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One of America’s most famous musical compositions has a powerful spiritual core.
In 1942, dancer and choreographer Martha Graham approached the composer Aaron Copland and asked him to write a ballet with “an American theme.”
What he created was Appalachian Spring, an uplifting composition that more than a few music critics have hailed as the most American piece of music ever written.
The ballet tells the story of a young couple who, in the middle of the 1800s, are struggling to build a new home and a new life in the New World. It is not easy.
But Copland’s stirring themes and Graham’s vibrant dancing assured audiences that Americans – at that very moment in the midst of World War II – could prevail against any obstacles.
What would be the secret of our success?
Would it be technology? Brilliance? Patriotic fervor?
Copland went an entirely different way. He anchored his music on a hymn that had emerged from the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, a religious community better known as the Shakers. The group practiced a humble, shared way of life which was exemplified by the simplicity of their architecture and furniture.
The tune is called ‘Tis a Gift to be Simple. Other church groups have since transformed it into a song called Lord of the Dance.
Not ringing a bell? Then check out the joyful melody in this segment from Appalachian Spring.
Imagine Graham and her dancers confidently looking toward the future that God alone can provide.
Here are the tune’s lyrics that inspired Copland:
‘Tis a gift to be simple, ’tis a gift to be free
‘Tis a gift to come down where I ought to be
And when I am in the place just right
I will be in the valley of love and delight
When true simplicity is gained
To bow and to bend I will not be ashamed
To turn, to turn will be my delight
‘Til by turning, turning, I come ’round right.
So much of life is turning.
Every 12 months we turn a year older. We may turn to a new job, a new challenge, a new relationship. One day we might turn a corner and out of the blue hear news that shakes us to the core. Trusted friends might turn against us.
But just as a skilled dancer can pirouette effortlessly, spinning round and round an unmoving center point, our “turning, turning” will bring us “round right” – if, that is, we choose the right center.
A center is an emotional and spiritual home base. It’s the place where one’s soul is at peace. The point that doesn’t move when everything else around is in motion or seems to be falling apart.
It’s fairly easy to tell if your soul isn’t centered.
Life feels not just busy – busyness is a constant for most of us – but hurried. Hurry is the overwhelming sense that I need to be somewhere else or get on with the next task, rather than slow down enough to experience the present moment.
You’ll feel impatient. And mildly irritated. And increasingly desperate to control circumstances that quite frankly are beyond your control.
A soul without a center, unfortunately, always finds its identity in externals.
If my life isn’t centered in God, I’ll try to live as if my work, my appearance, my accomplishments, or my circle of friends will allow me to muddle through another day.
But if we choose, as our center point, the goodness and grace of God, life begins to feel very different.
We may “bow and bend” under life’s strain.
But our unmoving center point will allow us to face the future unafraid.
As the Shakers might put it, that’s the simple Truth.