Singing the Sacred
Singing the Sacred
Songbooks and Hymnals from the Sounding Spirit Digital Library (1850-1925)
Introduction
Singing the Sacred showcases southern vernacular songbooks published between 1850 and 1925, representing the music making of diverse religious groups. Across this dynamic period, modernizing publishing practices coincided with other far-reaching transformations. New book formats and sacred music genres flourished alongside devotional practices attuned to a changed and changing world. This exhibition celebrates the Sounding Spirit Digital Library, a National Endowment for the Humanities–funded resource for research and teaching with more than 1,250 books of southern vernacular sacred music. Singing the Sacred features works from Emory University, Middle Tennessee State University, University of Kentucky, University of Michigan, and University of Tulsa. Book features ranging from covers and bindings to music notation and marginalia introduce the exhibition. Visitors will first encounter the physical form of spiritual collections, Sunday school and gospel songbooks, hymnals, and shape-note tunebooks. The second half of the exhibit explores the relationship of these volumes to contexts, communities, and geographies of diverse peoples and movements in the New South.
The Sounding Spirit exhibition was accompanied by a booklet of QR codes linking to digital editions of the featured works. A soundtrack of archival recordings filled the gallery with the specific vocal traditions preserved within the Sounding Spirit collection. The exhibition featured a series of Singing School events that took place April 4–5, 2025. View the catalog and experience the walk-through exhibition and accompanying scavenger hunt below.
Graphic design by Erica Bitting Olson and collections photography by Ann McShane.