Seeking Paradise with The Westerlies

Sacred Harp singing (and Sam Amidon) inspire an incredible brass quartet

The Westerlies, gazing in the appropriate direction. (Ebru Yildiz)

There are no instruments in Sacred Harp singing. Also known as shape-note music, it’s an American tradition tied up with religious community and rural folkways, originating in colonial New England and extending into Appalachia. The human voice, i.e. “sacred harp,” is all that the music re…