J. H. Ruebush of Dayton, Virginia: shape-note gospel songs

About J. H. Ruebush

Ruebush was born in 1865 into a shape-note dynasty. His father, Ephraim Ruebush, had gone into partnership with Aldine S. Kieffer after the Civil War to revive the press of Kieffer's grandfather, the Mennonite singing master Joseph Funk, and the firm of Ruebush-Kieffer moved from Singers Glen to Dayton, Virginia, in 1880. It printed The Musical Million, a monthly journal of music, poetry and home literature, and more than fifty songbooks; its Temple Star was said to have sold over half a million copies.

James Hott Ruebush was associate editor of The Musical Million from 1886 until his retirement in 1936, and taught in the company's normal school, which trained singing-school teachers for the South. The house used the seven-shape note system, and its teachers and graduates included Anthony J. Showalter and, through Ephraim Hildebrand, James D. Vaughan. The other Ruebush on this page is William Howe Ruebush (1873-1956), born at Singers Glen, a vocal teacher who directed an army band in France during the First World War and later presided over the publishing company; several entries are credited to him as Will H. or W. H. Ruebush.

Every score is filed as classical in the catalogue, although the music belongs to the southern gospel-song tradition, and only 26 of the 62 carry lyrics. The texts range from Watts and Toplady to temperance and Sunday-school verse, and the settings are homophonic throughout, with a refrain after each verse.

Listening and playing notes

Shape-note gospel songs were written to be read at sight by singers who had learned the seven shapes, so the tunes are square-cut and the phrases repeat. Take them at a walking pace and keep the refrain crisp; the harmony is mostly block chords, and the interest comes from the rhythmic push of the chorus rather than from counterpoint. Where the text is a standard hymn, sing the words you know and check the file for a refrain, since these settings often add one. A piano or organ doubling the voices is idiomatic.

Selected scores

1. Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me

   Augustus Toplady's 1763 hymn in a gospel-song setting, and the most-viewed score on the page.

2. Fear Not to Trust Me in the Storm

   An invitation-style gospel song with no text author named on the file; it runs "Rock of Ages" close for views.

3. Happy, Happy, Happy Are the Songs We Sing

   A Sunday-school song credited to Will H. Ruebush rather than to James Hott Ruebush.

4. When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

   Isaac Watts's hymn of 1707, given a four-part gospel setting with a repeated refrain.

5. Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing

   Robert Robinson's 1758 text, one of several standard hymns re-set in the Ruebush house style.

6. There's a Mighty Army Marching

   A marching Sunday-school song, the kind of processional piece the normal school taught teachers to lead.

7. Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken

   Henry Francis Lyte's hymn of discipleship in a straightforward chordal setting.

8. We Are Pilgrims Going Home

   A pilgrimage song credited to Will H. Ruebush, with the refrain typical of the firm's tunebooks.

9. Hallelujah, Song of Gladness

   Credited to W. H. Ruebush, a bright choral piece rather than a solo gospel song.