I do not believe I ever heard sacred harp singing in the subways. On the 15th anniversary of 9/11 I heard the stirring, almost mournful sounds of this group, which happened to be within proximity of a payphone. I made the call, recording about 10 minutes of that distinctive fasola cadence through the rugged, crackling sound of a public telephone landline. I find something almost magical about the sound. It is akin to listening to old 78 RPM records, or even cylinders, where the experience of listening to the music is inseparable from the crackling noises and surface intrusions.
