Will Fitzgerald has updated his list of seasonal shape-note tunes by adding The Sacred Harp: 2025 Edition. Begun in 2005, this is a terrific resource for quickly finding festive tunes to sing in December or July!
We have gathered some of the tunes from the VPH for a list as well.
The Christmas text “Hail the blest morn” circulated widely in Anglo-American hymnody without being tethered to a single melody. In shape-note tunebooks specifically, compilers treated lyrics and tunes as interchangeable components rather than exclusive pairings. Consequently, the text appears in various collections set to entirely different tunes—some major, some minor.
Historically, these lyrics are linked to Reginald Heber’s 1811 Epiphany hymn, “Brightest and Best of the Sons of the Morning.” While Heber’s text was often set to formal English tunes like Morning Star, Epiphany, or Liebster Immanuel, American shape-note traditions adapted it differently. Most notably, the stanza beginning “Hail the blest morn” was frequently used as an opening or refrain for the folk-derived tune Star in the East. This variety demonstrates the fluidity of early hymnody, where a single text could be adapted across different regions and musical styles.
Because there is such confusion and interest, I decided to gather up a selection of four and seven shape note settings:
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