Tight. clean, flat, square, and sharp book, in four part harmony with full versification.  Shaped notes. Multiple copies. We have three in this condition and one in fair condition we will offer when these are gone.  

J. Mark Stauffer, 85, taught music courses and led choirs at EMU from 1939 to 1976. He had been a chaplain at Menno-Haven and Mennonite Village in Chambersburg where he resided since 1979.

Many will remember Stauffer for his leadership in the choral music program and especially as director of the traditional alumni rendition of “The Holy City” by A. R. Gaul during annual homecoming weekend.

The Altoona, Pa., native was choral director for seven years of the former “Mennonite Hour” radio broadcasts produced by Mennonite Media. He was pastor of the Charlottesville Mennonite Church, 1961-77, and chaplain of the Cedars and the Towers nursing facilities in Charlottesville during that same time period.

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Shape notes are a style of musical notation designed to facilitate congregational and social singing. The notation, introduced in late 18th century England, became a popular teaching device in American singing schools. Shapes were added to the noteheads in written music to help singers find pitches within the scales without the use of more complex information found in key signatures or staff.

Shape notes of various kinds have been used for over two centuries in a variety of music traditions, mostly sacred music but also secular, originating in New England (evolving from earlier chants writ down in the Scots Highlands) practiced primarily in the Southern US for many years, and now experiencing a renaissance in other locations as well.