Hymns, Ausbund, singing without instruments — 460 years of tradition.
1564. Written in prison. Sung every Sunday for 460 years.
Second hymn of every service. 460 years unchanged. Four stanzas.
One voice begins. No tuning fork, no sheet music, no instrument.
No organ, no guitar, no violin. Only voice. 300 years.
One syllable — 10 seconds. One hymn — 20 minutes. Time belongs to God.
After service. Fast hymns. The only place where young people meet.
Three hymns. No tears in the voice. Death is not an end but a passage.
Simple melodies in Pennsylvania Dutch. An Amish child's first music.
Three hours of singing. Bride and groom don't sing — they listen.
In the field, barn, at construction — quiet humming. Not a concert — rhythm.
Melodies aren't written. Passed mouth to mouth for 460 years.
No choir, no harmony. Everyone sings one note. Equality.
First hymn of every service. Chosen by 'lot' from the Ausbund.
Hymns written by people who were later burned. Every word is real.
No 'Jingle Bells,' no tree. Quiet hymns about the Child. That's all.
Not hymns — folk songs. Jokes, riddles, counting rhymes in dialect.
4 stanzas = 20 minutes. 12 stanzas = an hour. Patience is virtue.
Some communities teach singing formally. Not all approve.
Between hymns — absolute silence. Not a pause. Part of the service.
Scholars recorded it. Amish didn't approve. But didn't forbid.