Shaker Pedia Copland-meets-Shakers
From Shaker Pedia
This year marks the 250th anniversary of the Shakers’ arrival in America and the 50th anniversary of composer Aaron Copland's introduction to several Maine Shakers in Shaker Heights.
In 1974, Copland was in Cleveland for a week devoted to his music sponsored by the Cleveland Orchestra. He had previously used the Shaker tune "Simple Gifts" in his award-winning 1944 ballet score for Appalachian Spring. During his visit, Copland was invited to meet the Shakers, who had come to present a workshop for local Shaker Heights school teachers. This would be their only meeting.
On Dec 7, 2024 at 7 pm, join the Shaker Historical Society and Shaker Heights Public Library to hear Roger Lee Hall discuss the origins of the Shaker religious dance song "Simple Gifts" and its adaptations by folk singers like Judy Collins. He will also discuss Sydney Carter's song "Lord of the Dance," based on the same tune. Learn about Aaron Copland's meeting with the Shakers and the history of their iconic song, which begins "'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free, 'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be." This is a free virtual event, but registration is required at [1]
About the Speaker: Roger Lee Hall, a music preservationist in Massachusetts, is the Director of the Center for American Music Preservation (CAMP). He has been researching and writing about Shaker music for 50 years, compiling 20 collections and producing several CDs of Shaker music, including Celestial Praises, Gentle Words, and My Shaker Home. His latest release, A Shaker Music Miscellany, features audio material from the 1974 Shaker Heights teacher workshop with the Shakers. Hall completed his Ph.D. dissertation on North Union Shaker music at Case Western Reserve University in the 1970s, which was later published by PineTree Press. For his contributions to American music preservation, he has been listed in Who's Who in America.