Michael Rich looks at his music book. Photo: Trent Penny/The Anniston Star
Not the Sacred Harp singers who gathered Monday at the historic Shoal Creek Baptist Church, north of Heflin.
Sound poured out of the one-room, log-built church that has no electricity, no microphones, no organ or piano.
Descendants of the church's original congregation make the trek down a one-lane dirt road into the Talladega National Forest each Labor Day to sing, eat and catch up with old family and friends. The crowd that gathers there each year is also comprised of increasing numbers of Sacred Harp singers.
"I come here because my great-great grandfather came to this church," said Robert Murray of Jacksonville.
"I was a little one playing in the rocks out here 40 years ago. Now we come and try to figure out whose kids these are," he said.
Shoal Creek Baptist Church was organized in 1845, and the current church building was erected in 1895, according to a plaque affixed to the building above its doorway. The church was disbanded in 1914 as members moved away into more populated areas, said Joe Jones of Huntsville, but the building is maintained now by a group of the church's descendants.
Sacred Harp music takes its name from the hymnal the singers use, The Sacred Harp, and is always sung a cappella.
The singers sat on wooden pews in an arrangement that Jones called a "hollow square." Singers shared hymn books and took turns leading the harmony by standing in the middle of the square and determining the pitch and tempo of each selection.
"It's the ultimate sound, to have the music coming at you from four sides," said Jones. "You're submerged in sound."
Jim Aaron of Gardendale made his first trip to Shoal Creek this year.
"I just started Sacred Harp singing about a year ago, and I love it," said Aaron. "It resonates with me as a meaningful way of expressing yourself and honoring the Lord."
Darrell Swarens came all the way from Terre Haute, Ind., to lend his voice to the songs.
"This is my second year at Shoal Creek. You've got to travel to get to the best singings," said Swarens.
"It's a very spiritual feeling. We're not singing for a performance — we're singing for ourselves and for God. That's a very powerful thing," he said.
