“Simple Gifts” (An old Shaker Hymn) . . . . Available as a Solo Fingerpicking arrangement by Ukulele Mike Lynch . . . . In the Solo Ukulele Instrumentals eBook Volume 1 enhanced edition . . . Fingerpicking solos
We learn from Wikipedia that “Simple Gifts” is a Shaker song written and composed in 1848 by Elder Joseph Brackett.
It has endured many inaccurate descriptions. Though often classified as an anonymous Shaker hymn or as a work song, it is better classified as a dance song.
The tune was written by Joseph Brackett (1797–1882) in 1848.[2] Brackett, a lifelong resident of Maine, first joined the Shakers at Gorham, Maine, when his father’s farm helped to form the nucleus of a new Shaker settlement. The song was largely unknown outside Shaker communities until Aaron Copland used its melody for the score of Martha Graham‘s ballet Appalachian Spring, first performed in 1944. Copland used “Simple Gifts” a second time in 1950 in his first set of Old American Songs for voice and piano, which was later orchestrated. Many people thought that the tune of “Simple…
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