In celebration of the 200th anniversary
of the founding of the North Union Shaker Community!

May we ever be united,
With this little happy band,
Who are traveling on to Zion,
All united heart and hand.

--Opening words of a Shaker song
by Philander Curtis Cramer, North Union, 1835

The North Union Shaker Community existed from 1822 to 1889 in what is now Shaker Heights, Ohio.

Even though it was not the largest of the four Shaker communities in Ohio (the other three were at Union Village, Watervleit and Whitewater), there was a large amount of music composed at North Union.  Previously, only a few North Union tunes have been available in published collections. 

This is the first detailed study of the music from this Ohio Shaker community and is of value to history and music teachers, musicians and those interested in local history and music.

The first Shaker folk tunes were composed in New York State and New England in the early 1780s, even before the U.S. Constitution was written. Their music was related to English, Scottish and Irish folk tunes. 

The majority of the North Union music was written in manuscript books with single-line melodies. There were also some with just a tune without any words. Also, there were many duplicate copies of the tunes from North Union. 

From his extensive research, Roger Lee Hall, has found there are many more North Union tunes than previously indicated in published books.

Here are a few examples:

Ballad Hymn

An important anniversary celebrated each year by the Shakers for several centuries is the arrival of their spiritual leader, Mother Ann Lee (1736-1784), and a small number of Believers from England. They left Liverpool, England in May and arrived in New York City on August 6, 1774.

This is an important date because it signifies the beginning of the Shaker Church in America. The event was often celebrated by later Shakers with special new songs and hymns.

One of the hymns composed for the occasion at North Union is titled:
"On the Landing of Mother Ann in America."

This is the first of the four verses:

O hail this happy welcome day,
When blessed Mother Ann
First landed in America
With her devoted band.
How did the wilderness resound
With Angel's songs of praise
When they on fair Columbia's ground
The gospel standard raised.

Chorus:
Again let the forest loudly resound,
Dear Children of Mother;
Her beautiful way our Spirits have found,
Surpassing all others.

This hymn was written at North Union in 1860.

It was discovered and first introduced by Roger Hall during the Bicentennial Conference of the Shakers Arrival in America in 1974 at The Western Reserve Historical Society in Cleveland, Ohio. It was sung in that same year when several of the Sabbathday Lake Shakers were in Shaker Heights for a teacher's workshop.

While the Maine Shakers were in Shaker Heights, thanks to the efforts of Roger Hall, they were introduced for the first time to the distinguished composer, Aaron Copland, whose orchestral and vocal arrangements of the best known Shaker song, "Simple Gifts" (aka: 'Tis the gift to be simple) are known thoughout the USA and other countries as well.

 

"On the Landing of Mother Ann in America" was edited by Roger Hall and first published in a songbook with an accompanying CD of Shaker tunes sung by The Sampler Chorus and the collection was titled after one of the popular Shaker humility songs:

"Love is Little" - A Sampling of Shaker Spirituals

 

Christmas Song

Here is the text of another North Union tune, this one by Nelson Phillips titled, "Heavenly Music," from 1853. It was published in an edition by Roger Hall in THE SHAKER MESSENGER Magazine in 1988:

O harken listen to the sound,
Hear the music rolling,
Holy Angels do surround
Heavenly gifts bestowing.
Gather, gather children dear,
Gather Mother's Blessing,
Heavenly love is flowing here,
O it is refeshing.

This song is included on a Sampler Records CD and also the accompanying songbook:

Joy of Angels: Shaker Spirituals For Christmas and The New Year

 

Anniversary music program:

He presented a special anniversary program titled:
"May We Ever Be United - Music of the North Union Shakers"

His program was in celberation of the 200th anniversary of the
founding of that Shaker community and also
the 75th anniversary of the Shaker Historical Society.

The music program was held at the Shaker Heights Library in Ohio
on September 8, 2022.

At that program, he donated copies of two of his Shaker music publications
to Meghan Hays, Local History Librarian
and Brianna Treleven, Director of the Shaker Heights Historical Society.

 

New edition now available for the North Union Bicentennial!

"May We Ever Be United" --
Music of the North Union, Ohio Shakers
PineTree Music, 2nd edition, 2022       

To celebrate the 200th anniversary of the founding of this Shaker community,
a revised edition of the book available as a PDF via email.

During the 1970s, while collecting research for his Ph.D dissertation in Musicology at Case Western Reserve University, Roger Lee Hall, spent five years researching the music of the North Union Shakers.

Information in this book:

--An extensive time line of North Union Shaker history (1822-1889)
--A checklist of all known Shaker tunes from North Union.
--Sheet music for 15 original Shaker tunes, published for the first time.
--A description of Alma McGill's North Union manuscript music book.
--A bibliography and a list of recordings.

About the author:

Roger Lee Hall, is one of the leading authorities
on Shaker music, having researched, edited, and performed it for 50 years.

Since the 1970s, he has compiled and edited 20 collections on Shaker music topics.
See the list of these collections -- click here

For his valuable pioneering work in preserving Shaker music and other historic music from America's past, he has been listed in Who's Who in America and Who's Who in the World.

He is currently Director of the Center for American Music Preservation (CAMP).

Attention Choir Directors and Singers!

There are two vocal arrangements available:
a North Union anthem and hymn (S.A.T.B.) by Roger Lee Hall
which would be suitable for your choir or solo quartet.
H ere are the titles:

Anthem: Praise To The Lord (1847)
words: Elder Jeremiah Ingalls Jr.
tune: Sewel G. Thayer

Hymn: Gospel Truth (1885)
words and music: Elder James S. Prescott

To contact Roger about ordering these titles at a reasonable price -- click here

 

 

 

 

Your order for this title only available here
is payable through safe and secure PayPal for just $11.95.

The book (pdf) will be sent directly to you
via email attachment.

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Also available separately
with lyrics for North Union Shaker music
is this book and accompanying CD...

 

Read about this book and accompanying CD

click here

 

 

See the llist of CDs with Shaker music -- click here

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