Alfred Music
18723, SSAA with opt. clarinet, $4.25
Date released: 1999

This well-known Shaker melody has been creatively arranged by Mark Hayes using Bb clarinet obbligato, SSAA voices, and piano. Hayes has added two additional new verses which explore the idea of living simply and the gifts that life has to offer us. One lyric says, “‘Tis a gift to live simply, ’tis a gift just to sing, to celebrate life in every living thing.” Through the use of polyphonic sections, mixed meter, a cappella writing, imitative motifs, and syncopations, Hayes has crafted a show-stopper that is suitable for contests and concerts alike. Moderately difficult.