Music Notes – Sunday, December 8th:
This Sunday’s musicians are The Chancel Choir and UUCC Music Director Mike Carney
Song: All My Memories of Love – Plainsong melody/Belletini
#336 in our Singing the Living Tradition hymnbook, “All My Memories of Love” is a setting of “Adoro te devote” (Humbly I Adore Thee), a 13th Century plainsong melody that is often (but probably incorrectly) attributed to St. Thomas of Aquinas. The lyrics in our hymnal were written by Rev. Mark Belletini, who served for many years as senior minister at the First Unitarian Church of Columbus, Ohio.
Centering Music: No. 2 from Three Secrets from the Abyss – Harle
John Harle (b. 1956) is an award-winning composer, saxophonist, record producer and educator whose work spans across musical genres from classical to contemporary pop. John is the composer of operas, around fifty concert works and over 100 film and TV scores including the theme to BBC1’s Silent Witness and the epic score to Simon Schama’s A History of Britain. He is the recipient of an Ivor Novello award and two Royal Television Society awards for Best Music. (from johnharle.com) This Sunday, you’ll hear the second movement of Harle’s 2006 piano cycle Three Secrets from the Abyss.
Offertory Music: If Not Now, When? – Korman and Korman
“If Not Now, When?” is a 2017 song by the father-daughter songwriting team of Jerome and Arielle Korman. It was published in the Justice Choir Songbook and has been performed by choirs all over the world as a result. In the words of Arielle Korman: “These lyrics are the three questions Rabbi Hillel asks in Pirkei Avot 1:14. What happens to us when we do not stand up for ourselves when we are hurting? What happens to us when we focus so much on our own well-being that we cannot see the pain of another? When will we start to change our habits, to wake up, to show up? My father and I wrote this song understanding the crucial role music plays in bringing people together to pray and to stand up for justice.”
Song: I Sought the Wood in Summer – Hopson/Cather
“I Sought the Wood in Summer” (#328) is one of the lesser-known treasures within Singing the Living Tradition. The hymn tune was written by American composer and performer Hal Hopson (b. 1933), who is primarily known for hymns and other sacred music. The words for “I Sought the Wood in Summer” come from American author and poet Willa Cather (1873-1947). Cather was most famously known for her novels depicting immigrant life on the American frontier, which included O Pioneers!, My Antonia, and One of Ours, which earned her the 1923 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. The hymn lyrics we’ll sing on Sunday are an excerpt from Cather’s 1903 poem “I Sought the Wood in Winter”.
Postlude: I Choose Love – Miller
American composer, conductor, and performer Mark Miller (b. 1967) believes passionately that music can change the world. He also believes in Cornell West’s quote that “Justice is what love looks like in public.” Mark’s dream is that the music he composes, performs, teaches and leads will inspire and empower people to create the beloved community. Mark serves as Assistant Professor of Church Music at Drew Theological School and is a Lecturer in the Practice of Sacred Music at Yale University (from markamillermusic.com). Miller wrote “I Choose Love” as a prayer in response to a 2015 mass shooting that occurred at the Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, and dedicated the song to the members of that congregation.
-Mike Carney, UUCC Music Director