This started as a fairly short piece for flute, piano, soprano and tambourine. The orchestral version incorporates most of that, the words and music of Elder Jospeh Brackett, written in 1847, some new melodic material and two additional verses of "Simple Gifts", the author(s) of which I haven't been able to find out.

The piece is most often referred to as a hymn, but it has also been called a work song and a dancing song. Joseph Brackett, I suspect, would have said that a hymn is for all of life, which includes working and dancing. There is a description I read once of the Elder singing it with his coat tails flying.

<center><table border=1><tr><td>Simple Gifts
SG (190.7 k)</td></tr></table></center>

For some reason MS wavetable distorts many of the instruments. I wrote it with Composer set to SB Live synth A.