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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.
They were recorded between 1960 and 1980:Early Shaker Spirituals (with illustrated booklet) -- Sabbathday Lake Shakers
There are also two CDs featuring the Boston Camerata and other musicians,
joined by the Shakers from Sabbathday Lake
available frpm 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
In his eBook, 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 in 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
[picture not to be reproduced without permission]
Also discussed in the eBook 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 eBook along with Roger's early song lyrics and poems from the 1960s and 1970s.
For more about this illustrated eBook, which includes music files,
click on this link:
"Dream World" - Songs, Poems and Stories
New Publication!
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:
To read more about Gentle Words: Shaker Music in the 20th Century,
click on this link:
Shaker Books
Also available is an attractive broadside sheet suitable for framing,
To order this broadside, go to the
Listen to the singing of the Shakers
from Canterbury and Sabbathday Lake
on these two recent CDs:Blended Together: Interview with the Shakers
Gentle Words: A Shaker Music Sampler
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. Therefore, "Love is Little" for 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.
To order CDs with Shaker arrangements, go to: CD Releases
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 this recorded interview:
"Living Souls, Let's Be Marching" [included on the CD: Gentle Words ]This Shaker marching song from Tyringham, Massachusetts is available in
two different CDs and songbooks, the first one an edited version of Brother Ricardo's singing, 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 a paper or book?
See the 56 Shaker songs and hymns listed at the
Rare TV Programs
© 1983 Gail Hall
[picture not to be reproduced without permission]
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 songwriter, Father James Whittaker.
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
American Music Recordings Collection -- CDs relating to Shaker music.
AS IT IS IN HEAVEN -- a review of the play by Arlene Hutton about nine Shaker sisters.
CD and DVD Releases -- a list of original and arranged Shaker music.
Joseph Brackett's 'SIMPLE GIFTS' -- information about the best known Shaker song.
Shaker Music History -- from 1781 to 2001.
Wikipedia -- article about "Simple Gifts."
If you have any questions or comments,
write to:
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