EVERY GENRE PROJECT - March 28 - Shaker Music
Genre of the Day - Shaker Music
Album of the Day - Simple Gifts by William Coulter and Barry Phillips (1990)
March 28, 2024
Due to the virtue of rhymes, I often confuse the Quakers and Shakers. Both are religious movements emblematic of early US history centered in the northeast. Only one of them won out in securing the name of the most iconic American oatmeal brand. Besides this breakfast food brand dominance, the Quakers also survived robustly into the 21st century whereas there remain only 2 observant Shakers as of last year. No, that’s not a typo: two people. As sad as that is, that is what is to be expected from a movement with a core principle that its members could not have sexual intercourse.
Don’t get it twisted, though: the Shakers still had a majorly impactful moment. A lot of Shaker ideas were revolutionary for their time, a far cry from the straight-cut Calvinism that was dominant across the US contemporarily. Sailing to the US in 1774, they brought with them a utopian vision and aimed to maximize living in harmony before what they claimed was the imminent end of times. They believed that they were hearing the voice of God, and that this direct line of communication could be achieved individually and via ecstatic shaking, a far cry from traditional Christian teachings. They worked hard, were self-sufficient, believed in radical equality of the sexes and the races, and even invented things like the circular saw and were even advanced in electricity. The Shaker iceberg goes deep. They peaked at around 6,000 members in 1840.
At this peak, their musical output was as prolific as their hard work. As you might have guessed, their musical choices were as eccentric and avant-garde as their religious and social ideals. Initially, they emphasized singing and rejected the use of instruments as distracting from the message of the music. There’s only so much acapella anyone can take, though, which is why Glee only lasted six years. Eventually they adopted instrumental music as well. Traditional Shaker spirituals focused on simplicity: the most famous Shaker tune of all is fittingly “Simple Gifts.” The lyrics are genuinely affecting: “'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free / 'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be / And when we find ourselves in the place just right / 'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.”
I feel a bit cheated because today’s album features no lyrics at all, and is purely instrumental. Weirdly, in their compilations of Shaker songs, a lot of music historians have decided to eschew including the monophonic vocal spirituals and focus on more conventional later output from the Shakers that features a few instruments. Thus, today’s music outside of its context is not as unique as a lot of Shaker music was. The album opens and closes with a rendition of “Simple Gifts,” the first simple cozy guitar and the latter a full-bodied set of flute, guitars, and violin. Even amidst untraditional instrumental arrangements, the melodies at the core come across as lovely and hopeful as they were 200 years ago. For the most part, there isn’t a whole lot of shaking going on, though the pace does pick up on “Back Manner Tunes” and “Mother Ann’s Song.” The relative simplicity of the arrangements often does enhance the melodies, like the beautiful string harmonies throughout and in more plaintive moments like the generously tender “The Saviour’s Universal Prayer.” Though I recommend a more lyrical album to truly get to the heart of such an ideas-based faith, the power of music is always integral to religious advancements, and can voice ideas that don’t need words. After all, words are ultimately just a conduit to transcendence—especially for the Shakers, the real faith lies in the works one does. So turn this on and fashion a whimsical invention when you get some spare time.