Tunebooklet: “Hamm Harmony” (1992)

Table of Contents

Hamm Harmony (1992)

Compiled and Composed by: Neely Bruce
Published: Middletown, Connecticut, 1992
Format: Comb-bound, 8.5×11″, four-shape notation
Length: 116 numbered pages (not including title page or preface)
Typology: Contemporary Era – Tunebooklet – Original Compilation

Overview

Hamm Harmony is a 1992 tunebooklet of original four-shape compositions by Neely Bruce, created during the early years of the shape-note revival in New England. Though expansive at 116+ pages, it fits the tunebooklet typology: a focused, self-published collection by a single composer, intended for personal use and small-group singing rather than widespread adoption or periodic revision.

The volume consists entirely of original compositions and arrangements by Bruce, drawing on its texts primarily from the Old Baptist Hymnal, the King James Bible, and historical poets such as Michael Wigglesworth and Emily Dickinson. Its music is both deeply rooted in the traditional idiom and distinctly Bruce’s own, with a mix of short hymns, devotional songs, and extended anthems.

Dedicated to his mentor Charles Hamm, the collection reflects Bruce’s engagement with the revival singing community, especially in the Connecticut Valley. According to the preface, the project began in 1989 and was completed in early 1992. It was intended both as a contribution to the tradition and as a personal creative project. Bruce hoped it would be the first in a trilogy, followed by Emily’s Flowers and a third book of extended works.

NOTE: Shortly after this blog was published, it was announced that Bruce’s “Millbrook” was to be included in the 2025 Edition of The Sacred Harp.

About the Compiler

Neely Bruce (b. 1944) is an American composer, conductor, and scholar whose work spans opera, choral music, keyboard performance, and American vernacular traditions. A longtime professor of music and American studies at Wesleyan University, Bruce has been deeply involved in the shape-note singing revival since the 1980s. Hamm Harmony is one of several projects in which he engages directly with four-shape notation and Sacred Harp style composition. Other shape-note related works include Shaker Shapes, Four New Shaped Note Settings (2001), An Anthem from the Prophet Jeremiah (2001), and Measure and Resultant Winds (2002). His music frequently explores the interface between historical American forms and contemporary compositional technique, and he remains a passionate advocate for participatory singing and the American musical heritage.

Typology

Period: Contemporary (1981–present)
Category: Tunebooklet
Editorial Type: Original Compilation
Lifecycle Status: Out of Print/Dormant
Style: Traditional four-shape, with revival-era influence and original compositions; suitable for both group and solo use
Notation: Little & Smith four-shape; typeset using FINALE with shape note fonts by Keith Willard

While it contains 35 tunes across 116 pages, Hamm Harmony lacks a metrical or topical index, no “rudiments” for teaching, has no known distribution network beyond the editor himself, and was not structured for regular revision. Its format and usage place it squarely within the “tunebooklet” typology.

Notable Features

Page numbering begins with the first tune (unlike many tunebooks, there is no separate front matter section)
Internal tune numbering uses “O.B.H.” based on text sources from the Old Baptist Hymnal
Includes multiple extended works and anthems, with literary and Biblical sources
Original setting of “The Seasons Moralized” was expanded from two to four parts for inclusion

Sample Tunes

Newfield (p. 4) – Reflective hymn on spiritual joy in life and death
Johnson Road (p. 5) – Devotional setting on divine protection
An Anthem From All of the Gospels (p. 14) – Narrative setting suitable for Palm Sunday
Walkley (p. 68) – Based on a 19th-century New England newspaper editorial
An Ode on the Judgement (p. 97) – Setting of Michael Wigglesworth’s The Day of Doom
The Seasons Moralized (p. 100) – Adapted from an 18th-century musical publication

Tune Index

Abington, p. 37
Aetna, p. 88
An Anthem From All of the Gospels, p. 14
An Anthem From the Seventh Chapter of the Song of Solomon, p. 69
Angels’ Song, p. 32
An Ode on the Judgement, p. 97
Batterson, p. 9
Butternut, p. 61
Closing Year, p. 43
Cromwell, p. 6
Daniels, p. 56
Durham, p. 12
East Haddam, p. 83
High Street, p. 8
I Had In Mind, p. 54
Johnson Road, p. 5
Killingworth, p. 82
Laurel Grove, p. 29
Meriden, p. 34
Millbrook, p. 36
Miller’s Pond, p. 92
Moodus, p. 1
Mount Vernon New, p. 87
Newfield, p. 4
New Hartford, p. 94
North Haven, p. 66
Plenary New, p. 26
Psalm 13: An Anthem, p. 46
Rockfall, p. 28
Shiloh, p. 33
Southford, p. 60
The Great Jefferson Cheese, p. 91
The Seasons Moralized, p. 100
Wadsworth Falls, p. 42
Walkley, p. 68
Wyllys, p. 86

Title Page (verbatim)

HAMM HARMONY
Shaped Note Music by Neely Bruce
the texts taken from the Old Baptist Hymnal,
the King James Bible, and various authors
dedicated to Charles Hamm
and intended for the edification and entertainment of
Shaped Note singers everywhere
copyright © by Neely Bruce, 1992
all rights reserved