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The Shakers in New Hampshire and Maine
The last two Shaker communities have been in New England.
The former one at Canterbury, New Hampshire no longer has
any Shakers living there and is now a well preserved museum.
The last Shaker member, Sister Ethel Hudson, died at Canterbury in 1992.The other one is at Sabbathday Lake, Maine.
It is the only active Shaker community
and is believed to be the oldest religious communal society
in the United States, having begun back in the 1780s.There are two Rounder CD releases available with Shakers
from these two communities singing and speaking about their music.
Early Shaker Spirituals (with notes by Daniel W. Patterson)
Sabbathday Lake Shakers
There are also two CDs featuring the Boston Camerata and other musicians, joined by the Shakers from Sabbathday Lake available from Amazon.com:
Simple Gifts: Shaker Chants and Spirituals
The Golden Harvest: More Shaker Chants and Spirituals
See these pages for memorial tributes to departed Shakers:
Read about the last printed Shaker hymnal of 1908 at this link:
Shaker Music History - 20th Century
A choral arrangement of the Shaker hymn
"Celestial Praises" (Canterbury, New Hampshire, 1841)
is included in the Music Supplement of
Meeting The Shakers
In his multimedia collection, composer and music preservationist Roger Lee Hall, tells the story how he met several Shaker sisters during the 1970s that led to his extensive research, publications and performances of Shaker music.
In 1972, he interviewed two Shakers from Canterbury, New Hampshire who were both very musical: Eldress Bertha Lindsay , and the Shaker sister shown here...
Sister Lillian Phelps (1876-1973)
© 1999. Gail Hall, photographer
Also discussed in the collection is the first and only meeting of several Shakers with the distinguished composer, Aaron Copland in 1974, known for his wonderful arrangements of "Simple Gifts" in Appalachian Spring and Old American Songs. One of the Shakers who met Copland was Sister R. Mildred Barker, the best known Shaker singer of the past half century.
The story about meeting the Shakers is included in the multimedia collection with Roger's early song lyrics and poems from the 1960s and 1970s. For more about this illustrated collection, which includes music files,
click on this link:
"Dream World" - Songs, Poems and Stories
Now available is an informative illustrated publication of historical material and lyrics to 25 of the best known Shaker spirituals, and also an accompanying CD. It is dedicated to Sister R. Mildred Barker and titled:
Gentle Words: Shaker Music in the 20th Century
Read more about it at this link:
Shaker books and articles
Listen to the Shakers speaking about and singing their music
on these CDs:Blended Together: Interview with the Shakers
Gentle Words: A Shaker Music Sampler
Arrangements vs. Editions
The most popular and best known Shaker song today was written back in 1848 by Elder Joseph Brackett Jr. and titled: "Simple Gifts."
There have been many arrangements of this well known Shaker dance song, notably those by Aaron Copland.
Also there have been different editions of"Simple Gifts" which have been published, including those by Edward Deming Andrews, Roger Hall, and Daniel Patterson.
With all the versions of "Tis the gift to be simple" being written today, there exists some confusion between what is an arrangement and what is an edition.
Arrangements
An arrangement is a piece of music that has been significantly altered, such as adding new voice parts and keyboard or other accompaniment. For example,"Love is Little," a Shaker song arranged as a four part chorus [shown at left] is an arrangement, since it has added voice parts to the original melody. Examples of Shaker arrangements are found in the Music Supplement of
A Guide to Shaker Music. See also:
Shaker music arrangements
Editions
An edition is basically the original music with only minor corrections or comments. No significant alterations are made to the original music. Examples of this are found in Daniel Patterson's The Shaker Spiritual and Roger Hall's Love is Little: A Sampling of Shaker Spirituals [shown at left].
See the music collections listed at
There are also recordings with
edited Shaker music at
Whichever type is used for performance,
the arranger or editor should always be credited in concerts or recordings.Remember that original Shaker music may be in public domain, but much of it would not be available for performance if it were not for the work of the arrangers and editors. They deserve to be recognized for their work.
One example of a Shaker song with both an edition and arrangement is by...
The last Shaker from a Massachusetts Shaker community, Brother Ricardo Belden (1870-1958), was interviewed by Jerome Count from the Shaker Village Work Camp in New Lebanon, NY. The year was 1957 and Brother Ricardo sang one Shaker song during the recorded interview:
"Living Souls, Let's Be Marching" [included on the CD: Gentle Words ]This marching song is available on two different CDs and songbooks, the first one an edited version and the second CD has an arrangement:
Love is Little: A Sampling of Shaker Spirituals (edited by Roger Hall)
Are you looking for Shaker music to perform or research
for an article or book?
See the 56 Shaker songs and hymns listed at the
John Adams and his Shaker Loops
One of the most popular classical compisitions of the past few decades is an instrumental piece titled, Shaker Loops, composed by composer, John Adams. He composed this piece in remembrance of where he grew up in New England. As he tells it:
"From the front window of our home in New Hampshire I could see Shaker Road, which led several miles up trhough the woods to a defunct Shaker colony in the nearby tiny village of Canterbury. As a child I'd heard stories, probably exaggerated, of the 'shaking' ceremonies. 'Shaker' had originally been a term of mockery. In fact, these church members called themselves the United Society of Believers. But the image of their shaking dance caught my attention. The idea of reaching a similar state of ecstatic revelation through music was certainly in my mind as I composed Shaker Loops."
--from Halleujah Junction: Composing an American Life by John Adams,
pages 91-92.
Rare TV Programs
© 1983. Gail Hall, photographer
Read about a DVD with programs about
Ken Burns and Shaker Music
Ken Burns is known for his well received series on PBS television,
such as"The Civil War"; "Baseball"; and "Jazz."One of his first documentary films he made was premiered on PBS in 1985:
Ken Burns' America: The Shakers
A story treatment is available for consideration by filmmakers or film producers interested in a making a dramatic film about the early Shakers, including their most prominent early church leaders who were also singers and songwriters.
The story of their early years and voyage from England to America, their triumph over persecution and prejudice, and their early missionary travels
would make a highly compelling dramatic film or a documentary.The hauntingly beautiful Shaker music would be ideal for the film's soundtrack.
Inquiries about this story treatment and music should be directed to:
Would you like to commission one or more Shaker spirituals for a concert,
church service or a special event like an anniversary?Composer Roger Lee Hall has arranged many Shaker tunes over the past three decades.
He is available to edit or arrange Shaker music for solo voice or
for a chorus with or without asccompaniment.Examples of his Shaker arrangements are found on these CDs:
Gentle Words: A Shaker Music Sampler
To inquire about music composed for a special event or concert,
write to:
Are you interested in scheduling an entertaining music program
for your school, college, church, museum or other organization?For more information, click on this link:
Shaker Music Lectures and Workshops
Original Shaker Music Recordings
These CD releases feature interviews and singing by the Shakers...
Blended Together: Interviews with The Shakers (AMRC)
This is a valuable collection of field recordings with interviews and singing by four Shaker sisters: Eldress Bertha Lindsay and Sister Lillian Phelps from Canterbury, New Hampshire; Sister R. Mildred Barker and Sister Frances Carr from Sabbathday Lake, Maine. Since they were recorded at the Shaker villages, the recorded sound is not always ideal. But these are rare examples of the Shakers telling about and singing their own music.
To order Blended Together,
go to the
Early Shaker Spirituals (Rounder Records)
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 from Amazon.com here:
Let Zion Move: Music of the Shakers (Rounder Records)
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 interviews were done in 1960 by William (Bill) Randle, and in 1972 and 1980 by Roger Hall, who has compiled and written the notes for this unique historical collection.
The set also 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.
You can order from Amazon.com at this link:
Let Zion Move: Music of the Shakers
AS IT IS IN HEAVEN -- a review of the play by Arlene Hutton.
CD and DVD Releases -- original and arranged Shaker tunes.
Joseph Brackett's 'SIMPLE GIFTS' -- about the best known Shaker song.
Shaker Music History -- from 1781 to 2001.
If you have any questions or comments,
write to:
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