Indian, Black Gospel and Scottish Singing Form an Unusual Musical Bridge - washingtonpost.com

Indian, Black Gospel and Scottish Singing Form an Unusual Musical Bridge - washingtonpost.com:
[Free registration required to read articles]

By Chuck McCutcheon
Religion News Service
Saturday, April 21, 2007; Page B09

"Jazz musician and Yale University music scholar Willie Ruff, who uncovered the links between 18th-century Scottish singing and black gospel music, has connected another group to the style: Native Americans.

A descendant of an Oklahoma tribe contacted him after learning about a 2005 Yale conference on line singing, an a cappella vocal form that originated in Scotland and is still sung in parts of the South. And this week, a second conference featured Muscogee Creek Indians singing with Baptist groups from Alabama and Kentucky.

Ruff said he was surprised to learn that all three groups know the same hymn: "Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah." They sang their versions at the conference. ..."

This is a pretty interesting article for those who enjoy the origins of American hymnody. I'm not that familiar with "line singing", but it seems to share some attributes with shape-note singing, which has made a significant contribution to the Presbyterian Hymnal (look for The Sacred Harp and The Southern Harmony in the list of hymn sources in the back of the hymnal).