Simple Gifts

Simple Gifts
GenreShaker music, dance music
Textattr. Joseph Brackett
LanguageEnglish
MeterIrregular with refrain
Composed1848

"Simple Gifts" is a Shaker song written and composed in 1848, generally attributed to Elder Joseph Brackett from Alfred Shaker Village. It became widely known when Aaron Copland used its melody for the score of Martha Graham's ballet, Appalachian Spring, premiered in 1944.[1]

  1. ^ Pollack, Howard (1999). Aaron Copland: The Life and Work of an Uncommon Man. New York, New York: Henry Holt and Company. pp. 398–399. ISBN 0-8050-4909-6.