142:, where it has continued as the predominant Sacred Harp book to this day. The "Cooper book," as it is often called, was revised by Cooper himself in 1907 and 1909; and since then has been supervised by an editorial committee, which produced new editions in 1927, 1950, 1960, 1992, 2000, 2006, and 2012. Recent research has revealed that a few songs were added to the book between 1909 and 1927.
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In addition to music, W. M. Cooper's activities included working as a farmer, school teacher, and insurance agent. He is known to have lived in at least four
Alabama counties—Coffee, Dale, Henry and Houston. He ran for Houston County Superintendent of Schools in 1912. Mary died in 1901 and is buried
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parts to the songs, the majority of which were originally written with three vocal lines (treble, tenor, bass). Cooper wrote most of the alto lines himself, though his daughter Anna
Blackshear and other individuals made important contributions. Believing this was significant and unique, Cooper sued
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Cooper married Mary S. Hayes, daughter of George W. and Nancy Hayes. His children include George Hayes Cooper (1880–1929); A. W. Cooper (1886–1911), who served as a lawyer in Dothan and
Luverne; and Anna L. Cooper (Mrs. R. D. Blackshear 1877–1957), who assisted her father in writing alto parts for
111:" the standard notation of the South. Some Sacred Harp leaders (particularly James and his colleagues) responded by rejecting both the gospel style and the seven-shape notation. Cooper maintained the four-shape notation, but incorporated some of the gospel style songs into his book—for example,
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substantially changed their texture. In "The Alto Parts in the 'True
Dispersed Harmony' of The Sacred Harp Revisions", Wallace McKenzie argues that the added altos, especially of the Cooper book, follow principles of "true dispersed harmony" and do not greatly change the texture of the music.
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McKenzie wrote, "Cooper's altos maintain some features of the contrapuntal-harmonic style described above somewhat more closely than do those of Denson.... In both books, however, the alto melodies are consistent with the contrapuntal-harmonic style of the three-part pieces."
76:) were very close to those supplied to the songs by Cooper. In 1914, a judge found in favor of James, concluding, "An alto may be an improvement to a song to some extent, and probably is; but it can hardly be said to be an original composition, at least in the sense of the
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in 1902. In the revision, some songs were transposed to a different key, and some of the old tune names changed to descriptive titles based on the words of the hymns. Some old songs were removed and new songs added in their places.
107:. During this period, the seven-shape notation and gospel style were seriously encroaching on the Sacred Harp's territory and popularity. The Ruebush-Kieffer Publishing Company and others were making "
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reveal a knowledge of and loyalty to the tradition. However, Cooper chose to add another style of song to the existing tradition—the late 19th century
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the revision. She and her husband, Dr. Randall David
Blackshear (1861–1941), owned and published the
217:"The Alto Parts in the 'True Dispersed Harmony' of The Sacred Harp Revisions", Wallace McKenzie (
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The Cooper revision of the Sacred Harp was widely adopted in many areas of the South, such as
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35:, the son of W. S. and Elizabeth Ann (Oates) Cooper. He was a cousin of Alabama governor
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also including alto parts. James' alto parts (many of which were written by
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The Alto Parts in the "True
Dispersed Harmony" of The Sacred Harp Revisions
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Cooper's added alto parts in the style and texture of White and King's
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Perhaps the most significant contribution of his book was adding
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Lord & Thomas Pocket
Directory of the American Press, 1907
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119:. Cooper also experimented with placing the notation on two
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instead of four, but this was rejected by his supporters.
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believe that the addition of alto to the songs of the
23:, was a notable musician and music teacher within the
259:, a report from the Music Plagiarism Project of the
149:, at Dothan in the early part of the 20th century.
145:Cooper also edited a monthly musical periodical,
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113:Beautiful River (Shall We Gather at the River)
177:and is buried in the Dothan City Cemetery in
166:at the Old Tabernacle Methodist Cemetery in
68:after James in 1911 released an edition of
225:The Sacred Harp: A Tradition and Its Music
19:(December 17, 1850 – July 17, 1916) of
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227:, by Buell E. Cobb, Jr. 2001. Athens:
27:tradition. Marion Cooper was born in
47:W. M. Cooper prepared a revision of
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297:People from Henry County, Alabama
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204:, Wednesday, October 19, 1910
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307:People from Dothan, Alabama
229:University of Georgia Press
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253:- McKenzie (pdf format)
179:Houston County, Alabama
302:Musicians from Alabama
168:Coffee County, Alabama
162:after Cooper's death.
219:The Musical Quarterly
173:W. M. Cooper died in
17:Wilson Marion Cooper
261:Columbia Law School
221:, 1989, 73:153–171)
175:Palm Beach, Florida
160:Revised Sacred Harp
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202:The Dothan Eagle
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29:Henry County
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292:1916 deaths
287:1850 births
277:Sacred Harp
263:Law Library
130:, southern
105:gospel song
101:Sacred Harp
93:Sacred Harp
82:Sacred Harp
66:J. S. James
49:B. F. White
25:Sacred Harp
282:Shape note
271:Categories
185:References
134:, south
43:Overview
136:Georgia
132:Alabama
128:Florida
33:Alabama
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153:Family
121:staves
140:Texas
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