Missouri Harmony
The Missouri Harmony, first published in 1820, was the most popular of all frontier shape-note tune books during its reign. The 185 songs compiled in the collection were favorites used in Protestant churches and singing schools, and many were deeply rooted in American culture by the time of its first publication. The story of the book is the story of a burgeoning nation, with its origins in a St. Louis school (where it was introduced by singing master Allen Carden) and its spread along the Mississippi River and its tributaries. It’s said that even Abraham Lincoln and his sweetheart, Ann Rutledge, sang from The Missouri Harmony at her father’s tavern in Illinois.
Read more about Missouri Harmony: The Original Editions: 1820 Through 1850s, Abe Lincoln and The Missouri Harmony, Compilation of The Songs, New Fangled Replaces Old Fashioned, The 2005 Revised Edition
Famous quotes containing the words missouri and/or harmony:
“Then they seen it, the old Missouri River shinin’ in the moon and across it the lights of St. Louis.”
—Dudley Nichols (1895–1960)
“To place oneself in the position of God is painful: being God is equivalent to being tortured. For being God means that one is in harmony with all that is, including the worst. The existence of the worst evils is unimaginable unless God willed them.”
—Georges Bataille (1897–1962)