Article

American Folk Music by Shaker Women and Girls: The Case of Ann Maria Love

Jennifer DeLapp-Birkett

Published in: Ethnomusicology Ireland 7 (2021)

Pages: 33-48 | Published Online: April 2021

https://doi.org/10.64208/LOTB4977

Abstract

Due to the egalitarian religious beliefs and cultural practices of the Shakers, an American communal sect that flourished in the nineteenth century, women were active composers and transcribers of many thousands of religious folk songs. Most Shaker music, by women and men, remains in manuscript, awaiting transcription from Shaker letteral notation. This examination of two manuscript tunebooks by Shaker musician Ann Maria Love reveals previously unexamined sources of Shaker music and the names of dozens more female musicians from her community at Groveland in New York State. Additional studies are needed to fully document the contributions of women to this unusual repository of American sacred folk music.

Keywords: Shakers, America, nineteenth century, hymns, song, dance

Author: Jennifer DeLapp-Birkett