Why the Amish Sing Elder, D

Why the Amish Sing Elder, D. Rose, Miller, Terry E. Published by Johns Hopkins University Press Elder, D. Rose and Terry E. Miller. Why the Amish Sing: Songs of Solidarity and Identity. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014. Project MUSE. doi:10.1353/book.33394. https://muse.jhu.edu/. For additional information about this book https://muse.jhu.edu/book/33394 [ Access provided at 30 Sep 2021 03:58 GMT with no institutional affiliation ] This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Why the Amish Sing Young Center Books in Anabaptist & Pietist Studies Donald B. Kraybill, Series Editor zå Why the Amish Sing Songs of Solidarity & Identity D. Rose Elder Foreword by Terry E. Miller z Johns Hopkins University Press Baltimore © 2014 Johns Hopkins University Press All rights reserved. Published 2014 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper 2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1 Johns Hopkins University Press 2715 North Charles Street Baltimore, Maryland 21218-4363 www.press.jhu.edu Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Elder, D. Rose, 1952– Why the Amish sing : songs of solidarity and identity / D. Rose Elder ; foreword by Terry E. Miller. pages cm. — (Young Center books in Anabaptist & Pietist studies) Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-1-4214-1465-2 (hardcover : alk. paper) — isbn 978-1-4214-1466-9 (electronic) — isbn 1-4214-1465-1 (hardcover : alk. paper) — isbn 1-4214-1466-X (electronic) 1. Amish—Hymns—History and criticism. 2. Amish— Music—History and criticism. 3. Amish—Social life and customs. I. Title. ml3178.a45e43 2014 782.32'2973—dc23 2013046567 A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library. Special discounts are available for bulk purchases of this book. For more information, please contact Special Sales at 410-516-6936 or [email protected]. Johns Hopkins University Press uses environmentally friendly book materials, including recycled text paper that is composed of at least 30 percent post-consumer waste, whenever possible. Contents Foreword, by Terry E. Miller vii Preface xi Acknowledgments xv z part i. Amish Life and Song å chapter 1. Who Are the Amish? 3 chapter 2. The Functions of Amish Singing 23 chapter 3. Case Study: “Es sind zween Weg” 36 z part ii. Singing in Childhood and Adolescence å chapter 4. Songs for Nurture: Lullabies and Children’s Songs 49 chapter 5. Songs for Instruction: Singing at School 62 chapter 6. Case Study: School Repertoire 69 chapter 7. Songs of Identity: Youth Sings 75 z part iii. Singing for Worship å chapter 8. Songs of Memory: The Ausbund 87 chapter 9. Songs of Belonging: Baptism, Council, and Communion 101 chapter 10. Case Study: The Loblied, or Lobsang 107 vi z contents å z part iv. Singing for Special Occasions å chapter 11. Songs of Love and Life: Weddings and Funerals 121 chapter 12. Songs of Trust: Music in Daily Life 131 chapter 13. Songs for the Future: Amish Singing in the Twenty-First Century 138 appendix i: Additional Musical Examples 145 appendix ii: Research Methods 157 appendix iii: Historical Studies of Amish Music 162 Notes 169 Bibliography 177 Index 183 To listen to audio recordings of Amish singing, please visit https://jhupbooks.press.jhu.edu/content/why-amish-sing. Foreword For decades, the Amish have been one of America’s most prominent “ex- otic others.” Because they strictly keep to themselves and seek to maintain a distinct cultural identity, they have, by default, allowed others to define them. They have been unwilling to harness the commodification of their identity, giving non-Amish carte blanche to stereotype and exploit them: in the many Der Dutchman restaurants where hearty portions of starch, meat, and sugar are served; as the sellers of “made in China” Amish-style trinkets; on Amish tourist farms where buggy rides are offered; as well as in misunderstandings seen in the use of Dutch (rather than Deutsch) windmills, wooden shoes, and floral designs. This is partly the result of their own reticence to permit scholars access to their inner culture. This has been particularly true with regard to Amish singing, because much of it takes place in the context of worship, which is extremely private. That ethnomusicologist D. Rose Elder has been able to gain the trust of a major Amish community in Ohio and was allowed to document Amish singing in all its forms is a testament to her perseverance, sensitivity, and cultural knowledge. Elder’s study exemplifies classic ethnomusicology, a field that devel- oped rapidly after World War II, when “the study of music” began to in- clude the entire world as international travel increased. Ethnomusicolo- gists traveled to wherever the music was being made and, because it was mostly oral performance, they had to create their own documentation through photographs, film/video, audio recordings, and interviews. Taking their cues from anthropology, field researchers often became participant- observers. Mantle Hood promoted the idea of bi-musicality, where re- viii z foreword å searchers learned to perform the tradition they studied. Thus, ethnomusicology has long had a dual personality: studying music as an aspect of culture and studying music as a sonic phenomenon. Elder’s study of Amish singing speaks to both. Over many years, Elder built the relationships and trust that were nec- essary for her field work. Eventually, she was permitted to record a full range of song types, including those sung in church. Here she presents a comprehensive survey of Amish song types in context, describing the situations in which they were encountered and giving the singers a human side, even as they remain anonymous. She has transcribed the songs she recorded into staff notation so that readers can get an idea of how the Amish song world is constructed. Following the traditions of American folklore, she has classified the songs according to function and sentiment. As ubiquitous as Amish culture is in several parts of the United States— especially northeast Ohio, central Ohio, eastern Pennsylvania, and central Indiana—few outsiders have ever heard Amish singing. Recordings other than those kept in well-guarded archives barely exist. There are no occasions where Amish singers present themselves to the public as other groups do, such as in folk festivals, international festivals, or special pro- grams on NPR or PBS. For many other groups, church services are the natural sites to experience those cultures, because most church buildings are open to the public. This is not so with the Amish, since their congrega- tions meet on a rotating basis in private homes instead of church buildings. They have schools, but these sit unmarked on country roads, and because they are private, outsiders may visit only by invitation. Elder was privi- leged to attend church services, enter schools, and visit private homes for her research. The Amish have become idealized as old-fashioned, industrious crafts- men and farmers who remain close to the soil, eat whole foods, pollute but little, consume minimal amounts of energy, and take care of their families and communities. Some might see them as ideal Libertarians who depend on their community rather than the government. This stereotype is por- trayed wherever merchants offer “Amish made” furniture, crafts, or even buildings. They are seen as the last bastions of old European hand crafts- manship. But when the Amish turn up among the general public, they sometimes exhibit perplexing traits. Young Amish men sometimes drive buggies through the countryside while blasting popular music from gigantic battery-powered amplifiers and speakers and occasionally behave as z foreword å ix wildly as any non-Amish teens. Amish communities have their own share of problems, but they try to address them as much as possible with their own resources. Like the rest of us, they are sometimes self-contradictory and belie their idealized stereotypes. The Amish experience disease, sadness, disappointment, betrayal, death, joy, abundance, poverty, discomfort, and uncertainty like everyone else. Many of these emotions and experiences are expressed in their songs. These songs, however austere and reserved, provide rare windows into the Amish soul. Their songs articulate their beliefs and perspectives on the world and their hope for eternal life. Their melodies and words reinforce their core beliefs about how to behave, how a community is organized and functions, what to believe about their place in the universe, and how to relate to one another. It is through song that the Amish tell one another—and potentially the rest of the world—who they are and what they have experienced. Tours of “Amish villages,” buggy rides, and meals of meat, bread, and potatoes at a gigantic “Amish restaurant” show us little of the Amish soul or world view. Because the Amish write few confessional studies of themselves and rarely bare their souls to outsiders in novels, movies, or public lectures, their songs provide a wonderful opening into their world. Elder’s work therefore helps us not only to see the Amish as human be- ings like ourselves but to see ourselves through the Amish. Ironically, even as we have idealized Amish life, few non-Amish desire to live as they do. But there is no doubt that they deserve our respect for maintaining a de- manding alternative lifestyle and for preserving their dialect, their songs, and their sense of communal solidarity. Terry E. Miller Professor Emeritus of Ethnomusicology Kent State University This page intentionally left blank Preface Quilts and buggies. Uniform dress and an emphasis on hard work. One- room schoolhouses and barn raisings. Pacifism and gendered division of la- bor. That’s what people generally know about the Amish.

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