who wrote tis a gift to be simple
Joseph Brackett
title: Simple Gifts text: "Simple Gifts" was a traditional Celtic one but both the music and original lyrics are actually the compositions of Brackett. "Simple Gifts" has been adapted or arranged many times since by folksingers and composers. A well known version is by English songwriter Sydney Carter, who adapted the Shaker tune for his song "Lord of the Dance", first published in 1963. The Carter lyrics were adapted, in ignorance of the actual origins, without authorization or acknowledgments by Ronan Hardiman for Michael Flatley's dance musical "Lord of the Dance", which opened in 1996. The melody is used at various points throughout the title: Appalachian Spring text: Gift to be Simple - Songs, Dances and Rituals of the American Shakers", J.J. Augustin; Republished by Dover. Copland stated that the book's title composition jumped into him immediately upon receipt (see Winterthur archives). Originally, Copland did not have a title for the work, referring to it simply as "Ballet for Martha"—a title as simple and direct as the Shaker tune "'Tis the Gift to be Simple" quoted in the music. Shortly before the premiere, Graham suggested "Appalachian Spring", a phrase from a Hart Crane poem, "The Dance" from a collection of poems in his book "The Bridge." <poem> O title: Simple Gifts text: show, including the piece titled "Lord of the Dance." Other adaptations of the lyrics by Carter have occurred in the widespread belief that they are traditional, and in the public domain. Two additional, later non-Shaker verses exist for the song, as follows: And an additional alternative: Another alternate verse: A Version Broadcast During Music and the Spoken Word Simple Gifts "Simple Gifts" is a Shaker song written and composed in 1848 by Elder Joseph Brackett. The tune was written by Joseph Brackett (1797–1882) in 1848. Brackett, a lifelong resident of Maine, first joined the Shakers at Gorham, Maine, when his title: Philip Lawson (composer and arranger) text: his departure in February 2012. Lawson contributed over 50 arrangements to the repertoire of The King's Singers. He has 10 arrangements on the group's Grammy winning album "Simple Gifts", recorded in 2008 at the studio of Status Quo lead guitarist Francis Rossi. The album won the Grammy for Best Classical Crossover Album at the Grammy Award Ceremony held in Los Angeles in February 2009. Lawson also wrote the lyrics to "Born on a New Day", the highly successful Christmas version of the King's Singers best-selling hit arrangement of "You are the New Day". Lawson is also a composer of choral title: Shakers text: unaccompanied, in single-line unison singing. The many recent, harmonized arrangements of older Shaker songs for choirs and instrumental groups mark a departure from traditional Shaker practice. "Simple Gifts" was composed by Elder Joseph Brackett and originated in the Shaker community at Alfred, Maine in 1848. Many contemporary Christian denominations incorporate this tune into hymnals, under various names, including "Lord of the Dance", adapted in 1963 by English poet and songwriter Sydney Carter. Some scholars, such as Daniel W. Patterson and Roger Lee Hall, have compiled books of Shaker songs, and groups have been formed to sing the songs and perform