Simple Gifts

Simple Gifts is a Shaker dance song, composed around 1848 by Elder Joseph Brackett Jr. The song remained relatively unknown outside of Shaker circles until 1944, when composer Aaron Copland incorporated it into the ballet Appalachian Spring. The song has since grown in popularity, being incorporated into the music of The Lord Of The Dance, and seeing some usage as a Christmas tune.

This arrangement was composed for Moreton Bay Symphony Orchestra's Junior Strings ensemble, and care was taken to make it playable, without being so simple as to condescend to the players. It also contains segments of The Sailor's Hornpipe, because I was not taking my ADHD medication at time of composition.