Yale Glee Club Rehearsing To Be Free, Oct. 29, 2018

Описание: The Yale Glee Club, director Jeffrey Douma
Mahima Kumara, piano
Rehearsing To Be Free, by composer Karen Siegel
Arrangement of Simple Gifts, by Joseph Brackett, with a new second verse and chorus
Winner of the 2018 Yale Glee Club Emerging Composers Competition
To be premiered November 9, 2018, 7:30pm, Woolsey Hall, Yale University, New Haven CT

Program Note:

This arrangement of Joseph Brackett’s well-known Shaker song “Simple Gifts” draws on the Shakers’ history as an immigrant group to the colonial United States with the addition of a new second verse and chorus. It elaborates on the idea of being in “the place just right,” expressing gratitude for our communities and emphasizing the importance of showing kindness to the newly arrived stranger. I have taken many rhythmic liberties with Brackett’s song, in addition to fragmenting and layering the tune, but it is still recognizable as the song that is as quintessentially American as the idea of freedom itself.

Text:

‘Tis a gift to be simple, ‘tis a gift to be free,
‘Tis a gift to come down to 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 gained,
To bow and to bend we won’t be ashamed.
To turn, turn will be our delight,
‘Til by turning and turning we come around right.
—Joseph Brackett, 1848 (Shaker dancing song)

‘Tis a gift to be grateful, ‘tis a gift to be here,
‘Tis a gift to be loved by neighbors we hold dear.
And when we stand up for what we know is right,
‘Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

When true benevolence is shown,
With strangers around we won’t be alone.
To love, love will be our delight,
‘Til by loving and loving we come around right.
— Karen Siegel, 2018

www.KarenSiegel.com