Fa-Sol-La

Sometime ago I mentioned a series of web-related coincidences that found me listening, of an evening, to Jewish Klezmer music. Tonight I stumbled upon something much more exotic – Sacred Harp Singing. It is the oldest extant form of indigenous American music, and it is ace. Have a listen to the three sample tracks on the website for Awake, My Soul, a documentary on the tradition (soundtrack album here), and tell me they aren’t the weirdest, most stirring things you’ve heard in ages. The goose-bump effect is strongest if you play them very loud, by the way.