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• Recommended books about the Shakers and their music
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Recommended books about the Shakers and their music

You may order any of these recommended books from Amazon.com , or use the Bookshelf Search below

Books:

A Collection of Millennial Hymns (Canterbury, N.H., 1847) -- AMS hardcover reprint, 1975.

The Gift to be Simple: Songs, Dances and Rituals of the American Shakers.   By Edward Deming Andrews (paperback, 1967).

The Happy Journey: Thirty-Five Shaker Spirituals Collected by Miss Clara Endicott Sears.  Edited By Roger L. Hall (songbook published by Fruitlands Museums, 1982). Now out-of-print, but may be found through Amazon.com rare book search.

Heavenly Visions: Shaker Gifts Drawings and Gift Songs.   Edited by France Moran (hardcover, 2002).

Sabbathday Lake Shakers: An Introduction to the Shaker Heritage.   By Sister R. Mildred Barker (paperback, 1985).

A Shaker Family Album: Photographs from the Collection of Canterbury Shaker Village.  By David R. Starbuck and Scott T. Swank (paperback, 1998).

A Shaker Hymnal: A Facsimile Edition of the 1908 Hymnal of the Canterbury Shakers (paperback, 1996).

Shaker Music: A Manifestation of American Folk Culture. By Harold E. Cook (hardcover, 1973).  

The Shaker Spiritual. By Daniel W. Patterson (2nd edition, paperback, 2000).

Bookshelf Search

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Have you ever wondered where the Shaker song, "Simple Gifts" (aka: "Tis the gift to be simple") originated?

Now you can find out in a new eBook on CD-ROM titled:

The Story of 'Simple Gifts' -- Joseph Brackett's Shaker Dance Song

It includes the evolution of "Simple Gifts" from when it was written in 1848 until the present day.  

Among the illustrations are a portrait of Elder Joseph Brackett (shown in above photo), who wrote the Shaker dance song; and copies of manuscript pages showing the song in its original Shaker notation.  

Information includes:

• A biographical sketch of Elder Joseph Brackett
• An exclusive interview with the distinguished composer, Aaron Copland
• "Simple Gifts" in the 19th and 20th centuries
• Complete original words and music of two songs: "Simple Gifts" and "The True Vine"
• An extensive Bibliography
• A list of Recommended Recordings.

Also included are audio files, including different versions of "Simple Gifts."

If you wish to order this eBook, you can order it at this link:

American Music Preservation.com

 A Guide to Shaker Music - With Music Supplement

6th updated edition, PineTree Press, 2006                                                 

This guide was compiled and written by Roger Hall, one of the foremost authorities on Shaker music.

The 6th edition includes the following:

• A chronology of Shaker music from 1774 to 1999
• A timeline for the first prominent tunesmith, Issachar Bates
• A list of other Shaker tunesmiths
• Where to find original and arranged Shaker music
• Tune comparisons of Shaker and other folk tunes
• Bibliography - Where to look for further information
• What Has Been Recorded on LP, Tape and CD
• Music Supplement - Shaker songs and hymns for solo voice and chorus 

To order your copy, go to:

American Music Preservation

Discounts are available for quantity orders from museums or educational institutions.

       Book Reviews

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 entitiled 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?  

For example, in the chapter he calls, "Simple Gifts: Songs of Simplicity"?  Isn't his book supposed to be about "hymns"?  Then why call them "songs"?  Those are two different types of music, as he could have found out but consulting any music dictionary.  Actually he uses "songs" for all but two of his chapter sub-headlings. Besides that, why were such hymns as "In the Garden" and "Joy to the World" classified as "Songs of Simplicity"?  He doesn't explain his rationale for such arbitrary classifications.  But rather than discuss the other hymns he writes about, I'll focus on Mr. Henderson's discussion of the Shaker title on pages 28-46.

Oddly enough, "Simple Gifts" is a "song of simplicity." Technically, it should not be classified as a hymn because Shaker hymns have more than one verse and were not intended for dancing. "Simple Gifts" was clearly intended for dancing during worship.  Mr. Henderson correctly identifies the song that way and it was written by Elder Joseph Brackett. Yet he never indicates where any of his quotes come from. Here is one quote:

"One elder reported that Elder Brackett had 'a remarkable and natural gift to sing by which he would fill the whole assembly with the quickening power of God.' "

Where does this quote come from? As I know this quote comes from my monograph, Joseph Brackett's 'SIMPLE GIFTS' (now titled: The Story of 'SIMPLE GIFTS') , which is quoted from an article by Sister Mildred Barker from the Sabbathday Lake Shakers. Neither source is listed in Mr. Henderson's "Select Bibliography."  That is sloppy research, especially for a man who is founder and publisher of the well respected Pushcart Press.

His discussion of the key words or phrases in the Shaker song are mostly on target, for example when he writes: "A gift is a particular bit of grace. This song is 'the gift,' and many gifts were received besides that one: visions, words, other songs, and directions on how to live, among them 'to be simple.' " But with other words he tries to tease the reader with suggestive descriptions, such as: "'Delight' carries a sexual connotation, as indeed it might, considering that it is part of a dance tune, however chaste the dance."  Then he quickly confesses that: "This is not the bump-and-grind variety of delight. Perhaps only the celibate Shakers, dancing together but separated by sex, could ever realize the full spiritual meaning of delight."  Such a statement is closer to the truth.  Shaker dances were mainly intended to express a communal expression of servitude and sacrifice to God.  That's why the dances were also called "laboring" or "excercises."

Readers may find Mr. Henderson's highly biased views of different hymns to be of interest, but they are advised to be careful with the description about "Simple Gifts" and the Shakers.  He seems more interested in praising their past achievements including their furniture rather than finding any actual Shaker hymns, of which many were written.  For someone searching "for grace," he never bothers to look for their hymns or to speak with the few Shakers who remain at Sabbathday Lake.  There are two Shaker hymnals (1884 and 1893) that the Shakers have been using and copies have been available for sale in the gift shop at Sabbathday Lake and at other Shaker museums.  But rather than discuss any of their hymns, he dismissively calls the present day Shakers: "not the flame but a flicker."  He writes this after first claiming "history has seldom been gentle to the gentle Shakers." So it seems he is not so "gentle" either, only being interested in the past Shakers, not the present day Shakers. Is that a fair assessment of a religious sect that has survived for several centuries and continues to have hymn singing as a major part of their worship?  I don't believe it is and therefore his thoughts about the Shakers are highly selective and ill-informed.

So, in the final analysis, this seems a contradictory book.  On the one hand it's a personal "search for grace" and that much is fine.  Yet on the other hand he presents a somewhat negative view of religious customs, such as some types of hymn singing in church.  

This book may be "one man's search for grace," but he doesn't look very thoroughly for his information. Some of his comments about the hymns are more detailed, like "Amazing Grace."

But, as Elder Joseph Brackett's song says, Mr. Henderson never seems to find himself "in the place just right" with regard to the Shakers and their considerable hymn tradition.  On that level Mr. Henderson's book is very disappointing.

---Roger Hall

   AS IT IS IN HEAVEN

Play by Arlene Hutton

This play was first presented in New York City on September 13, 2001; then again in January of 2002 at the ArcLight Theatre in New York City. The play is dedicated to the memory of Randy Folger, the former music interpreter at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill in Harrodsburg, Kentucky. This play was published by Dramatists Play Service Inc. in 2003.  

The play itself is dramatically effective. Unfortunately, there are some major mistakes in the preface and credit ommissions.

Only the music books by Edward Andrews and Daniel Patterson are mentioned, with no listings of the music or lyrics used in the play.  The three music collections published by Sampler and PineTree Press (listed below) are not included in the published play's source materials. Looking at the list of Shaker tunes -- they're not all "hymns" by the way -- many were written after the time period of the play.  This can be excused as dramatic license, but it would have been helpful to list them anyway with their Shaker community and dates.  

Also, the play's director Stepehani Sandberg statement that "Mother Ann died in 1783. By this time there were several established communities beginning to flourish."  That is an incorrect statement. In fact, Mother Ann died one year later, and there was only one community founded at Niskeyuna (later Watervliet), New York and it was far from flourishing as yet.

Another error is that Pleasant Hill was organized in 1814.  According to most reliable sources, that Kentucky Shaker community was founded in 1805 or 1806.

It's unfortunate that these factual errors were not corrected before the play was published and also the music titles were listed.   

For those who may be interested, here is a list of all the Shaker songs and hymns used in the play:

(1) "Welcome Song" (Enfield, New Hampshire, 1869)
(2) "Come Life, Shaker Life" (Issachar Bates, New Lebanon, New York, 1835)
(3) "I Will Bow and Be Simple" (Mary Hazard, New Lebanon, 1840s)
(4) "Who Will Bow and Bend Like a Willow" (Enfield, New Hampshire, 1840s)
(5) "My Carnal Life I Will Lay Down" (South Union, Kentucky, 1838)
(6) "All at Home" (Canterbury, New Hampshire, about 1870)
(7) "Glory Unto God We'll Sing" (Enfield, New Hampshire, December 25, 1852)
(8) "Hop Up and Jump Up"(Shirley, Massachusetts, about 1847)
(9) "Followers of the Lamb" (Clarissa Jacobs, New Lebanon, 1840s)
(10) "Saviour's Universal Prayer (Lord's Prayer)" (New Lebanon, New York, about 1845)
(11) "I Never Did Believe"(Betsy Bates, New Lebanon, about 1829)
(12) "Come to Zion" (Paulina Bates, New Lebanon, 1864)
(13) "Come Dance and Sing Around the Ring" (Round Dance, New Lebanon, 1838)
(14) "Simple Gifts" (Joseph Brackett, Alfred, Maine, 1848)

They are available in these music books:

The Gift to be Simple: Songs, Dances and Rituals of the American Shakers (Edward Deming Andrews, Dover Publications, reprint, 1967)

The Shaker Spiritual (Daniel W. Patterson, Dover Publications, reprint, 2000)

Joy of Angels: Shaker Spirituals for Christmas and the New Year (Mitzie Collins, Colleen Liggett, Randy Folger, Roger Hall/ Sampler Records, 1995)

Love is Little: A Sampling of Shaker Spirituals (Roger Hall/ 2nd ed, Sampler Records,1996)

A Guide to Shaker Music - With Music Supplement (Roger Hall, Pine Tree Press, 5th edition, 2002)

Hopefully, those performing this play by Arlene Hutton will seek out the above books for the Shaker music.

These books should be listed in the  program for the play when it is performed so the audience will know where this beautiful Shaker music is available.

Even the play's title comes from a Shaker hymn, "The Saviour's Universal Prayer."  It is an appropriate title to use for a story about the Shakers, who valued their music, so simple...yet so heavenly.

-- Roger Hall

shaker songs: a celebration of peace, harmony, and simplicity

Compiled and edited by Christian Goodwillie, with contributions from Joel Cohen.

New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers Inc., 128 pages, 2002

This is a beautifully illustrated book with many Shaker tunes available for the first time in modern editions.  There are 53 Shaker tunes and an accompanying CD attached inside the front cover. The Shaker music transcriptions were done by Christian Goodwillie and Joel Cohen.  The Introduction by Goodwillie provides a concise overview of Shaker music.  

But looking through this collection, there are several problems.  

First, there is the title.  It is very misleading to designate all Shaker music as "songs."  Shaker music consists of three main categories:  songs, hymns and anthems.  Since all three categories are found in this book, a better term would be "Shaker Spirituals." This is a term used by Daniel Patterson in his book on the subject, and I agree that it's the better term to use for Shaker music as a whole.

The next problem is the book's design.  Is this meant to be an art book with music, or a music book with art?

It appears that the art design has obscured the music. Using multi-colored pages adds appeal but it also makes the Shaker tunes more difficult to read.  Most of the tunes are printed on colored pages rather than plain white. On the other hand, the attractive illustrations are more often printed on the white pages.  It is particularly annoying to have Shaker music printed both on colored and white pages.  For example, the Shaker hymn "Rights of Conscience," with the words and music printed over a green color and the extra stanzas on the facing page in white.  Be aware that the last two stanzas on the CD are not the same as in the book.  This just makes for unnecessary confusion. Goodwillie provides a good religious description for this hymn written by Elder Issachar Bates, but fails to mention that his tune is a variant of a popular 18th century tune,"The President's March," written in honor of George Washington.  I have found an alternate version of "Rights of Conscience" that doesn't have any flatted sevenths as in the book's transcription.  It's in C and is easier to sing.

A third problem with this book is the lack of identification for some tunes when they are known.  On the accompanying CD, which was compiled mostly from the excellent Glissando release The Golden Harvest, many of the Shaker spirituals are identified. Yet in the book they are not always given.  This is unfortunate because it gives the impression that they are unknown.  Just to give one example - there's the anthem, "Trumpet of Peace" (pages 10-11). Goodwillie chooses to provide a quote about Mother Ann Lee's "mythologizied"voyage to America in 1774, instead of quoting the fascinating citation in the 1852 Shaker printed tunebook about this anthem:

"Learned by inspiration, of Sister Olive Spencer, who said, This song was sung by the Angel of Light, which Mother Ann saw at the mast head, when the ship sprung a leak, &c Learned, 1839. New Lebanon, N.Y."

One of the great fallacies of Shaker music is that the majority of the tunes are anonymous.  That's simply not true. One of the hymns not fully identified is "Holy Habitation."  This beautiful hymn has words written by Sister Eunice Wyeth from the Harvard, Massachusetts Shaker community.  The music was written much later at New Lebanon, NY about 1848.  I did an arrangement of this hymn with slight alterations in text and tune for my book, A Guide to Shaker Music.  

He also doesn't always give full credit for the Shaker composers.  He doesn't give proper identification for the wonderful tune, "Angel Invitation," found in the Sabbathday Lake archive but written at South Union, Kentucky in 1859.  Another one that gets no identification is the lovely song, "I Am An Angel of Light," also from South Union, Kentucky. Even though Mr. Goodwillie mentions several manuscript sources for "The Midnight Cry," he doesn't mention later variants, such as the one by Sister Polly Rupe from Pleasnt Hill, Kentucky in 1846. These marvelous songs and hymns prove that not all the great Shaker tunes came from New England.

For the most famous of all Shaker songs, "Simple Gifts," Goodwillie writes that it is "usually attributed to Elder Joseph Brackett of the Maine Ministry."  Well, why not just say it?  Elder Joseph wrote this song.  There seems to be ample proof of that fact. When Sister R. Mildred Barker wrote about Elder Joseph in an article in The Shaker Quarterly, she credited him with writing "Simple Gifts." She spoke with great authority since she had originally lived at the community in Alfred, Maine, where the song was composed in 1848.  Fortunately, Goodwillie does provide a manuscript illustration which identifies this song as a "Quick Dance."  Because it has only stanza of text, it is not a Shaker hymn, as classified by most media writers and even some musicians.

It is unfortunate that Goodwillie fails to provide a bibliography of books, articles and other collections of Shaker music. To say in his Introduction that "this rich heritage is as yet largely untapped," fails to recognize all the extensive research already done by a number of historians and musicians.  He does mention Daniel Patterson and Mary Ann Haagen, but fails to mention the research done by other researchers:  Edward Deming Andrews, Vicki Bell, Donald Christenson, Harold Cook, Mitzie Collins, Randy Folger, Colleen Liggett, and myself.  

Even with all these reservations, this is a well written book by Goodwillie.  He rightly emphasizes the spiritual side of Shaker life and writes with genuine affection for the music.  At the back of the book are the Song Sources and Art Sources for those who might want to investigate them further.

The excellent CD has performances by the Boston Camerata, Joel Cohen, director; members of the Harvard University Choir, Murray Somerville, director; the marvelous Youth Pro Musica under Hazel Somerville's direction; and The Shaker Family from Sabbathday Lake, Maine. Even if you can't read music very well, you can follow along with the CD and book quite easily.  Fortunately, the CD and tunes in the book are in the same sequence.  One confusing song is "Untitled Dance Tune" (page 33), which on the CD is the last one of "A Suite of Five Dance Tunes," New Lebanon, N.Y. in 1842 (not identified in the book).  On the CD, this tune is sung with un-Shakerlike drones.  

This is a book with many rare and beautiful tunes and pleasing illustrations from music manuscripts, drawings, and old photographs.  

The sub-title says it quite well - "a celebration of peace, harmony and simplicity."

As the book illustrates - the music and art illustrations are peaceful yet profound, harmonious yet freely drawn, and simple yet elegant.

This collection of Shaker music, art and commentary gives a good sampling of the enormous treasures created by this simple band of Believers from America's oldest religious communal society.  

--Roger Hall, March 2003/Revised: May 2003

For information about the Boston Camerata and Sabbathday Lake Shakers, go to -

Links

Heavenly Visions: Shaker Gift Drawings and Gift Songs

The Drawing Center, New York/UCLA Hammer Museum, Los Angeles/ University of Minnesota Press, 2002.

A well illustrated exhibit catalogue of 192 pages, edited by France Morin.

Unfortunately, the opening article, "Simple Gifts," fails to identify Elder Joseph Brackett as the composer of this quintessential Shaker song.  For details about this song, see Shaker Tunes.

Of special interest to those interested in music is the well researched article, "On Gift Songs," by Mary Ann Haagen.  This article includes many illustrations from Shaker music manuscripts.  

One of the illustrations is found on page 147, titled:  "Cat. 52.  Book.  O See this pretty leaf..."

Many years ago, Roger Hall solved this ingenious Shaker music puzzle and included a transcription of it in his Shaker Song Series in The Shaker Messenger (Vol. 4/No. 3, 1982).  A copy of his transcription is available by writing to:

American Shaker Music 

Come Life, Shaker Life:

50 Shaker Tunes Arranged for Appalachian Dulcimer

by Bill Collins (2001)

This is a wonderful collection of Shaker tunes compiled from various Shaker books and arranged by Bill Collins.  The collection is divided up into these categories:  A Brief Background; Shaker Music Arrangements in the book; Printed Music, Tablature, Reference Books, and Videos; Lyrics, Tune History, and Playing Suggestions.

Following that introductory material (pages 1-19) are the 50 tunes arranged for Appalachian dulcimer (pages 20-74). For dulcimer players, this collection should provide many fine new tunes for your repertoire. This book is a handy collection with some of the best known Shaker tunes, including "I Never Did Believe"; "Love is Little"; "Sweep As I Go"; and of course the big two Shaker dance songs: "Come Life, Shaker Life" and "Simple Gifts."  

Even if you don't play dulcimer, this collection is worth having in your Shaker library.  It's beautifully designed (cover illustration by Harry Thompson) and printed.  

A real treasure of worthwhile Shaker tunes.

--Roger Hall, 28 October 2001

To find out how to get your copy, write to Bill Collins at:

dulcibill@aol.com

Articles about Shaker Music

The Shaker Journal

The Shaker Journal, edited by John Stines, had its first issue devoted to Shaker music in 1999, and then ceased publication.

The music articles which may still be available are:

Dr. 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"

In the Summer 1998 issue (Vol. 43 No. 1) of Sing Out! (The Folk Song Magazine) is an article titled:

"The Simple Gifts of Shaker Music" by Roger Hall

The article includes a history of Shaker music.

There are also words and music of two Shaker spirituals:  "Let Zion Move" (Mary Ann Gillespie, Alfred, Maine) and "Ode to Contentment" (Tune: Issachar Bates/ Text: Richard Pelham, North Union, Ohio).  

Along with the article are many illustrations and a list of music sources, including CDs.

"150 Years of 'Simple Gifts'" by David Crumm appeared in the Detroit Free Press on November 11, 1998.  

Links to related web sites

   For permission to use any material on this web site or to ask questions, write to:

American Shaker Music

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