AWAKE, MY SOUL: THE STORY OF THE SACRED HARP explores the history, music, and traditions of Sacred Harp singing, the oldest distinctively American form of music. Singers begin each song by intoning syllables which are represented by a specific “shapenote” in their hymnal. To the casual observer, it is some foreign, unintelligible language, but to the Sacred Harp singers, it is the key that unlocks mysteries.