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This is the first in the Shaker Music Series and was compiled and produced by Roger Lee Hall. It 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; and Sister R. Mildred Barker and Sister Frances Carr from Sabbathday Lake, Maine.
Since many of these interviews were recorded live at the Shaker villages, the recorded sound is not always ideal. But these are rare examples of Shaker sisters talking about and singing their own music.
The CD title of "Blended Together" is named after a song by Elder Joseph Holden (1851-1919) from Mt. Lebanon, New York.
The late Sister R. Mildred Barker said in an interview that this was a favorite song at the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Community and was sung there for many years.
These interviews took place at Canterbury, New Hampshire in 1972;
at Cleveland and Shaker Heights, Ohio, 1974;
and at Sabbathday Lake, Maine in 1980.
Track Titles:
1. Song: Blended together as one we stand - Mitzie Collins & Roger Hall, 1992
and Sister R. Mildred Barker & Sister Frances Carr, Shaker Heights, Ohio, 1974
2. Song: Mother says O rise be glad -- Eldress Bertha Lindsay, 1972
3. Interview with Eldress Bertha Lindsay in Canterbury, NH, 1972
4. The reed organ
5. The Shaker orchestra
6. Canterbury Shaker singers
7. Canterbury hymnal
8. Elder Henry Blinn
9. Shaker school
10. Song: I will go on my way -- Eldress Bertha Lindsay, 1972
11. Song: May I softly walk and O tarry not 'mid worldly strife, 1972
12. Sister Lillian Phelps tells about her hymn, O tarry not, 1972
13. Shaker dances and marches
14. Shaker "letteral" music notation
15. Sister Lillian tells about her musical training
16. Shaker gift songs
17. Skipping song
18. Shaker dances
19. Song: In the days when I shall comfort thee
20. Song: I want to be clean and holy all over
21. Just enough cross by the way and 'Tis the gift to be simple
22. Interview with Eldress Bertha Lindsay on television in Cleveland, Ohio in 1974
23. Song: O my sweet Shaker home
24. Song: O we're a band of sisters and happy are we
25. Song: Simple Gifts - Eldress Bertha's 90th birthday party, 1987
26. Song: Who will bow and bend like the willow - recorded in 1974
27. Song: I must live must have my being - Sister Mildred Barker
28. Interview with Sister Mildred at Sabbathday Lake, Maine, 1980
29. Hymn: The Shakers - Sister Mildred and Sister Frances,1980
30. Song: We will all go home with you - Sabbathday Shakers, 1974To order this CD, go to the
The music consists of Shaker songs and hymns and are prime examples of white (or Anglo-American) spirituals, a religious folk music tradition lasting over two centuries.
This AMRC CD 0007 may be ordered here directly
payable by credit card to PineTree Productions
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A Sampling of Shaker Music CDs
Many of the Shaker songs and hymns included on these CDs are available in performing editions and arrangements by Roger Lee Hall, a composer and ethnomusicoloist who has researched and performaed Shaker music for over 40 years. His editions and arrangements are listed at these links:
Mr. Hall was music consultant for these CDs:
- The River of Love: Music of the Shakers and Music Based on Shaker Themes
- Simple Gifts : Shaker Chants and Spirituals
- Verdant Groves - Music From Four New England Shaker Villages
Shaker Music CD Series
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" Celestial Praises" - A Celebration of Shaker Spirituals
25 premiere recordings of original Shaker tunes
and arrangements by Roger Lee Hall and Conrad Held.
This CD features soloists,
instrumentalists (piano, recorder, violins)
and The Canterbury Singers,
all under the direction of
Kathryn Southworth
"Gentle Words" - A Shaker Music Sampler
Original Shaker Tunes
Shaker Singers
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 Records)
A CD collection, originally released on LP in 1976, with 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.
These are a few of Shaker spirituals included on the CD set:
"The rolling deep" (Eldress Polly Lawrence)
"Come life, Shaker life" (Elder Issachar Bates)
"Down in the lowly vale" (Sister Polly Rupe)
"'Tis the gift to be simple" (Elder Joseph Brackett)
"I looked and lo a lamb" (anthem)
"With a new tongue" (Brother David A. Buckingham)
"O brighter than the morning star" (Ezra T. Leggett/Susanna Brady)
"O give me a little love" (Sister Sarah Fletcher)
You can order this CD directly from Amazon.com here:
Let Zion Move: Music of the Shakers (Rounder Records)
"The spiritual music of the Shakers. as might be expected, is notable for its simplicity and straightforward nature...anyone with an interest in American religious music will find the material both interesting and moving.
Highly recommended."
--Rick Anderson, All Music Guide
This 2 CD set from 1999 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 Randle. Later interviews were conducted in 1972 and 1980 by Roger Hall, who has edited and written the detailed notes for this unique collection.
These are a few of Shaker spirituals included on the CD set:
"Let Zion Move"
"Redeeming Love"
"Let My Name Be Recorded"
"I See The Light Before Me"
"Precious Gospel Kindred"
"Consulation" (all six titles by Eldress Mary Ann Gillespie)
"Abiding Care" (Dorothy Durgin)
"O Tarry Not" (words: Dorothea Cochran/ music: Lillian Phelps)
"Star of Purity" (words: Susanna Brady/ music: Ezra T. Leggett)
"Lead Me On To Greater Victory" (Elder Otis Sawyer)
"Prayer Universal" (Eldress Dorothy Durgin) -- solo by Charles Thompson
The CD set includes 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.
Read how these important recordings were made in 1960-61 and
finally released commercially in 1999.
If still available, you can order the CD set from Amazon.com at this link:
Let Zion Move: Music of the Shakers
"Blended Together" -- Shaker Song Broadside Series
This attractive broadside is available at the
CAMP Store
Gentle Words: A Shaker Music Sampler
(AMRC 0016)
Includes 24 premiere recordings including a newly discovered version of the best known Shaker song, "Simple Gifts," and music sung by Shaker sisters from taped field recordings. These are rare performances by Shaker sisters and were recorded live on site. The sound quality is good but not the same as today's digital studio recordings.
Read more and how to order at this link:
Love is Little:
A Sampling of Shaker Spirituals
(Sampler Records Ltd.)
This CD includes the "Blended Together" song.
This CD is a collection of 36 Shaker spirituals, released by Sampler Records in 1992, representing all of the 18 major Shaker communities, performed by Roger Hall, Mitzie Collins and other soloists, and The Sampler Chorus. It is titled after the popular Shaker humility song from South Union, Kentucky.
There is also an accompanying songbook compiled by Roger Hall with all the music from the CD, plus music notes, a list of titles from the Shaker Song Series, and a bibliography. Included is the earliest known Shaker song with complete words and music, "In Yonder Valley" (1787).
Reviews:
"The recording includes a nice contrast of styles, tempi, vocal timbres and ranges. It resists the temptation to 'arrange' the music for modern performance, but lets the music speak for itself. I'd recommend both the book and recording as useful for singers and scholars, and would suggest that traditional music groups will find the collection a means of incorporating these songs into their own repertories. I'd also recommend the recording if for no other reason than that you'll enjoy it."--- Susan Porter, Professor of Music, Ohio State University, Lima, Ohio in The Sonneck Society for American Music Bulletin, Summer, 1993.
"The excellent vocals of Mitzie, Roger and the Sampler Chorus carry this recording onto a high level of musical achievement. Anyone interested in the Shakers and their music must have this recording."
---"Andy Recommends" in Andy's Front Hall Order Catalog,
Voorheesville, New York.
DVDs with Shaker Music
"Simple Gifts": Great American Folk Song
"Give Good Gifts"
Shaker music in the 20th century
The Shakers and Their Music on Television
Several television programs,
including interviews with Sister R. Mildred Barker
and music and dance by the Shaker Village Work Camp singers
at Hancock Shaker Village in 1966, and a television story about
the Sabbathday Lake Shakers in 1986
with the singing of several Shaker songs
are included
on this deluxe multi-media DVD.
Click on this link:
Related AMP Links
Aaron Copland Meets The Shakers
Joseph Brackett's Simple Gifts
Shaker Music Books and Articles
Shaker Music Preservation Series
Top Twelve Recorded Shaker Tunes
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