Fohs Hall Four Note Singing
About this singing
(We include the Fohs Hall singing because it uses The Southern Harmony (1854).)
A thorough run-down from Erin Fulton (2026):
Fohs Hall was conceived as a mixed-book singing, with the idea that offering a variety of books—especially "rare" ones like The Southern Harmony (1854), Kentucky Harmony, and Missouri Harmony (1994)—might attract curious singers. The typical practice was to sing for one hour of open call from every book of which enough copies were available. For many years prior to the establishment of Fohs Hall singing, Bruce Elliot King had hosted a monthly singing from the Southern Harmony in Marion. Ethel S. Tucker, who was deeply involved in the local arts scene and was at the time director of the Fohs Hall community center, encouraged the Marion singers to hold a larger event there. The Marion singers had no experience with the Sacred Harp prior to hosting Fohs Hall singing, but the Paris family (Bruce King's daughter and son-in-law) were connected to a couple of Sacred Harp people who regularly attended Big Singing. They therefore asked which weekends of the year were "open" before choosing a date for Fohs Hall singing. Before long they learned that "their" weekend had been unoccupied because the weather was so frequently poor; one instance of the singing had to be delayed by a year due to a major ice storm. The Nashville singing community were especially strong supporters in the early days. Singers from Saint Louis (Missouri), Lexington (Kentucky), Berea (Kentucky), Champaign (Illinois), Vicksburg (Mississippi), and Oxford (Mississippi) also helped out. At the height of the singing, it was common for a carload of people to come from Madison (Wisconsin) and another from Chicago (Illinois). The Parises had mixed feelings about the attention the singing attracted, particularly because it successful during the same time period when Big Singing was very low and was not receiving equivalent support from Sacred Harpers.