Evensong “Simple Gifts”

"Simple Gifts" is a Shaker song written and composed by Elder Joseph Brackett in 1848. The Shakers were a religious denomination that emerged in 18th century England; later settling in upstate New York. This song gained wider popularity in the 20th century when it was included in Aaron Copland's ballet "Appalachian Spring," which premiered in 1944 and sung here by a choir from an independent day school in Baltimore County .