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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 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, 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
A CD featuring the Boston Camerata and other musicians,
joined by the Shakers from Sabbathday Lake
is available at this link:Simple Gifts: Shaker Chants and Spirituals
Read these pages for tributes to:
Read about the last printed Shaker hymnal of 1908 at this link:
Shaker Music History - 20th Century
You can order a CD of interviews with Shaker sisters and their singing,
and also an interview with composer Aaron Copland.
Here are the track listings:1. Mother says, O Rise be glad - Eldress Bertha Lindsay
2. Interview with two Canterbury Shaker sisters, 1972
3. Interview continued (reed and pipe organ)
4. Interview continued (orchestra at Canterbury)
5. Interview continued (quartet of Shaker sisters)
6. Interview continued (1908 Canterbury hymnal)
7. Interview (Elder Henry Blinn and letteral notation)
8. Interview continued (music in the Shaker school)
9. I will go on my way - Eldress Bertha Lindsay
10. May I softly walk - Eldress Bertha Lindsay
11. Interview continued (Sister Lillian Phelps on her hymn)
12. Interview continued (Shaker dances and marches)
13. Interview (Shaker letteral notation)
14. Interview continued (Sister Lillian Phelps music career)
15. Interview continued (Shaker notation)
16. Interview continued (Shaker marching)
17. Interview continued (meeting house worship)
18. In the day when I shall comfort thee - Eldress Bertha Lindsay
19. I want to be clean and holy all over - Eldress Bertha Lindsay
20. Just enough cross by the way - Eldress Bertha Lindsay
21. Cleveland TV interview with Canterbury Shaker sisters, 1974
22. Who will bow and bend like the willow - Sister Mildred Barker
23. Blended together - Sister Mildred Barker
24. I must live must have my being - Sister Mildred Barker
25. We will all go home with you - Sabbathday Lake Shakers
26. O my sweet Shaker home - Eldress Bertha Lindsay
27. I want to be like the lily - Eldress Bertha Lindsay
28. Oh, we're a band of sisters - Eldress Bertha Lindsay
29. Interview with Sister Mildred Barker, 1980
30. Interview continued (about Shaker ballad hymn)
31. The Shakers (ballad hymn) - Sister Mildred & Sister Frances Carr
32. 'Tis the gift to be simple - Eldress Bertha's 90th birthday party
33. 'Tis the gift to be simple (arr. by Aaron Copland)
34. Interview with composer Aaron Copland, 1980
35. Celestial Praises (arr. Roger Hall), 1974
For more about this CD, "Celestial Praises" - Music by the Shakers, click on this link:
American Music Recordings Collection
An choral arrangement of "Celestial Praises" is
included in this book:A Guide to Shaker Music - With Music Supplement
In his e-book, composer and music preservationist Roger Hall tells the story how he met several Shaker sisters during the 1970s that led to his extensive research in Shaker music.
In 1972, he interviewed two Shakers from Canterbury, New Hampshire: Eldress Bertha Lindsay and Sister Lillian Phelps.
Later he met several Shakers from Sabbathday Lake, Maine: Sister R. Mildred Barker, Sister Frances Carr, and Brother Theordore Johnson.
Also discussed in the e-book is the first and only meeting of the Sabbathday Lake Shakers with the distinguished composer, Aaron Copland (1900-1990) in 1974, known for his arrangements of "Simple Gifts."
The story about meeting the Shakers is included in the illustrated e-book that includes Mr. Hall's early song lyrics and poems from the 1960s and 1970s.
There are also additional poems, photos and audio files.
(shown at left) Sister Lillian Phelps
at Canterbury, New Hampshire, 1972
(photo by Gail Hall)
For more about this illustrated e-book available on CD-ROM, which
includes music files, click on this link:
"Dream World" - Songs, Poems and Stories
To order this e-book (available for a limited time), go to the
The most popular and best known Shaker song today was written back in 1848
by Elder Joseph Brackett Jr. and titled: "Simple Gifts."Here are the words to this one verse song :
'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gain'd,
To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,
To turn, turn will be our delight
'Till by turning, turning we come round right.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 these 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"
This Shaker marching song from Tyringham, Massachusetts is available in
two different CDs and songbooks,
the first one an edition and the second an arrangement:Love is Little: A Sampling of Shaker Spirituals (edited by Roger Hall)
Play about the Shakers
A review of the play by Arlene Hutton about nine Shaker sisters
is available at this link:
Rare TV ProgramsRead about a VHS tape or DVD-R contining programs of
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 Hall has arranged many Shaker tunes in the past.
He is available for commissions of Shaker music arranged for solo voice and accompaniment or for a mixed chorus at a reasonable fee.
Examples of his Shaker arrangements are found on these two CDs:
Send your request to:
Are you interested in scheduling an entertaining music program for your school, church, museum or other organization?
For more information, click on this link:
Shaker Music Lectures and Workshops
American Shaker Music -- a related web site and the oldest one on the Internet dealing with Shaker music and related information.
CD and DVD Releases -- a selection of original and arranged Shaker tunes.
Joseph Brackett's 'SIMPLE GIFTS' -- information about the best known Shaker song.
National Carry A Tune Week -- select Shaker tunes for this annual event.
Shaker Music History -- background from 1781 to 2001.
Books and Articles -- relating to Shaker music.
Tune Talk -- Joseph Brackett's "Simple Gifts" & Sydney Carter's "Lord of the Dance."
Wikipedia -- article about "Simple Gifts."
If you have any questions or comments, write to:
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