The North Carolina Mason

January/February 2019 The North Carolina Mason Page 9 By Don Barrier Musician Sophia Lodge Past Co-chair ad-hoc Committee on Masonic Music e past several years have been a great time of rediscovery of our North Carolina Masonic heritage. Our Masonic musical heritage has long been hidden in plain sight among the pages of the North Carolina Lodge Manual or, as we all affectionately call it, the Bahnson Manual. Brother Charles Bahnson compiled the manual and the Grand Lodge of North Carolina began publishing it in 1892. It is still in print in its original format today. is little black book contains not only information related to opening and closing of the lodges, degrees, funeral services, and other information related to lodge business, it also is adorned with artwork prints of much earlier etchings dating back possibly 100 years earlier than the manual's first publication. In addition, there are scrip- tural readings, poetry and songs. e songs, or better named odes, combine well-known musical tunes with Masonic lyrics, which was typical of popular music in the 18th through 20th centuries. e first and second song in the manual includes one ode for the OPENING and one for the CLOSING. e opening ode is to be sung to the music Old Hundred. Old Hundred, whose European original version by Louis Bourgeois dates to 1551, is perhaps the earliest known shape note song. Louis created shape note singing so that not only the literate elite, but the people, most of whom were illiterate, could read musical notes when they sang. e first piece of music in our Bahnson Manual to be sung while opening a lodge is probably a shape note song, Old Hundred (D,C 49) in the music book Sacred Harp. Sacred Harp or Shape Note Singing is a "community singing" created for all to sing and practiced in North Carolina since the late 1700s. Many of us have sung the song in church many times as the hymn Doxology. e second song in the manual is sung to the 19th Century hymn Nearer, my God, to ee with Masonic lyrics added as in first ode. Brother Wallace Hartley was a musician under contract to play on board ocean liners. He was the leader of the HMS Titanic's band, which included four Masons. Eyewitnesses stated that the band stayed on board playing Nearer, my God, to ee while brother Wallace led the band in an heroic effort to calm and prepare doomed passengers for eternity. e band continued to play until the "water lapped their ankles." is song and its original hymnal lyrics has been adopted tradition- ally by many lodges and sung by the brethren during one of their degrees. e Bahnson manual is not the only resource for those who want to Our Masonic musical heritage Add to your lodge membersʼ experience by including music in your meetings, degrees learn more about our North Caro- lina Masonic music heritage. e Grand Lodge of North Carolina website maintains a section for Masonic education under the tab: Education Resources. e mate- rial on the webpage is provided by the Grand Lodge Committee on Masonic Education. Following the link Masonic Music, you will find available for download music sung by North Carolina Masons Randy Sharpe, Mike Hamrick, Eric Dixon, Steve Barrell and the author, and recorded by the Grand Lodge ad-hoc committee on Masonic Music. e lyrics, sheet music and recordings of the Bahnson manual odes are available on the Grand Lodge website for download. If you have any questions or need any additional information, contact the Grand Lodge Committee on Masonic Education. e Speakers Bureau link also lists brothers who will help teach your lodge through leading your brethren in song during your stated communication. roughout the history of Free- masonry in North Carolina, music has been a part of the ritual experi- ence. e odes have been acknowl- edged by the Board of Custodians as a valid part of our ritual. e growth of Masonic music is meant to be organic, not mandated. Lodges are encouraged to try singing the odes and see if they fit your lodge's culture and add a posi- tive "note" to your lodge experience. It doesn't matter whether you can sing like a rock star or whether you are monotone, just try belting them out as you would recitation of our ritual. Most of us aren't orators, yet we have no problem speaking up in lodge. Remember, we are charged by the Psalm 100 to "Make a joyful noise." Don Barrier

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