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CD Releases
A selection of Shaker music currently available on CDs
NEW!
Blended Together: Shaker Hymns and Songs [limited supply]
NEW!
For the Love of Zion -- Simplicity Vocal Quartet
NEW!
The Humble Heart -- Various Performers
NEW!
The River of Love -- New England Voices
Spring Sale on selected publications
until 31 May 2008
Order now at the
These two CD releases on Rounder Records, with 40 Shaker spirituals each, are the most extensive ones featuring the Shakers singing and speaking about their music...
Early Shaker Spirituals (Rounder)
A CD collection of 40 Shaker spirituals sung by The United Society of Shakers, Sabbathday Lake, Maine. Many of the spirituals are sung by Sister R. Mildred Barker, the foremost Shaker singer of her time. The spirituals include laboring songs, gift songs, prayer songs, a hymn and anthem and several interviews with Sister Mildred Barker. Extensive notes and texts for all the music are provided by Daniel W. Patterson.
You can order this CD from Amazon.com here:
Let Zion Move - Music of the Shakers (Rounder)
This 2 CD set includes 40 Shaker spirituals sung by the Shakers from Canterbury, New Hampshire and Sabbathday Lake, Maine. It includes a history of Shaker music narrated by Sister R. Mildred Barker and Sister Lillian Phelps. There are also interviews with Sister R. Mildred Barker, Eldress Bertha Lindsay, and Sister Lillian Phelps.
The first interviews were done in 1960 by William (Bill) Randle. Later interviews were conducted in 1972 and 1980 by Roger Hall, who has edited and written the notes for this unique historical collection.
The set has an attractive 72 page illustrated booklet with examples of Shaker music and the words to all 40 Shaker spirituals plus a bibliography and discography, compiled by Roger Hall. Many of the hymns are from the last printed Shaker hymnal from 1908, title page shown here with autographs of two Shaker sisters, Bertha Lindsay and Gertrude M. Soule:
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To read about the 1908 Shaker hymnal, go to:
Shaker Music History - 20th century
You can order from Amazon.com at this link:
Let Zion Move: Music of the Shakers
NEW!
Blended Together - Shaker Hymns and Songs (PineTree Music)
A collection of Shaker songs and hymns, including rare interviews and singing by three past Shakers: Eldress Bertha Lindsay, Sister Lillian Phelps, and Sister R. Mildred Barker.
This CD title of "Blended Together" is named after a favorite Shaker song by Elder Joseph Holden (1851-1919) from Mt. Lebanon, New York, his portrait is shown here:
Track Titles:
1. Blended together as one we stand - Sister R. Mildred Barker & Sister Frances Carr, 1974
2. I must live must have my being
- Sister R. Mildred Barker, 1974
3. O my sweet Shaker home - Eldress Bertha Lindsay, 1980
4. 'Tis the gift to be simple - Eldress Bertha Lindsay's 90th birthday party, 1987
5. Interview with Eldress Bertha Lindsay, 1972 (letteral notation)
6. Interview with Sister Lillian Phelps, 1972 (music training)
7. Interview with Eldress Bertha continued (meeting house worship)
8. Interview with Eldress Bertha continued (Shaker marches)
9. Cleveland TV interview with the Shakers, 1974
10. Mother Ann's Song, 1783 (wordless song)
11. In Yonder Valley, Father James Whittaker,1787 (earliest Shaker song with words & music)
12. More Love, ca. 1872 (Shaker hymn)
13. Glory unto God we'll sing, 1852 (Christmas hymn)
14. Prayer Universal, 1890s (Gospel hymn)
15. Simple Gifts, Elder Joseph Brackett, 1848 (dance song)
16. +Welcome, Welcome, Rosetta Cummings, 1869 (greeting song)
17. +Holy Habitation, 1848 (hymn)
18. +The Humble Heart, Sister Eunice Wyeth & Elder Thomas Hammond, ca. 1820 (hymn)
19. +Voyage to Canaan, Elder Richard McNemar, ca. 1810 (hymn)
20. +Celestial Praises, 1841 (hymn)
21. +Christian Love, 1881 (round)
22. +My Shepherd, 1926 (hymn)
23.
+A New Year's Prayer, 1921 (hymn)
24. +A Prayer, 1922 (hymn)
25. +May I Softly Walk, 1869 (humility song)
26. +Simple Gifts, 1848 (dance song)
27. +A Welcome Song, 1869 (greeting song)
28. +Invitation to Zion, 1846 (hymn)
29. +Invitation to Souls, 1846 (hymn)
30. +We Will All Go Home With You, 1862 (farewell song)
Shaker mansucript of "Blended Together" in letteral notation
This CD is available in limited supply (single copies only).
To order Blended Together - Shaker Hymns and Songs, go to the
+ = music arranged or composed by Roger Hall,
included in the Music Supplement of
A Guide to Shaker Music
Nos. 1, 10-12, 14-15 from this CD are included in
Love is Little: A Sampling of Shaker Spirituals
I Am Filled With Heavenly Treasures (New World Records)
This CD features 39 tracks with Shaker spirituals performed by The Enfield Shaker Singers, directed by Mary Ann Haagen. Many of these spirituals have been recorded for the first time and are performed in their original unaccompanied versions.
To order from Amazon, click this link:
I Am Filled With Heavenly Treasures
Joy of Angels (Sampler Records Ltd.)
This CD features 38 Shaker spirituals and is the only one devoted to music for Christmas and the New Year, many of them recorded for the first time anywhere. The featured performers are: Randy Folger, Colleen Liggett, Kathy Leigh Johnson, Mitzie Collins, The Eastman Bach Children's Chorus, and The Sampler Chorus. The CD title is taken from the opening Shaker Christmas hymn: "Hail, hail the beautiful morn" by Elmina Phillips from North Union, Ohio. There is an accompanying songbook with all the music and extensive notes about the music and Shaker Christmas rituals by Roger Hall, plus a list of recordings of Aaron Copland's arrrangements of "Simple Gifts" .
You can order from Sampler Records by clicking on this link:
Joy of Angels: Shaker Spirituals for Christmas and the New Year
Love is Little (Sampler Records Ltd.)
A collection of 36 Shaker spirituals representing all of the 18 major Shaker communities, performed by Roger Hall, Mitzie Collins and other soloists, and The Sampler Chorus. It includes Shaker music in their original versions from these states: Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Hampshire, Maine, Ohio and Kentucky. There is also an accompanying songbook with all the music from the CD, plus music notes, a list of titles from the Shaker Song Series (1981-1996), and a bibliography.
You can order from Sampler Records by clicking on this link:
Love is Little: A Sampling of Shaker Spirituals
NEW!
For the Love of Zion (PineTree Music)
This CD has 30 Shaker spirituals beautifully performed by a vocal quartet known as "Simplicity" (Alyssa Daudt, Amy Stevens, Ian Sanchez, Joey Chen), directed by Leah R. Stein. It has many Shaker songs and hymns not available anywhere else. The spirituals have been sensitively arranged by Jack Bomer, an American musician living in Vienna, Austria.
To hear several samples from this CD (using Real Player), click on the titles in the box...
These are the track titles:
1. We Have Found the Promised Savior
(Lebanon, New York, 1875)
2. Sweet Love (unknown community)
3. Good Brethren From the Holy Mount (Elsa Parson,
Enfield, Connecticut, 1843)
4. Here Take This Lovely Flower (Elmira Adams,
Harvard, Massachusetts, 1847)
5. O What Pretty Souls (Joshua Bennett, Enfield, Connecticut, 1837)
6. The Humble Heart (Eunice Wyeth and Thomas Hammond, Harvard, Massachusetts, 1820)
7. O Brethren Ain't You Happy (Clarissa Jacobs, Lebanon, about 1847)
8. Christ's Suffering (Canterbury, New Hampshire, date unknown)
9. My Love is My Mother (South Union, Kentucky, 1821)
10. The Rolling Deep (Polly Lawrence, Sodus, New York, 1826)
11. I Never Did Believe (Betsy Bates, Lebanon, New York, 1829)
12. Lay Me Low (Addah Z. Potter, Lebanon, New York, 1838)
13. I Will Bow and Be Simple (Mary Hazard, Lebanon, New York, 1840s)
14. The Hallelujah Hymn (Polly M. Rupe, Pleasant Hill, Kentucky)
15. I Have a Soul to be Saved or Lost (Enfield, New Hampshire, 1865)
16. Mother's Love is Like an Ocean (Assanath Wilhite, South Union, Kentucky, 1820s)
17. Mother's Mantle (Lebanon, New York, 1821)
18. More Love (Canterbury, New Hampshire, about 1870)
19. Slow Song (unknown community)
20. Pretty Love and Union (John Whitbey, Pleasant Hill, Kentucky, 1824)
21. Living Souls Let's Be Marching (Tyringham, Massachusetts)
22. I'm On My Way to Zion (unknown community)
23. Love is Little (South Union, Kentucky, 1834)
24. A New Zion (Alfred, Maine, 1837)
25. Virgins Cloth'd in a Clean White Garment (Sabbathday Lake, Maine, 1830s)
26. Low Within the Vale (Paulina Bryant, Pleasant Hill, Kentucky, 1850)
27. My Sweet Home in Zion (Otis Sawyer, Sabbathday Lake, Maine)
28. Brilliant Gem (Anna White , Lebanon, 1859)
29. Simple Gifts (Joseph Brackett, Alfred, Maine, 1848)
30. Earnest Petition (unknown community)
To order this For the Love of Zion CD and its accompanying songbook, go to the
Harp Music by Diane Schneider
From her series of soothing harp music, there are three CDs with Shaker song arrangements...
15 tracks of beautiful Christmas music arrangements by Diane Schneider, including "Lo How a Rose E'er Blooming" (2:36); "The First Noel" (3:03); "I Wonder As I Wander" (5:31); "Silent Night" (4:49). There is also one Shaker Christmas Song ("When Christ was of a Virgin Born" - 3:05) from the music collection, Joy of Angels: Shaker Spirituals for Christmas and the New Year.
Harp of Hope
2008 POW! Award-winning instrumental CD
There are 17 tracks on this CD including such folk tunes as: "Greensleeves" (3:51),
"The Ash Grove" (2:47), "Kum Ba Yah" (2:22). There are also hymns like "Abide With Me" (1:53), "Amazing Grace" (3:57), and "Nearer My God To Thee" (2:39). The Shaker song is the best known one: Elder Joseph Brackett's "Simple Gifts" (3:36) in a lovely arrangement. In addition to this music, there is a bonus track titled: "Angel's Wing" - described as "a 9-minute improvisation with floating, rhythmless arpeggios to induce relaxation." There is also an Animal Therapy Edition of this same CD "for soothing relief, deep sleep, and anti-anxiety with dogs, cats, birds, horses -- and their owners."
For more information, click on this link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22539914/
This lovely CD of traditional songs of faith arranged by Diane Schneider includes three Shaker songs: "Love is Little" (24:45), "We Must Be Meek" (2:37), ""My Carnal Life I Will Lay Down." (3:35).
Also the CD includes such well known hymns as" "How Great Thou Art" (4:42); "What a Friend We Have in Jesus"; and "A Mighty Fortress is Our God" (3:00).All the selections are "therapeutically arranged to calm anxiety, stabilize heart rate, and encourage restful sleep."
To order these and other CDs, click on this link:
NEW!
The Humble Heart: Twenty-four Shaker Spirituals (PineTree Music 1012)
This CD has twenty-four Shaker spirituals -- compiled by Roger Hall.
Ten of these spirituals are recorded for the first time in new editions, such as "Mount Zion" (anthem); "Rights of Conscience" (ballad hymn) ; "Ode to Contentment" (millennial hymn) ; "A Dream" (received in a vision); "A Prayer for the Captive" (Civil War pacifist hymn); "Simple Gifts" (dance song)
There are also arrangements of twelve Shaker tunes, including "Gentle Words"; "Love is Little"; "Celestial Praises"; and "The Humble Heart" (among the Top Twelve Most Recorded Shaker Tunes)
The CD also includes interviews with Sister R. Mildred Barker of the Sabbathday Lake Shakers, Eldress Bertha Lindsay of the Canterbury Shakers, and composer Aaron Copland about his arrangements of "Simple Gifts."
In addition to the editions and arrangements of Shaker music, there is a hymn based on a Shaker poem by Sister R. Mildred Barker with music by Roger Hall (track 27); and the world premiere recording of Roger Hall's "Variations on a Shaker Marching Tune" (track 19) brilliantly performed by pianist David Hagan.
Track Titles:
1. Song: Welcome, Welcome (Enfield, NH, 1869)-- arranged by Roger Hall, 1981
2. Dance Song: Come Life, Shaker Life (Issachar Bates, 1835)
3. Anthem: Mount Zion (Issachar Bates, Ohio, ca. 1815)
4. Hymn: Rights of Conscience (Issachar Bates, Ohio, ca. 1810)
5. Hymn: Ode to Contentment (tune: Issachar Bates/
text: Richard Pelham, Ohio, 1835 )
6. Song: March (North Union, Ohio, 1847)
7. Dance Song: Simple Gifts (Joseph Brackett Jr., Alfred, Maine, 1848)
8. Hymn: Doxology (Oliver C. Hampton, Union Village, Ohio, 1856)
9. Song: A Dream (Harvey L. Eades, Union Village, Ohio, 1860)
10. Pacifist Hymn: A Prayer for the Captive (Cecilia DeVere, Lebanon, NY, 1862)
11. Anthem: Supplication (James G. Russell, Enfield, NH, 1883)
12. Anthem: Millennial Praise (James G. Russell, Enfield, NH, 1883)
13. Humility Song: Gentle Words (Polly M. Ruper, Pleasant Hill, KY, ca. 1867)-- SATB arr. by Roger Hall, 1976
14. Humility Song: Love is Little (South Union, KY, ca. 1834) -- SATB arr. by Roger Hall, 1976
15. Hymn: Celestial Praises (Canterbury, NH, 1841) -- arr. by Roger Hall, 1974
16. Round: Celestial Choir (Canterbury, NH, 1840s) -- arr. by Roger Hall
17. Song: O Glory to God (Alfred, Maine) -- arr. by Roger Hall
18. Song: May I Softly Walk (Lebanon, NY, ca. 1869)-- arr. by Roger Hall
19. Variations on a Shaker Marching Tune (music by Roger Hall) --
David Hagan, pianist [World Premiere]
20. Interview with composer Aaron Copland, July, 1980
21. Interview with Sister Mildred Barker, Sabbathday Lake, Maine, December 1980
22. Hymn: The Shakers (Richard McNemar, Ohio, ca. 1810)
23. Sister Mildred Barker1980 interview continued
24. Eldress Bertha Lindsay's 90th birthday, Canterbury, NH, 1987/ Simple Gifts sung by her friends)
25. Interview with Eldress Bertha Lindsay, March 1972 ("Simple Gifts" sung)
26. Dance Song: Simple Gifts (Joseph Brackett Jr., Alfred, Maine, 1848) -- arr. Roger Hall
27. Hymn: A Prayer (poem by Sister R. Mildred Barker) -- music by Roger Hall
28. Hymn: Holy Habitation (text: Eunice Wyeth/ tune: Lebanon, ca. 1848) -- arr. by Roger Hall
29. Hymn: The Humble Heart (text: Eunice Wyeth/ tune: Thomas Hammond, Harvard, MA)-- arr R. Hall
30. Round: We Will All Go Home With You (Canterbury, NH, 1862) -- arr. by Roger Hall
You can order the "Love is Little" SATB arrangement from PineTree Music
Nos. 1, 15,18, 22, 26-30 included in A Guide to Shaker Music (6th edition, PineTree Press)
Nos. 5, 7, 10, 12-14 included in Love is Little: A Sampling of Shaker Spirituals (Sampler Records)
To order the CD, The Humble Heart - Twenty-four Shaker Spirituals, go to the
NEW!
The River of Love:
Music of the Shakers and Music Based on Shaker Themes (Albany Records)
Featuring original Shaker melodies and arrangements by William Cutter, Aaron Copland , and World Premiere recordings of a cantata by Jacob Druckman, and Eric Sawyer's The Humble Heart: A Cantata for Youth.
The performers on this CD include these soloists:
Emily Browder, soprano
Pamela Dellal, mezzo-soprano
Andrew Leonard, tenor
Robert Honeysucker, baritone
Bill Geha, piano
Malcolm Halliday, conductor
The CD features the New England Voices, a performing and educational ensemble founded in 1998 and including youth and adult singers and instrumentalists.
Assisting in the Shaker music research was musicologist Roger Hall.
The founder and director, Nancy Annis McDowell, writes the following:
"The program is grouped thematically for the most part, songs about Mother Ann, songs about love, four-part spirituals, and hymns chosen by contemporary composers for their works based on Shaker themes. The River of Love perpetuates a new genre of American music begun by Jacob Druckman. Music based on Themes of the American Shakers. This recording by New England Voices, the first of its kind, is especially suited for youth as both performers and listeners."
Participants in the recording project (left to right):
Musicologist & Singer Roger Hall;
New England Voices Director & Singer Nancy McDowell;
Composer Eric Sawyer.
(photo by Gail Hall)
New England Voices Combined Choirs
(photo by Gail Hall)
Track Titles:
1. Prayer Universal -- Combined Choirs
2. Simple Gifts (arranged by Aaron Copland) -- Pamela Dellal, mezzo-soprano; Bill Geha, piano
3. A Mince Pie or a Puding (New Lebanon, NY) -- Emily Browder, Nancy McDowell, Pamela Dellal, Andrew Leonard
4. From a Shaker Hymnal: There's a Light (arranged by William Cutter) -- Combined Choirs; Amy Carroll, flute
5. From a Shaker Hymnal: Let Zion Move (arranged by William Cutter) -- Combined Choirs; Amy Carroll, flute
6. From a Shaker Hymnal: I Will Go On My Way (arranged by William Cutter) --
Combined Choirs; Amy Carroll, flute
7. Drink Ye -- Andrew Leonard, tenor
8. I Love Mother -- Corinne Candilis, child soloist
9. Mother Ann's Song -- Michael Pritchard, bass
10. Mother Ann's Closet -- Emily Browder, soprano
11. Dimission of the Devil -- Robert Honeysucker, baritone
12. The Humble Heart
-- Pamela Dellal, mezzo-soprano
13. The Humble Heart: A Cantata For Youth [Eric Sawyer, 2006/ World Premiere Recording]
--
Emily Browder, Pamela Dellal, Andrew Leonard, Robert Honeysucker, Combined Choirs
14.
More Love -- Emily Browder, soprano
15. Invitation to the River of Love -- Robert Honeysucker, baritone
16. Love is Little -- Jennifer Shaw. soprano
17. Pretty Home -- Grace Long, soprano
18. A Snag of it or a Handful of Gospel Love -- Children's Chorus
19. Tuvan Throat Singing -- Thomas Erick Summer, tenor
20. Adagio in Lydian Mode from String Quartet No. 2 (Eric Sawyer) -- Karen Oosterbaan, violin; Frederick Bednarz, violin; Thomas Fajaro, viola; Hazel Gietheim, cello
21. Sweet Summer Land -- Combined Choirs
22. I'll Tell Thee of Heaven -- Combined Choirs
23. I Hunder and Thirst -- Laura Stanfield Pritchard, soprano
24. I Know How to Pay
-- Philip Candilis, bass
25. On Zion's Holy Ground -- Diane Taraz Shriver, soprano
26. Work for the Harvest -- Combined Choirs
27. In My Father's House -- Combined Choirs
28. Come Life, Shaker Life -- Combined Choirs
29. O Heaven of Heavens -- Emily Browder, soprano
30. One, Two, Three Steps -- Emily Browder, Nancy McDowell, sopranos
31. Little
Trumpet -- Thomas Erick Summer, tenor
32. I've Set My Face for Zion's Kingdom -- Combined Choirs
33. Funeral Hymn -- Pamela Dellal, mezzo-soprano
34. The Simple Gifts: A Cantata Based on Themes of the American Shakers [Jacob Druckman, 1954/ World Premiere Recording] --
Emily Browder, soprano; Philip Candilis,
bass; Pamela Dellal, mezzo-soprano;
Andrew Leonard, tenor
35. Farewell Song -- Thomas Erik Summer, tenor
36. I Will Bow and Be Simple -- Combined Choirs
37. Living Souls Let's Be Marching -- Combined Choirs
You can receive The River of Love CD by making a tax deductible contribution
to New England Voices.
Your gift will help further this new genre in helping composer commissions for new works,
the completion of a book for schools, and a one hour video documentary.
For more details, write to:
nevoices@comcast.net or nevoices@Gmail.com
Three Instrumental CDs (Gourd Music)
A series featuring very appealing medleys of Shaker melodies, arranged by William Coulter (guitar) and Barry Phillips (cello) and joined by an ensemble of telented folk musicians.
These CDs for ideal for relaxing listening.
Simple Gifts (GM 106)
(11 tracks)
Tree of Life (GM 114)
(12 tracks)
Music On The Mountain (GM 124)
(15 tracks)
Simple Gifts (Deutsche Grammophon)
Featuring Bryn Terfel
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A very good selection of religious music by composers such as Mozart, Pergolesi and J.S. Bach, and traditional tunes like the deeply moving Afro-American spiritual "Deep River," the lovely Austrian folk tune, "Still, Still, Still" (arranged by Mack Wilberg); and the popular Swedish hymn, "How Great Thou Art."
"Simple Gifts" is, for once, correctly identified as being written by Elder Joseph Brackett Jr. The appropriately simple arrangement for voice and orchestra was made by Chris Hazell.
This is an inspiring collection, beautifully sung by Bryn Terfel, the London Voices, with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Barry Wordsworth.
To order this CD, click on this link:
See also
Aaron Copland Meets The Shakers
American Music Recordings Collection
Joseph Brackett's SIMPLE GIFTS
Shaker Music Collections and Songbooks
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American Music Preservation.com
Use this handy Search to order your merchandise...
Blended Together -
Shaker Hymns and Songs
The Humble Heart: Twenty-four Shaker Spirituals
I Am Filled With Heavenly Treasures
Joy of Angels: Shaker Spirituals for Christmas and the New Year
Let Zion Move: Music of the Shakers
Love is Little: A Sampling of Shaker Spirituals
Music On The Mountain
(instrumental arrangements)
The River of Love: Music of the Shakers and Music Based on Shaker Themes
Simple Gifts (instrumental arrangements)
Tree of Life (instrumental arrangements)
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