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Shaker Music Books, Collections,
and Articles
Note to researchers, teachers, students, others
Please remember that music was an essential part of Shaker life and should be included, when appropriate, in a discussion of their culture.
If you are a teacher or lecturer, Shaker music is also worth playing from recordings. See the list of Shaker music recordings -- here
These Ten Titles from PineTree Press are arranged chronogically
and published between 2004 and 2024:
The PineTree titles were written and edited by Roger Lee Hall,
an ethnomusicologist and music preservationist who has researched, performed and recorded Shaker music for over 50 years.
New publication!
The largest collection of recorded Shaker music available anywhere!
01: A Shaker Music Miscellany (2024)
In celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Shakers arrival in America.
This new deluxe DVD-ROM has over 500 files including over 100 audio files plus research information about 10 Shaker spirituals and in-person interviews with Shaker singers and with composer, Aaron Copland. Also radio appearances with Roger Hall and concert videos with a New Hampshire chorus, and a rare television program from the 1960s about the Shaker Work Camp for teenagers.
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02: "May We Ever Be United" - Music of the North Union, Ohio Shakers (2nd ed, 2022)
03: "Invitation to Zion" - A Shaker Music Guide (2021)
04: "The Humble Heart" - A Fifty Year Survey of Shaker Music (2019)
05: Gentle Words: The Meaning and Message of Shaker Music (2019)
The new expanded 3rd edition of this book
featuring more information about Shaker music, plus
the lyrics to 25 Shaker spirituals discovered and recorded,
and at the back of the book a new Music Supplement:
"A Shaker Song Quartet" sheet music arranged by Roger Lee HallOrder your copy of this expanded book -- click here
06: "Give Good Gifts" -Shaker Music in the 20th Century (2015)
07: "Blended Together" - Discoveries Along The Shaker Muic Trail (2011)
08: THE STORY OF 'SIMPLE GIFTS' (2010)
PDF book with information about the song and
the Shaker elder who composed it.
Also available separately in a new revised edition:
"Simple Gifts": Great American Folk Song (3rd edition, 2024)
Mutlimedia disc with the PDF book plus audio interviews with
Sister R. Mildred Barker and composer, Aaron Copland,
and video clips of Shaker song arrangements.
09: "How Happy Are They": Twelve Shaker Spirituals from KY and Ohio (2007)
2007 marked the bicentennial of the Shaker community at South Union, Kentucky. To commemorate that bicentennial anniversary, Roger Hall has compiled this collection which includes sheet music editions of Shaker spirituals and two new arrangements of Shaker hymns:
"The Morning Sun" and "The Millennium."
10: "Come Life, Shaker Life" - The Life and Music of Elder Issachar Bates (2004)
Book about one of the earliest most important Shaker tunesmiths
with excerpts from his personal diary and sample sheet music.
Available as a PDF book sent by email.
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To see the list of music collections by Roger Lee Hall -- click here
To Order Books
To inquire about ordering any of the above PineTree titles -- click here
Attention Choir 4ABook, audio andsAttention - Choral Directors and Singers!
Sheet music is available at this link for Shaker music arrangements
desired.
From Other Publishers:
The Gift to be Simple: Songs, Dances and Rituals of the American Shakers.
by Edward Deming Andrews
(hardcover, 1940/ Dover paperback, 1962/1967)Issachar Bates: A Shaker's Journey by Carol Medlicott
(paperback, 2013)Joy of Angels: Shaker Spirituals for Christmas and The New Year
Compiled by Mitzie Collins and Colleen Liggett/ Introduction by Roger Hall
(Sampler Records Ltd., book and CD,1995)Love is Little: A Sampling of Shaker Spirituals
Compiled and Annotated by Roger Hall
(Sampler Records Ltd. book and CD, 1996)Millennial Praises: A Shaker Hymnal
Edited by Christian Goodwillie and Jane F. Crosthwaite
(hardcover, 2009).Partake a Little Morsel: Popular Shaker Hymns in the Nineteenth Century
Compiled by Carol Medlicott
(music collection, 2011).Richard McNemar, Music, and the Western Shaker Communities. Branches of One Living Tree, by Carol Medlicott and Christian Goodwillie
(hardcover, 2013).Shaker Music: A Manifestation of American Folk Culture by Harold E. Cook
(hardcover, 1973).The Shakers of White Water, Ohio, 1823-1916
Chapter 5: Music by Carol Medlicott. Shaker music editions in Appendix 5.
(paperback, 2014).
The Shaker Spiritual
by Daniel W. Patterson
(1st edition, Princeton University Press, 1979)
(2nd edition with new introduction, Dover Publications, paperback, 2000).
Books - Not Recommended
Selling Shaker - Stephen Bowe and Peter Richmond
Shaker Music - Frederick William Evans (reprint edition)
Simple Gifts - Great Hymns by Bill Henderson
Book Reviews
Come Life, Shaker Life: 50 Shaker Tunes Arranged For Appalachian Dulcimer
Heavenly Visions: Shaker Gifts Drawings and Gift Songs
Historical Dictionary of the Shakers
Issachar Bates: A Shaker's Journey
Millennial Praises: A Shaker Hymnalshaker songs: a celebration of peace, harmony and simplicity
Other items of intereststrest
Related links
The most extensive book
about the best known Shaker song
The book is included on a computer disc with bonus picture gallery, audio and video features.The book discusses the beginnings of Shaker music from its origin in England and several distinct music types (gift songs and dance songs) in America.
Also, there is a biographical profile of Elder Joseph Brackett and background about two of his best known songs: "Simple Gifts" and "The True Vine." His dance song "Simple Gifts" is traced from its origin in 1848 to its re-discovery in the 20th century and new song based on the Shaker tune, "Lord of the Dance."
Also, how the song has influenced many people in our time and has become a very popular American folk spiritual, including being performed at three U.S. Presidential Inaugurations.
Just the PDF book is also available sent by email attachment.
Read how to order this book -- click here
Books - Not Recommended
Selling Shaker: The Commodification of Shaker Design in the Twentieth Century by Stephen Bowe and Peter Richmond
This large and weighty volume discusses the "value--art--politics" of Shaker design, yet gives no more than a passing reference to Shaker music in the 20th Century. The authors neglect to discuss the "value" of this important aspect of Shaker culture. And what the authors list in the Bibliography is wrong as well.
Under "Television, Video, Music and Radio Material" their listing for the CD collection, Let Zion Move: Music of the Shakers, gives credit to:
"Hall, H., Thompson, D & Phelps, L."
The correct first name should be "Hall, R." [Roger Hall], who edited and wrote the notes for this CD collection. Most of the Shaker recordings were compiled by William Randle, who is not listed at all. "Thompson, D." [Darryl Thompson] only wrote the Preface. "Phelps, L." [Lillian Phelps] was one of the Shakers who narrated on the recordings but the other Shaker sister who was also a narrator, R. Mildred Barker, is not listed. Why not include all these people? Or if limited to a few names, then it should be Roger Hall and William Randle, who were most responsible for this CD collection.
The other important recording by the Sabbathday Lake Shakers.
Early Shaker Spirituals, is not even listed in the Bibliography of the book.While music is not the main focus of this book, the incorrect information or lack of it about these two essential recordings by 20th century Shakers and the lack of discussion of this important aspect of Shaker culture demonstrates the research was lacking in this area of Selling Shaker.
The importance of music in Shaker life remains under appreciated, especially by collectors and writers.
To read more about two recordings with Shaker singing,
see Early Shaker Spirituals and the Let Zion Move 2 CD set at -- CD Releases
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Shaker Music - Frederick William Evans
This Nabu Public Domain Reprint Press copy is sold by Amazon.com.
The generic cover with ballet shoes is totally out of context with Shaker music. This reprint is actually of the Shaker hymnal originally published by Weed, Parsons and Company in Albany, New York in 1875.
But the Nabu reprint has been printed in the wrong format!
Instead of printing it oblong like the original it is printed like a regular vertical hymnbook, so every page and every piece of music is cut off at the left or right side of the page and thus is incomplete.Here is one of the incomplete pages with music cut off on the left side:
Here is how that same page should look, as reprinted correctly by AMS Press:
There is also no Title Page in the Nabu reprint.
It was printed correctly by AMS Press as shown here:
Didn't anyone look at this hymnal copy before it was reprinted by Nabu?
It should be obvious that it was printed incorrectly, even if you can't read the music.
If you can still find it, the AMS Press reprint from 1974 is the one to buy.
The Nabu copy is a worthless reprint.Buyer Beware!
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Simple Gifts - Great Hymns: One Man's Search for Grace
by Bill Henderson
At first glance, this seems like a worthwhile collection of thoughts about some of the best known hymns.
Mr. Henderson is certainly entitled to his "search for grace" and that is an admirable pursuit. But why at the expense of his uninformed writing about some of the hymns he has chosen?
Read the complete review at this link:
Articles About Shaker Music
This section has a list of articles on Shaker music.
American Communal Societies Quarterly
Volume 1, No. 3 (July 2007) -
"The Shaker Leaf Song: Solving a Perplexing Puzzle"
by Roger L. Hall
Common-Place (American Antiquarian Society)
Volume 13, No. 2 (Winter, 2013) -
"Let's mingle our feelings" - Gender and Collectivity in the Music of the Shaker West" by Carol Medlicott -- online article
Volume Thirty-Six, Number Two, 2016:
"Simple Gifts: The Discovery and Popularity of a Shaker Dance Song,"
by Roger Lee Hall/ cover shows front of the Sabbathday Lake meeting hourse in Maine -- To order this issue: click here
Volume Two (Autumn 1982): "Shaker Music," by Daniel W. Patterson
Volume Three (1983): "The Shaker Spiritual" by Daniel W. Patterson,
book review by Roger L. HallVolume 17, Number 8 (October 1975)/ article reprinted in The Hymn
(January 1976):
"Shaker Hymnody: An American Communal Tradition" by Roger L. HallVolume 24, Number 2 (February 1982): "An Interview with Aaron Copland" by Roger L. Hall
The Shaker Journal (no longer available)Vicki Bell: "Music of the Angels"
Randy Folger: "The Pleasant Hill Singers Record a New CD"
Roger Hall: "Religion in Song - The Craftsmanship of Shaker Music"
A magazine produced by The World of Shaker in Holland, Michigan, from the 1970s to the 1990s, and no longer published.
In each issue there was a Shaker song or hymn compiled and edited by Roger Hall in the "Shaker Song Series."
This was the longest-running series since the Shakers published music in their own publications in the late 19th century.Between 1981 and 1996, there were 56 titles in the "Shaker Song Series."
To see the complete list of music titles -- click here
A journal published by the Sabbathday Lake Shakers beginning in 1961 but no longer published today. These are the articles mentioning Shaker music:
Volume I, Number 1 (Spring 1961: "The Shakers' Sundry Strange Tunes," by Daniel W. Patterson.
Volume II, Number 2 (Summer 1962): "A Ballad by Elder Issachar Bates," by Daniel W. Patterson.
Volume IV, Number 4 (Winter 1964): "Mother Has Come With Her Beautiful Song," by Sister R. Mildred Barker.
Volume V, Number 1 (Spring 1965): "The Rolling Deep," by Sister R. Mildred Barker.
Volume V, Number 2 (Summer 1965): "My Sweet Home in Zion," by Brother Theodore E. Johnson.
Volume VI, Number 3 (Fall 1966): "The Influence of Inspiration and Discipline upon the Development of the Shaker Spiritual," by Daniel W. Patterson.
Volume VII, Number 2 (Summer 1967): "History of Union Branch, Gorham, Maine." Sister R. Mildred Barker. Biographical information about Elder Joseph Brackett and his song, "Simple Gifts."
Volume VII, Number 2 (Fall 1967): "O Thou God of My Salvation," by Brother Theodore E. Johnson.
Volume X, Number 4 (Winter 1970): "Eldress Mary Ann Gillespie's 'Beautiful Are They Who Stand Upon Zion," by Brother Theodore E. Johnson.
Volume XIV, Number 4 (Winter 1974): "The Shaker Dove,"
by Daniel W. Patterson.Volume XVI, Number 3 (Fall 1988): "The 'Simple Gifts' of Elder Joseph Brackett Jr," by Wendell Hess.
Volume XVII, Number 4 (Winter 1989): "Implications of Late 19th Century Shaker Music," by Daniel W. Patterson.
Volume XVIII, Number 3 (Fall 1990): "Millennial Praises - Tune Location and Authorial Attributions of the First Shaker Hymnal," by Daniel W. Patterson.
Quarterly magazine no longer published.
These are the titles from Roger Hall's music column in each issue:Volume 1, Number 1 (May 1996): "To Edit or Not to Edit?"
Volume 1, Number 2 (August 1996): "What's Your Favorite Shaker Song?"
Volume 1, Number 3 (December 1996):
"Singing at Shaker Village Work Camp"
Volume 1, Number 4 (February 19977): "Collecting Shaker Spirituals"
Volume 2, Number 1 (June/July 1997):
"The Simple Gifts of Elder Joseph and Sister Mildred"
In the Summer 1998 issue (Vol. 43/ No. 1) is an article titled:
"The Simple Gifts of Shaker Music" by Roger Hall
This lengthy article includes a history of Shaker music, and also included are the words and music for two Shaker spirituals:
"Let Zion Move" -- Mary Ann Gillespie
"Ode to Contentment" --Tune: Issachar Bates/ Text: Richard Pelham
Along with the article are many illustrations and a list of sources, including CDs.
Sonneck Society Bulletin for American Music
Volume XVI, Number 3 (Fall 1990):
"Aaron Copland's 'Simple Gifts'" by Roger L. HallVolume XXIII, Number 3 (Fall 1997):
"Joseph Brackett's 'Simple Gifts." by Roger L. Hall
Newspaper Articles
Michigan: Spring Lake, The World of Shaker,
Special Shaker Bicentnnial Issue, 1774-1974
"Shaker Music and Dance" by Roger Hall
Brief article about the Shaker tradition.
Michigan: Detroit Free Press , November 11, 1998:
"150 Years of 'Simple Gifts'" by David Crumm
This article was about the uses of the Shaker song from its original melody in 1848 to an arrangement in a TV commercial for the Oldsmobile Aurora car.
Maine: Gray-New Gloucester Independent , February 15, 2008:"Joseph Brackett's Simple Gifts" by Roger Hall
Background about the dance song and the Shaker leader who composed it.
Lectures and Workshops
Are you interested in scheduling a Shaker music program
by Roger Hall, for your school, college, church, museum
or other organization?For more information, click on this link for his
Related Links
American Music Recordings Collection (AMRC) -- with Shaker interviews
and music recordings.Book and CD Reviews -- titles relating to Shaker music.
CD and DVD Releases -- original and arranged Shaker tunes.
Joseph Brackett's 'Simple Gifts' -- about the best known Shaker song.
Shaker Music Preservation Series -- magazine music series with 56 titles.Simplicity of Shaker Music -- about Shaker music notation and more.
Please remember to credit this web site
When using any of the original information found here
for research papers, books, magazines, CDs,
or media programs, please give credit toAmerican Music Preservation.com
For any questions, write to:
Shaker music books and articles
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