Shaker Collection

The Shakers emigrated from England to New York State in 1774 and their followers danced to this tune and many more as they used music to express their spiritual feelings. They excelled in many areas like inventions, furniture, architecture and hard work, and their music was a big part of their daily life.

In reading "A Shaker Musical Legacy", by Robert and Viola Opdahl, I discovered there were ten thousand Shaker songs recorded in manuscripts and printed hymnals! I only knew one! I was fascinated reading about these gift songs and the variety of ways the songs were passed along. Many were wordless tunes with letteral notation. One hint as to why these tunes were not being heavily used today. We rely on round notes strategically placed on lines and spaces. The old manuscripts featured small letters here and there and sometimes connected with squiggly lines. When words were included, many were beautifully written as a piece of art but the musical notes had a life of their own.

From these simple, single melody tunes, I decided to find twelve that I could relate to, and arrange them for modern use. It has been a wonderful project! I am not finished and am in no hurry to finish. The Shakers provide much music and food for thought. They no longer live, yet continue to remind us to listen for our gift songs.

To learn more about the Shakers, visit Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill in Harrodsburg, KY, home to the third largest Shaker community in the U.S. between 1805-1910. Also, South Union Shaker Village in Auburn, KY was established in 1807 and closed in 1922.