I've been singing shapenote music ("Sacred Harp") for a little over four years now & this is one of the best examples of that kind of singing that I've heard to date!  The recording quality is superb & the balance between the four parts is very nicely maintained, too.

I highly recommend "Northampton Harmony" to anyone interested in shapenote singing, a capella singing, or early American vocal music.
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This collection of shape-note singing by Northampton Harmony is hauntingly beautiful music.  Very powerful.  I have listened to a number of collections of sacred-harp singing, and this one is my favorite.  If you liked the sacred-harp singing in Cold Mountain, then you'll love this CD--Tim Eriksen, who sings a number of songs on that album and arranged the sacred harp songs and performances, is the lead singer of this four-person group.  His voice is amazing, as is Cath Oss, who plays with Tim in their group Cornelia's Dad.  She's got a very unique and interesting voice.  The other singers are great as well.  Much of the CD contains shape-note songs by the four-person group.  The final four-ish songs are larger groups led by the four members of Northampton Harmony.  They are also great and are probably better examples of traditional sacred-harp performances.
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Northampton Harmony must have one of the most ethereal sounds ever heard coming out of anyone's kitchen. The group's singing brings things down to what its all about. See the sublime reading of Psalm 119 and the awesome versions of Lisbon for examples.
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