Music of the Shakers

The Angels are sounding on their golden trumpets
They sound and resound from the heavenly shore.
Inviting all nations, all kindred and people
To come, come to Zion and wander no more.

This hymn, titled "Invitation to Souls," is included in the Music Supplement of

These Shaker music pages replace the "American Shaker Music" site on AOL
which is no longer available online.

To read the topics covered here, see Contents below.

Much of the information on these Shaker music pages was compiled and written by Roger Lee Hall, a composer, singer, musicologist and music preservationist who has studied Shaker music for over thirty-five years.

Over the years he has edited or arranged over 200 Shaker tunes and written over 700 pages about Shaker music for various publications.

Mr. Hall is a respected scholar who has taught in schools and colleges, worked on radio and cable television, and performed as a singer in live concerts and on recordings.

He is one of the foremost authorities on music from earlier America and has compiled numerous collections and CDs.

The music of the Shakers (officially known as The United Society of Believers) contains some of the most simply beautiful religious folk melodies from America's past.

Yet much of their music remains unknown today to the general public, except for the Shaker dance song, "Simple Gifts," which was first arranged by Aaron Copland and later by folksingers, such as: George and Gerry Armstrong, Bob Beers and Judy Collins.

For over 150 years, from the 1780s to 1950s, well over 10,000 tunes were composed by the Shakers --
the largest output of any American religious communal society.

The above illustration shows the dance song written in a music notation
using letters of the alphabet, which the Shakers called "the letteral system."

This Quick Dance Song was composed by the first prominent Shaker tunesmith,
Elder Issachar Bates (1758-1837). He wrote the song in 1835, the same year the well known hymn "Amazing Grace" (or NEW BRITAIN) was printed in William Walker's The Southern Harmony. The Shaker song by Bates was later arranged by folk singer, Richie Havens.

Several songs, hymns and anthems by Elder Issachar Bates have been recorded, including "Come Life, Shaker Life"; the ballad hymn "Rights of Conscience"; and the anthem "Mount Zion," all available on the CD, Gentle Words.

Music Genres

Unfortunately, there has been a great deal of incorrect information spread around
about Shaker music even though much has been written on the subject.

The most common error is classifying all Shaker music as Traditional or Anonymous hymns.

That is incorrect and misleading.

There are actually three broad types of Shaker music: Songs, Hymns, and Anthems.

The earliest Shaker music are wordless songs beginning in the 1780s. The first known Shaker song with words is "In Yonder Valley", composed by Father James Whittaker in 1787.

The first hymns were written about 1805 and the first printed hymbook, Millential Praises, was published in 1812-13.

1. hymns usually have only the second half of the tune repeated [A + BB],
and songs often have both sections repeated [AA + BB].

Because this is American religious folk music, all three categories (hymns, anthems and songs) are best classified together as: Shaker Spirituals

Many performing ensembles have failed to give credit where it is due to Shaker music editors, such as Roger L. Hall and Daniel W. Patterson, who have provided extensive amounts of Shaker music available in modern editions.

Without such editors, these Shaker spirituals would remain buried in manuscript music books.

Often it is just the arranger who gets the credit, not the editor who first discovered it and made it available to perform.

On Saturday, August 15, 2009, Roger Lee Hall was keynote speaker in the Scott Swank Lecture Series at the Canterbury Shaker Village museum.

He also sang what is believed to be the last Canterbury Shaker song, "My Shaker Home," written in 1959 by Sister Lillian Phelps, and performed for the FIRST TIME in a public program.

One of the most unusual Shaker hymns from the Civil War era was received in a dream in 1862 by Sister Cecilia DeVere at New Lebanon, New York.

This pacifist hymn titled, "A Prayer for the Captive" (also titled: "Supplication in a Nation's Calamity") was reportedly sung in all Shaker communities on the day of President Abraham Lincoln's funeral.

Contrary to what many authors have written, Shaker music is not all anonymous or traditional.

In fact, many of their songs, hymns and anthems are credited to Shaker poets and composers.

These Shaker spirituals were written by a Shaker sister or brother, who wrote the words and/or the music.

The most important CD releases are those on Rounder Records with 40 spirituals each, sung by the Shakers from Canterbury, New Hampshire and Sabbathday Lake , Maine, with background notes by two authorities on the subject:

If are looking for Shaker spirituals to perform in a concert
or to use on a recording,
write for consultation to:

Read about the evolution of Shaker music from the time
of the early leaders: Mother Ann Lee, Father William Lee, and Father James Whittaker,
to the present day with the Sabbathday Lake Shakers at this link:

A new piece by film composer John Williams, titled, "Air and Simple Gifts," was premiered during the Inauguration Day ceremonies for U.S. President Barack Obama on January 20, 2009.

Find out more about the Shaker song, "Simple Gifts," and the book,
THE STORY OF SIMPLE GIFTS (PineTree Press, 2009)...

A new series of colorful music broadsides are now available
of Shaker songs that are
ideal for wall display or gift-giving.

No. 1: "Simple Gifts"
[First line: 'Tis the gift to be simple 'tis the gift to be free]

No. 3: "Gentle Words"
[First line: What the dew is to the flower, gentle words are to the soul]

No. 5: "Welcome, Welcome"
[First line: Welcome, welcome precious gospel kindred]

No. 6: "We Will All Go Home With You"
[First line: We will all go home with you, home to worlds of glory]

A story treatment about the early years of struggles by
the Shakers in America
and with suggested music is available by request.

Read a review of the play by Arlene Hutton
about nine Shaker sisters at Pleasant Hill, Kentucky
at this link:

Shaker Music News -- announcements of publications, recordings and other information.