Glory in the Meeting House

Luther Strong recorded it at Hazard, Perry County, on 18 October 1937, for Alan and Elizabeth Lomax and the Library of Congress. At the end of the recording he says he won $500 on the tune. Strong’s version is in E, with a dorian character according to Titon, and the EDae tuning seems to have been generally used for the tune in that region. Stamper recorded a crooked version in D minor in three parts; Strong’s is the only older version that is foursquare, and the older versions began with one of the high parts first. Strong’s recording has been influential enough that dorian versions are prominent among modern fiddlers.

Despite the title, the tune apparently has no connection with hymnody, though Titon hears the excitement of shouting in church in its C and B parts. Kevin Burke recorded it on Open House (Green Linnet, 1992), and Gerry Milnes and Lorraine Lee Hammond, who learned it from Strong’s recording, included it on an album issued by Shanachie in 1999.