Music Appreciation Monday #3 -- A little bit of Appalachian Spring

Tired of winter? Me too. So I was delighted to run into a little bit of Spring on Friday night... I had the pleasure of hearing the entirety of Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring during my Edmonton Symphony shift, and as I listened, I imagined the beauty of flowers popping out of the earth as we sometimes see in those time-lapse videos. They would be really wonderful set to Appalachian Spring!

Of course, the most familiar part of Copland's piece of orchestral music is The Shaker Song, known to the Shakers as "the dancing song" and written in 1848 by Elder Joseph Brackett in or near Alfred, Maine, a Shaker village. 

In 1944, Maestro Copland incorporated the melody into his Appalachian Spring composition for the Martha Graham Ballet of the same title. 

In 1963, Sydney Carter turned it into The Lord of the Dance, and there have been many versions of the melody sung by everyone from Captain Tractor to Weezer, and, of course, danced to by many, many Irish dancers!

If you want to hear the entirety of Appalachian Spring, I recommend this video with Maestra Alondra de la Parra for the enjoyment of watching musicians do their thing (that's why I love symphony so much!), and imagining those flowers unfolding themselves from the ground. 

But for those who aren't so inclined, here's the melody of "Tis the Gift to Be Simple" as Copland adapted it, with the charming Shaker lyrics below.

Enjoy! 

'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.

When true simplicity is gain'd

To bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed,

To turn, turn will be our delight,

Till by turning, turning we come 'round right.

'Tis the gift to be loved and that love to return

'Tis the gift to be taught and a richer gift to learn,

And when we expect of others what we try to live each day,

Then we'll all live together and learn to say, (Refrain)

'Tis the gift to have friends and a true friend to be,

'Tis the gift to think of others, not to only think of "me,"

And when we hear what others really think and really feel,

Then we'll all live together with a love that is real. (Refrain)