This Sunday at UUCC: the triumphant return of the YoUUth Choir!
Make sure you come to church this Sunday, September 18th to see (and hear) the return of UUCC’s fantastic YoUUth Choir! Also, don’t forget that all youth in grades 4-12 are welcome to sing with our YoUUth Choir – click here for more information.
Music Notes – Sunday, September 18th:
This Sunday’s musicians are UUCC Pianist Karin Tooley and UUCC YoUUth Choir.
Opening #347 Gather the Spirit – Scott
#347 in our Singing the Living Tradition hymnal, “Gather the Spirit” is one of the most familiar and well-loved hymns of our UU faith. The song was written by UU composer, performer, activist, and friend of UUCC Jim Scott (b. 1946), who also wrote and arranged several other songs found in our hymnbooks, including “May Your Life Be as a Song” and “Nothing but Peace Is Enough”.
Centering Music: This Is Me – Pasek and Paul
“This Is Me” is a song from the 2017 film musical The Greatest Showman. The music and lyrics were co-written by Benj Pasek (b. 1985) and Justin Paul (b. 1985), a songwriting team known primarily for their work in film and theater, including the scores for Dear Evan Hansen and A Christmas Story (stage musical), and original songs from La La Land. “This Is Me” won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and was nominated for an Academy Award in the same category.
Offertory: Family/Familia – Burrows
A native of Texas, Mark Burrows is a composer, conductor, and educator who is who is primarily known for choral works. Burrows’ music is widely published and performed, and he also serves frequently as a guest clinician for choral workshops and for honors and festival choirs. Burrows composed “Family/Familia” in 2021, and set the text in both English and Spanish in the spirit of inclusivity. At the core of this piece is the assertion that all of us are “more than neighbors, we are family.”
Closing Hymn: #1020 Woyaya
Written by Ghanaian drummer Sol Amarifio (b. 1938), “Woyaya” (also known as “We Are Going” or “Heaven Knows”) is the title song of a 1971 album by Oisibisa, a group of Ghanaian and Caribbean musicians. The song was frequently heard in work camps throughout central West Africa in the 1970s and 1980s. The word “Woyaya” has no literal English translation but can have multiple meanings, as is the case with many scat syllables, which are a common feature in West African music. The arrangement of “Woyaya” used in our service (and appearing as #1020 in our Singing the Journey hymnbook) comes from Ysaye Barnwell of Sweet Honey in the Rock.
Postlude: Shiny Happy People – Stipe, Berry, Buck, & Mills
“Shiny Happy People” is a song by alternative rock band R.E.M., first released on their 1991 studio album Out of Time. Although officially credited to all members of the band, the song was primarily written by R.E.M.’s lead vocalist Michael Stipe (b. 1960), who took the title phrase “Shiny happy people holding hands” from a translation of Chinese propaganda posters used after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. Some listeners took the song at face value, assuming it was a cheerful piece of bubblegum pop music, but it was actually meant as ironic commentary on the attempt by China’s authoritarian regime to suppress any hint of negative publicity, even in a time of great national crisis. The original R.E.M. recording of “Shiny Happy People” featured guest vocalist Kate Pierson of the B-52’s, who also appears in the music video. The song became a top ten hit on both the U.S. and U.K. charts, and was originally to be used as the theme song for the NBC sitcom Friends until the producers had a change of heart and replaced it with the Rembrandts’ “I’ll Be There for You”.
-Mike Carney, UUCC Music Director
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