the first music I learned •J.Jas by the shape of the note. Each syllable- - do, re, me, fa, sol, la, te --h ad a different shape which is easi l y rec on gnizable. The names of the shaped notes were glorified by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II for a song in "The Sound of Music." Later on I studied music which was not shaped notes, but I still detect changes in the sco r e more quickly if the notes are shaped.

My ma te r na 1 grandmother IA•as a shaped-note choir singer a 11 of her 1 i fe. She <::.ang alto and her voice 1,<Jas c lear and true even as she moved into her senior years. Al though she was knowledgeable about the Bible and enjoyed her Ladies Sunday School class, she probably enjoyed singing more than anything else that her Watauga County church offered . The thing I remember most about her si nging i s when '::,he and a group of her contemporar · ies sang from the "Christian Harmony" song book. My cousin who 1 ives i n Deep Gap proudly owns Grandmother's tattere d c opy. I am told that my grandfather Hawkins, a Caldwell nati ve , also sang from the Christian Harmony, but his hearing was so poor by th e t ime I •Alas o ld eno ugh to kno1A1 him that I never had the privledge of hearing him sing at all. I do not know what happened to his copy of the book but cousin Whitey who 1 ives in Hudson has his old parlor organ.

The Chris t ian Harmony was one of several oblong (meaning they are wider than they are tall) shaped-note tune books which were quite popular in the

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1800's. Other s i mil ar books tJJere Sout hern Ha.rrnony, and Sa.cred Hc1.r·p. All of the s e books wer e f ound in Baptist ch urches i n the south, but Chri s ti an Harmony seemed to be the most widel y used i n t he North Carolina mountain s . Many of t he songs are in a mi nor l<ey and ha1Je a mour·nfu 1 ; .ound, part i cu 1 ar 1 y when sung unaccompanied as most wer e .

A few year s ago I purchas ed a box of mus ic at an est ate sa le be caus e it contained a fragmented c opy of a Chr i st i an Harmony so ngboo k . I f oun d that t he hymns had r athe r· un i qu e tit 1 es suc h a;. "The Hi 11 of Zion, 11 " S~·Jee t Hope," and 11 For·ev er w it h t he Lord. " After· I 1 ear ned t hat th e me 1 ody is on t he third score, r a t he r t han the fir s t as is convent i onal i n this modern day, I found f am i 1 i ar words and tu nes which are st i 11 i n t oday" s hymn a 1 s. "The re Is a Fountain F illed With Blood," "Amazin g Gr·ace, " and "Must ,Jesu s Bear t he Cross Alone" are examp les.

I am th e t h i rd gener a ti on of my fam il y who has le d c ho ir s or who has been invo l ved some1A1ay i n chur ch musi c. My experi ence as a di re ctor has be en in se veral Cald1A1ell chur·ch es, a ll Bapti s t, namely Buffalo Cove , Union, Yadki n, and Piney Grove . In Sep te mber I had t he pr ivl edg e of leadi ng the Yadk in choi r when ou r di rec tor was on vacation and it f e lt good.

l,Jha t i s my f avorit e h>·mn? I 1 il<e "How Fi rm a Founda.tion" whi ch was sung at my fathe r ·' s fu n era 1 and I wou 1 d be happy to k now it 1;,1ou 1 d be su ng at my memori al service. My mot her 1 il<e s " How Gr ea t Thou Art," so I have le arne d t o app rec i ate it as ~<Jell. I r ece nt]) · heard f or the fir st ti me in sever a l years, " Dwelling In Beulah Lan d, " an o ld c amp meet in g song ~oJhi ch I had ju st abou t f or·got ten t hat doesn, t app ea r· in t he hymn a 1 s any mor e . I ~oJas r em i.nded of t he sp i r· it thi s typ e of so ng co nt a ins. One Sunday morning our co ngr egation sa.ng " Prai se To the Lord , t he Al mighty" and I saw the mer it in the st a te l y hymns as we ll. Sou t her n gosp el mus i c seems t o be rega inin g i n popu l ari t y and recently ou r wel l- organ iz ed, beau ti fully r obed choi r sang an ar r ang ement of "I 'm St and ing on the So l id Roel<" 1,oJhic h I enj o:,-ed. My favo ri tes dep end upon the s i tu ta t io n.

Next Sunday when you at t end church, pick up the hymna l and sing the hymns selected . Never mind your· ability -- just remember the Bibical admonilhion to "Make a joyful no ise ••• ," If the minister ·'s ser·mon gets boring , tu r n th ro ugh the hymn a 1 and 1 ook at the 1.JJords of the hymns. You·' 11 find much sp i r i tua 1 thought t here.

[J ohn Hawki ns is a Caldw e ll Coun ty native who te ac hes English at West Caldwell Hig h School and is a member of the Yad k in Baptist Church choir.]