"'Tis the gift to be simple. 'Tis the gift to be free.” Those are the beginning lyrics to the Shaker song “Simple Gifts.”
The song has been adapted and arranged many times since it was first composed in 1848. It was even played at President Barack Obama’s inauguration.
But the Shakers have a vast collection of other tunes that aren’t as famous. And even as the Shakers’ numbers dwindle, there’s an effort underway in Maine to resurrect this form of American folk music.
Shaker songs are still sung at regular Sunday worship at the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village in New Gloucester. Bordered by orchards and fields, this little village is home to the last living community of Shakers in the world.
Shakers are probably best known for their minimalist-style furniture and even some of their inventions such as the circular saw, broom and clothespin. But recently the public was invited to an unusual performance of Shaker-inspired music and songs, some of which hadn’t been performed in more than a century.
The oldest songs have no lyrics. They’re vocables, words made of sounds or letters. And the performance was part of a class taught by Chris Moore, the director of music education at 317 Main Community Music Center in Yarmouth.
Neither he nor his students are Shakers, although Moore has long ties to the community and regularly attends Shaker worship.
“We’re just learning from the tradition of Shaker music and we’re trying our own hands as secular people who are part of the world’s community to see see if we can learn from this amazing musical tradition,” Moore says.
Rooted in American folk, Shaker songs were a way for members to unite in worship. In the past, their villages would arrange to sing the same song at the same time of day as way to feel connected to each other across geography.
There was no harmonizing. No instruments. These are simple verses that are sung in unison, inspired by Shaker themes of humility, faith, work and the beauty of nature.
With Shakerism there is no shouting from the mountaintop. These are modest people who give up their worldly possessions. They’re also farmers, and for them there is nothing more precious than being close to the earth in a fertile valley.
Shakers adhere to the three C’s: celibacy, community and confession. But their 19 communities from Maine to Kentucky have faded. And their membership, which was once about 6,000 strong, now stands at just three, including Brother Arnold Hadd.
“We believe that everything we have is a gift from God and of all the gifts that we have had the one that has remained constant since 1747 when we began to today is music. It tells our history. It tells our theology. It tells about our daily living,” he says.
Writing songs was encouraged in the community. And Shakers had a special style of doing it by using letters of the alphabet to correspond with the notes they were singing. Everybody wanted to try their hand at it. They also were meticulous about saving what they wrote.
Chris Moore says their library collection, which he explored, includes thousands of songs.
“There were so many wonderful tunes, that except for the community of Shakers up at Sabbathday Lake and a few artists around the world who have looked at manuscripts and specialty project, most of these songs are going unsung and not kept up and so that’s part of my interest,” he says.
Moore has taught two classes on Shaker music so far and plans to continue. He’s hoping to be part of a revival of interest in traditional folk music from the 19th century. He’s also encouraging his students to use Shaker imagery and themes in their own songwriting.
Ted DeMille of Bath says Moore’s class has made him a better songwriter and opened his eyes about the importance of keeping Shaker music alive.
“It’s kind of nice to be part of something that’s bigger than you are, especially in these days where becoming famous without really doing anything is a common occurrence now. And to be inspired to just kind of raise your voice and sing about something that’s meaningful,” he says, is an amazing gift.
