"May I softly walk and wisely speak"

A Memorial Tribute to Eldress Bertha Lindsay

by Roger Hall

 

Eldress Bertha Lindsay (1897-1990)
Canterbury, New Hampshire

© photograph by Gail Hall, 1972

 

 

In 1972, I spent two days interviewing two Shakers from Canterbury, New Hampshire who were both very musical: Eldress Bertha Lindsay and Sister Lillian Phelps.

Eldress Bertha sang a selection of Shaker spirituals including "May I Softly Walk" and "Prayer Universal." Sister Lillian Phelps, who was then 95 years old, was her piano accompanist.

My arrangement of "May I Softly Walk" and the original version of "Prayer Universal"are both included on this CD:

 

 

Celestial Praises - A Celebration of Shaker Spirituals

 

 

Excerpts of the interviews with Eldress Bertha Lindsay are included on these three CDs:

 

Blended Together: Interviews with The Shakers

 

 

Gentle Words - A Shaker Music Sampler

 

 

 

 

Let Zion Move - Music of the Shakers

 

 

Read about Roger Hall's interviews with Eldress Bertha Lindsay in this personal collection of memories and titled after one of his early songs:

"Dream World": Songs, Poems and Stories by Roger Hall

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