Let the Holiday Season Begin

If you have never heard a full production of "The Tender Land", you might want to check out the other arias on You Tube. For a description of this opera by composer Aaron Copeland created due to a commission from Rodgers and Hammerstein, check out the Wiki

Happy Thanksgiving

The beautiful Shaker hymn "Simple Gifts" as used in Aaron Copeland's "Appalachian Spring".

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where you ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
Will be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gained,
To bow and to bend, we shan't be ashamed,
To turn, turn, will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come round right

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'Tis gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where you ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
Will be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gained,
To bow and to bend, we shan't be ashamed,
To turn, turn, will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come round right
Till by turning, turning we come round right