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From the Center for American Music Preservation
Music of the Shakers -
Resources and Recordings
- Shaker music in our time
- Shaker Music Trio - Resource Series
- Shaker music scholar
- Shaker music discoveries
- Shaker music broadsides
- Original Shaker music recordings
- Shaker Music Series CDs
- Shaker vs. Non-Shaker Tunes
- Shaker Music Preservation Series
- Shaker music for concerts, recordings, films
- Book and CD Reviews
- Related links
Please help support the educational mission of this website.
Order music books, CDs or DVDs at the
Shaker music in our time
Too many people know too little about music of the American Shakers (also known as: United Society of Believers).
Many people know and enjoy the best known Shaker song titled "Simple Gifts" (aka: "'Tis the gift to be simple").
But few have bothered to investigate further any other Shaker music, which numbers in the thousands of original tunes composed over several centuries.
The last remaining Shaker community is located at Sabbathday Lake, Maine which has a museum and research library.
The Shaker music information on this site was written by Roger Lee Hall, an ethnomusicologist, composer and singer. He is one of the foremost authorities on Shaker music, having researched it and performed it for over 40 years. Read about his extensive work with Shaker music -- click here.
For over two centuries, the Shakers produced an amazing amount of music estimated to be over 10,000 separate tunes and texts in manuscripts and over 2,000 tunes in their printed hymnals.
One of the most glaring errors made by researchers is classifying all Shaker music as "songs."
There are actually three main types of Shaker music:
--one verse songs (for example, "Give Good Gifts")
--multi-verse hymns (for example, "Followers of the Lamb")
--through-composed or prose anthems (for example, "Millennial Praise")There are also many sub-categories, such as: gift songs, dance songs, inspirational hymns, gospel anthems, and other types.
Often the discussion of Shaker music is misleading or incomplete in books and articles, including those published by university presses, who continually fail to list available recordings and often fail to list the latest Shaker music research.
Because of their highly inspirational nature, like the Afro-American singing tradition, Shaker tunes are in the Anglo-American singing tradition and best classified together as "Shaker spirituals."
Because it is religious folk music, Shaker tunes are often thought to be by unknown Shaker composers. Not true!
Many of the Shaker spirituals are credited to Shaker brethren and sisters and sometimes both are credited for a single Shaker spiritual. One example is the Shaker hymn, "The Humble Heart, with words by Eunice Wyeth (or Wyethe) and music by Thomas Hammond Jr., both from the Harvard Shaker community in Massachusetts.Sometimes a Shaker song is arranged by a non-Shaker musician. For example, "Come Life, Shaker Life". It was composed in the 1830s and shown below in Shaker alphabet music notation. It was used as a "quick dance" song by the Shakers. In the late 1960s this Shaker song was arranged as a folk-rock song, "Run, Shaker Life" by Richie Havens, without credit given to the original Shaker dance song or to its composer, Issachar Bates.
"Come Life, Shaker Life" song from a Shaker manuscript volume
(Courtesy: Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio)
The same lack of credit for the composer is also true for "Simple Gifts," composed by Elder Joseph Brackett Jr. It has been common to list this song with incorrect titles such as: "The Gift to be Simple" or "Tis a Gift to be Simple," which were not used when this song was composed and sung in the 19th century.
There have been numerous recorded arrangements of "Simple Gifts." For example, Judy Collins, Aaron Copland, Roger Lee Hall, Kevin Siegfried, John Williams and others.
There was also a song, "Lord of the Dance," by Sydney Carter which is based on the "Simple Gifts" tune.
Giving Credit Where It Is Due
Many writers and musicians have failed to give proper credit to the those who have worked on Shaker music.
Also, they have not looked much beyond the best known Shaker song, "Simple Gifts," and seldom mention any of the researchers who have worked and published collections of Shaker music.
The Shakers produced thousands of tunes and many of them would be suitable for performance, providing they have been edited or arranged properly. There's enough material available that colleges or universities could spend a whole semester discussing Shaker music and preparing a concert of this music.
Since most of the early Shaker music was in alphabet music notation, which the Shakers called "the letteral system," it is necessary to transcribe their tunes and make them readable in conventional music notation. That is the work of a music editor, who also finds the appropriate credit for the author of the words and/or the composer of the tune.
Often it is just the music arranger who gets credit, not the music editor who first discovered it and made it available in a performing edition.
Note to researchers, singers, composers and arrangers:
Please give proper credit to the editors of Shaker music or the book or manuscript where it is found.
A Major Resource Series!
Shaker Music Trio
No. 1: "The Humble Heart" -
A Forty Year Survey of Shaker Music
(PineTree Productions, 2016)
No. 2: "Give Good Gifts"
Shaker Music in the 20th Century
(PineTree Productions, 2015)
No. 3: "SIMPLE GIFTS"
Great American Folk Song
by Roger Lee Hall
(PineTree Press, 2014)
Also available...
Roger Lee Hall's composition, "Seven Variations on a Shaker Marching Tune"
is included on the new CD, AMERICAN PLACES - Musical Travels
A Western Shaker Music Sampler
(40th anniversary edition, 2016)
Shaker Music Scholar Honored in Who's Who
Roger Lee Hall, the distinguished ethnomusicologist and American music preservationist and one of the leading authorities on Shaker music, has received the high honor of being listed in two highly regarded directories:
Who's Who in America and Who's Who in the World
To read about his extensive music research, go to this link: Shaker music scholar and singer
See also his music lectures and workshops -- Click here
Read the interview from
January 20, 2011
with Roger Hall about his previous book,
The Story of 'Simple Gifts'
"A Prayer for the Captive"
A Civil War era hymn
sung in memory of
President Abraham Lincoln
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Shaker Music Broadsides
A series of attractive 8 1/2 X 11 broadsides in full color.
This series includes
the words and/or music to selected Shaker songs,
edited by Roger Hall,
with colorful art design by Gail Hall.
They make ideal gifts and are suitable for framing.
There are currently six Shaker song titles in this series:
No. 1: "Simple Gifts" (Elder Joseph Brackett Jr., Alfred, Maine, 1848)
[First line: 'Tis the gift to be simple 'tis the gift to be free]
No. 2: "Blended Together" (Elder Joseph Holden, Mt. Lebanon, New York, ca. 1870)
[First line: Blended together as one we stand]
No. 3: "Love is Little" (South Union, Kentucky, ca. 1834)
[First line: Love is little, love is low ]
No. 4: "May I Softly Walk" (Mt. Lebanon, New York, 1869)
[First line: May I softly walk and wisely speak]
No. 5: "Welcome, Welcome" (Enfield, New Hampshire, 1869)
[First line: Welcome, welcome precious gospel kindred]
No. 6: "We Will All Go Home With You" (Canterbury, New Hampshire, 1862)
[First line: We will all go home with you, home to worlds of glory]
To order any of these colorful broadsides,
go to the
Original Shaker Music Recordings
Contrary to what many writers have written, Shaker music is not all anonymous or "traditional."
In fact, a large number of their songs, hymns and anthems are credited to Shaker authors and composers. Many Shaker spirituals were written by a Shaker sister or brother, who wrote the words and/or the music.
For example these Shaker spirituals...
"Let Zion Move" by Eldress Mary Ann Gillespie
CD: Let Zion Move
"Blended Together" by Elder Joseph Holden
CD: Blended Together
Two of the most important CD releases are on Rounder Records with 40 spirituals each,
sung by the Shakers, with background notes by two authorities on the subject:
Let Zion Move: Music of the Shakers
2 CD set and illustrated booklet,
with CD notes by Roger L. Hall
Shaker Music Series
CDs
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"Celestial Praises" - A Celebration of Shaker Spirituals
Arrangements by Roger Lee Hall and Conrad Held
25 Premiere Recordings!
Performed by The Canterbury Singers and Guest Soloists,
Kathryn Southworth, Director
"Gentle Words" - A Shaker Music Sampler
Compiled by Roger Lee Hall
"Blended Together" - Interviews with The Shakers
Compiled by Roger Lee Hall
Shaker vs. Non-Shaker Tunes
- "Happiness" vs. "How Happy Are They"
- "Lord of the Dance" vs."Simple Gifts"
- "Run Shaker Life" vs."Come Life, Shaker Life"
- "The Spiritual Sailor" vs."Voyage to Canaan"
- "Welcome, welcome every guest" vs. "Ode to Contentment"
Shaker Music Preservation Series
"The Humble Heart" - A Forty Year Survey of Shaker Music
Deluxe DVD: A Shaker Music Miscellany
Shaker Music For Concerts, Recordings, and Films
If you are looking for one or more Shaker spirituals to perform in a concert
or to include on a recording, or a film
see these links:
Shaker music arrangements
Shaker music series
Attention film makers and documentary producers!
Shaker music can make an ideal accompaniment for your film
Write to:
Checklist of Most Recorded Shaker Tunes
The list of the Most Recorded Shaker Tunes
is on the computer DVD:"The Humble Heart" - A Forty Year Survey of Shaker Music
Book and CD Reviews
Related Links on this site
Shaker music books and articles
Shaker and Non-Shaker Tunes"Shaker music speaks to the heart" (The Lewiston Journal, July 18, 1987)
"Simple Gifts" (multi-media computer disc about the best-known Shaker song)
Note:
This information about Shaker music here on American Music Preservation.com was revised and updated from an earlier site known as AMERICAN SHAKER MUSIC available Online between 1998 and 2005 and no longer active from "The Music Buffs Web Pages"© However, links to it are still available at Shaker Pedia.
Please help support the educational mission of this website.
Order music books, CDs or DVDs at the
Please remember to credit this website
When using any of the information found on these pages
please give credit toAmerican Music Preservation.com
For any questions, write to:
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