Vital Sparks

Vital Sparks

Occasional essays on the texts found in The Sacred Harp and related tune books

Archive

Labor is sweet

Labor is sweet

US Labor Day, 2026

Will Fitzgerald
Will Fitzgerald
Harriet Auber: From everlasting Thou art God

Harriet Auber: From everlasting Thou art God

Short biographies of poets in The Sacred Harp

Will Fitzgerald
Will Fitzgerald
Vital Sparks: Anne Steele is cozy with the ineffable

Vital Sparks: Anne Steele is cozy with the ineffable

Anne Steele, Part 2

Will Fitzgerald
Will Fitzgerald
Vital Sparks: Do you feel the smart?

Vital Sparks: Do you feel the smart?

Semantic Drift in The Sacred Harp, part 2

Will Fitzgerald
Will Fitzgerald
Vital Sparks: Gentle patience smiles on pain

Vital Sparks: Gentle patience smiles on pain

Anne Steele and personal suffering

Will Fitzgerald
Will Fitzgerald
Vital Sparks: Songs for Desperate Straits, Part 1

Vital Sparks: Songs for Desperate Straits, Part 1

Waiting for a cure

Will Fitzgerald
Will Fitzgerald
Worm Theology

Worm Theology

A Lenten meditation on human vermicularity

Will Fitzgerald
Will Fitzgerald
Vital Sparks: The poetry of Judge Jackson

Vital Sparks: The poetry of Judge Jackson

An essay for Black History month

Will Fitzgerald
Will Fitzgerald
Vital Sparks: God’s Garden

Vital Sparks: God’s Garden

335 RETURN AGAIN, 64 NASHVILLE, 284 GARDEN HYMN

Will Fitzgerald
Will Fitzgerald
Vital Sparks: Auld Lang Syne

Vital Sparks: Auld Lang Syne

162 PLENARY

Will Fitzgerald
Will Fitzgerald
Vital Sparks: Ye heedless ones

Vital Sparks: Ye heedless ones

Secular Songs in The Sacred Harp: Part 2

Will Fitzgerald
Will Fitzgerald
Join creation, preservation and redemption: join in one

Join creation, preservation and redemption: join in one

An Anthem for Thanksgiving, by William Billings

Will Fitzgerald
Will Fitzgerald
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