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New England Song Series No. 4:
Joseph Brackett's "Simple Gifts"
Portrait of Elder Joseph Brackett Jr., 1797-1882
Source:
The Aletheia:Spirit of Truth
by Aurelia G. Mace.
Farmington, Maine:
Press of the Knowlton & McLeary Co.,
1907
Shaker Song Arrangement in Washington, DC!
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. For two reviews, click on these links:
Anthony Tommasini, New York Times
Watch the performance at the Inauguration ceremony by violinist Itzhak Perlman,
cellist Yo-Yo Ma, clarinetist Anthony McGill,
and pianist Gabriela Montero,
here on
Did you know that "Simple Gifts" was originally written for dancing?
Read about the popular Shaker song by clicking on these links:
Help support the mission of this website.
Use this handy Search Box to order your merchandise...
Simple Words for a Simple Song
Simple Gifts
'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gain'd,
To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,
To turn, turn will be our delight
'Till by turning, turning we come round right.
These are the words to the best known Shaker song.
Unfortunately there have been so many errors associated with "Simple Gifts" that it is time "we come round right." Here are six ways this Shaker song is incorrectly identified or misunderstood.
First
Many books continue to distribute the wrong information. For example, in The Big Book of New England Curiosities, this is stated on page 137:
"Shakers also just love to belt out a tune. Shaker hymns are for the most part lively and upbeat, not unlike the folks who sing them. Their bit hit, 'Simple Gifts,' written by Elder Joseph Brackett right here at the Sabbathday Lake Community, speaks volumes about their way of life. You known, it's the song that begins, 'Tis a gift to be simple'...."
It needs to be emphasized that the beginning of the song is NOT -- "Tis a gift to be simple, tis a gift to be free." That one word has been changed by singers and arrangers over the years.
It should be: "Tis the gift to be simple, tis the gift to be free." To the Shakers, that one word makes a big difference! They are talking about the gift of their faith, not just any gift.
Second
"Simple Gifts" is usually identified incorrectly, such as identifying it as a "Shaker hymn" or as a "work song-hymn" (see Thomas Hampson: I Hear America Singing ). Actually, it's neither a hymn nor a work song. It was written as a religious dance song. Shaker hymns usually have two or more stanzas of text, and Shaker songs have only one stanza. Since "Simple Gifts" has only one stanza, it should be classified as a song. Also, notice the last two lines:
To turn, turn will be our delight
'Till by turning, turning we come round right.
These words are dance instructions. Several Shaker manuscripts identify this tune as
a "Dancing Song" or a "Quick Dance."
Third
The tune for "Simple Gifts" has been compared to several other music pieces, such as the second movement ("Friss") of Bela Bartok's First Rhapsody for violin and orchestra in 1928. Though there are similarities in the opening theme of the Bartok work and the Shaker tune, there are no connections between the two. As with many simple tunes, it is merely a musical coincidence.
The only direct connections are the many arrangements of the song, especially by Aaron Copland, whose arrangements have been performed all over the world. Probably the best known example is the orchestral variations of "Simple Gifts" in his ballet score, Appalachian Spring, one of the greatest American classical works of the 20th century. Copland also arranged the song for solo voice and piano (later orchestrated) in his First Set of Old American Songs.
Another version of the Copland arrangement is for band and was performed in 2004 at the 115th Annual Tournament of Roses Parade in California, performed by The Temple City Band. Grand Marshall of that parade was film composer, John Williams, who has recorded Copland's "Variations on a Shaker Melody" with the Boston Pops, and recently he arranged the Shaker tune in a piece titled, "Air and Simple Gifts," for the Inauguration of President Barack Obama on 20 January 2009. This piece can be viewed on YouTube.
Fourth
Many authors have failed to identify Elder Joseph Brackett Jr. as the composer of "Simple Gifts" and also give the wrong date when it was written. The Shakers have long believed that Elder Joseph wrote the song. Some authors have written he wrote the song in 1875, including in the book, Eminent Mainers, by Arthur Douglas Stover, and also in the best-selling CD by the Boston Camerata, Simple Gifts: Shaker Chants and Spirituals. That date of 1875 is incorrect.
Elder Joseph's dance song was written in 1848, but not at Sabbathday Lake. It was written at the Shaker community in Alfred, Maine.
In an article by Sister R. Mildred Barker in 1967, she mentions Elder Joseph as the composer of this dance song. She had lived her youth at the Alfred Shaker community, and learned that Elder Joseph's song was written there. There is also evidence in Shaker manuscripts that Elder Joseph wrote "Simple Gifts" [included as illustrations in THE STORY OF SIMPLE GIFTS].
Fifth
Some have claimed that the Shaker song was based on another song, "Lord of the Dance." It was actually the other way round. "Lord of the Dance" was based on the Shaker melody,
with new words and altered tune by British songwriter, Sydney Carter, in 1963. This song has become enormously popular as well. Yet, as with"Simple Gifts," it is often incorrectly identified.
Pass the word along (especially to musicians and journalists) that "Simple Gifts" was a dance song written by Elder Joseph Brackett and "Lord of the Dance" was written by Sydney Carter. Both are wonderful songs and deserve to be credited properly.
Sixth
It is usually assumed that because "Simple Gifts" is a folk spiritual in public domain, it can be copied from books or collections without any credit given. NOT TRUE!
Any published version of this Shaker song should be credited to the author, editor or arranger whose name usually appears at the top of the page or on the title page of the book. This has become a disturbing practice with "Simple Gifts" being uncredited or listed as a "traditional Shaker hymn." When in doubt, it is best to credit whatever source you use for your performance, publication, or recording.
THE STORY BEHIND "SIMPLE GIFTS"
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Have you wondered where this Shaker song came from and
who wrote it?
Now you can find out about this beautiful Shaker song in an illustrated booklet written by Roger Lee Hall, a composer and musicologist and one of the leading authorities on Shaker music. He has researched this song for over twenty-five years.
The book includes the evolution of "Simple Gifts," from when it was written to the present day. In addition there are descriptions of how this song was used during the 20th century, including Aaron Copland's vocal arrangement performed at two U.S. Inaugurations: first for President Ronald Reagan in 1985, then for President Bill Clinton in 1993. Also, the Shaker song was used for a new piece by John Williams written for President Barack Obama in 2009.
An excerpt from the Introduction:
It is remarkable how one simple Shaker tune has gone from total obscurity in the 19th century to become one of the most beloved American religious songs today. Over the past decades, Shaker music has been used in many artistic productions, including those by choreographers Doris Humphrey, Martha Graham, Twyla Tharp, and Tero Saarinen. This is appropriate since dancing was an integral part of Shaker worship. Music also has been of primary importance to the Shakers. Creating songs was as functional to them as building simple furniture.
This story of the popular Shaker song was originally published in 2006 as an eBook.
It has now been updated and
is available exclusively
from
this website.
To order the book titled,
THE STORY OF 'SIMPLE GIFTS':
Joseph Brackett's Shaker Dance Song
(PineTree Press, 2nd revised edition, 2009)
go to the
The "Simple Gifts" song and an exclusive interview with Aaron Copland
are included on this CD,
Gentle Words: A Shaker Music Sampler
An arrangement of "Simple Gifts" for voice and piano by Roger Hall
is included in the Music Supplement of this book...
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A Guide to Shaker Music - With Music Supplement
An attractive colorful broadside on heavy cover stock
is available for display or gift-giving.
To order this broadside, go to the
Sponsored by The Tune Lovers Society, each year
there is a birthday commemoration of
the Shaker songwriter who wrote "Simple Gifts."
Elder Joseph Brackett Jr. was born on May 6, 1797 in Cumberland, Maine. He died on July 4, 1882 in New Gloucester, Maine.
Listeners and musicians are urged to play or perform "Simple Gifts" on that day to honor Elder Joseph Brackett's beautiful song.
There are a few recommended recordings of arrangements listed below on this page and also at CD Releases.
For more information about Joseph Brackett Day,
look under "May 6" in this popular annual directory:
Over the past few decades there have been many arrangements of "Simple Gifts," some good and others not so good.
The words to this dance song have often been misunderstood.
Contrary to today's interpretation by many writers, Elder Joseph Brackett was not speaking about just living a simple carefree life. Instead, he was expressing the"simple gifts" of the Shaker celibate faith, with their devotion and service to God. The Shakers have always been a deeply religious people.
The recommended arrangements of "Simple Gifts" are available at:
What follows are a few other recorded arrangements -- the good and not so good.
The Good Arrangements
The best known arrangements of the popular Shaker dance song,"Simple Gifts," are by Aaron Copland, his variations on the tune in Appalachian Spring; also his "Variations on a Shaker Melody" for orchestra, and his arrangement for solo voice and piano (or orchestra) in the set of Old American Songs. These arrangements retain the simplicity and directness of the Shaker song.
One recording with Copland's "Variations on a Shaker Melody" received the prestigious Grand Prix Du Disque in 1989:
One of the popular arrangements of the past few decades has been by Bob Chilcott, a former member of the world renowned male singing group, The King's Singers. Chilcott's arrangement is titled "The Gift to be Simple," and may be heard on their Grammy-winning Signum CD from the UK:
Chilcott's arrangement of the Shaker dance song is lovely and beautifully performed on the CD. But unfortunately, it is listed as "Trad. American" and not credited to Elder Joseph Brackett. Also included on the CD is another American folk tune, the haunting ballad: "Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair" and several Afro-American spirituals. This CD is a very appealing combination of popular songs like Randy Newman's beautiful song "When She Loved Me" from TOY STORY 2, and traditional folk tunes, such as "Greensleeves" and "The Turtle Dove" (which has a melody similar to the Shaker spiritual, "Let Us Sing Praises").
Read more about this world famous male singing group at: www.kingssingers.com
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A very good selection of religious music by composers such as Mozart, Pergolesi and J.S. Bach/Gound, 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." The Shaker song "Simple Gifts" is correctly identified as being written by Elder Joseph Brackett Jr. The 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 recommended CD, click on this link:
Over the past few decades, there have been many attempts made to expand the one verse Shaker song by adding new verses. But none of these attempts to add more verses have reached the same "simple" eloquence of the original 1848 Shaker text by Elder Joseph Brackett. Yet, there are some who have done better by writing their own lyrics for the song.
Probably the best known example is Sydney Carter's 1963 song, "Lord of the Dance."
Another very good effort has been done by UK composer Anthony Wakefield, who has also decided to write his own lyrics and set it to Joseph Brackett's Shaker tune. He calls his new song, "Dream Dance." You can read about it at this link: Anthony Wakefield Music
And now...
The Not So Good Arrangements
This is a best-selling CD featuring the 5 Browns, a young brother and sister family of pianists...
On track 3 is an arrangement of "Simple Gifts" and "Going Home" by Professor Jeffrey Shumway at Brigham Young University. But it has some misleading information in its credits.
The composers mentioned are Aaron Copland for "Simple Gifts" and Antonin Dvorak for "Going Home." The composers of these songs should be Elder Joseph Brackett and William Arms Fisher.
Copland arranged Elder Joseph's melody in his Appalachian Spring, while Dvorak composed his Largo theme in his Symphony No. 9 (From the New World), but never composed the song titled "Going Home" (or more accurately, "Goin' Home"). Unfortunately, credit was not given to the original composers, Joseph Brackett and William Arms Fisher. This is often the case with record labels that fail to search out the correct information.
Jeffrey Shumway's piano arrangement of these two American songs is fine, with subtle interweaving of both melodies, but doesn't do justice to either song without the words included. The remainder of the CD is devoted to classical piano works, some well known and others less familiar.
To order this CD, click on this link:
There have been numerous failed attempts -- those who have added non-Shaker words to the song.
Why add new verses to this one verse Shaker dance song?
These new verses sound more like overly sentimental greeting card messages [see Wikipedia article] rather than expressions of simple faith by Elder Joseph Brackett.
Two examples of added non-Shaker verses are found on CDs featuring the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, under different conductors. They are listed here and both are recommended for the other music on the CDs:
Love Is Spoken Here: Songs of Heart and Home
Craig Jessop and Mack Wilberg, conductors
Added words for "Simple Gifts" by David Warner
Songs From America's Heartland
Jerold Ottley, conductor
Added words for "Simple Gifts" by A. Laurence Lyon
A variety of arrangements (both vocal and instrumental)
can be found at the "Simple Gifts" Group on
Boston Camerata's CD: Simple Gifts - Shaker Chants and Spirituals -- notes for the CD
Gentle Words -- several versions of "Simple Gifts" and the Aaron Copland interview.
PineTree Music -- original compositions and arrangements of Shaker tunes.
The River of Love -- CD with arrangements of "Simple Gifts" by 20th century composers.
Shaker Books and Articles -- books and articles about Shaker music.
Shaker Music Collections -- some with accompanying CDs.
Shaker Music History -- highlights from 1781 to 2001.
Shaker Music Lectures and Workshops -- programs available for any audience.
Shaker Music Today -- about the Shakers in recent times.
Wikipedia -- article about "Simple Gifts."
YouTube -- A selection of various arrangements can be found in the "Simple Gifts" group.
Help support the mission of this website.
Use this handy Search Box to order your merchandise...
Recommended Books
and Articles
New England Song Series
No. 1:
BATTLE HYMN
OF THE REPUBLIC
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