Music Notes – Sunday, January 12th:
This Sunday’s musicians are The Chancel Choir, The Treble Ensemble, and UUCC Music Director Mike Carney
Prelude: Be Ours a Religion – Benjamin/Parker
Thomas Benjamin (b. 1940) is a celebrated UU composer and retired professor of music theory and composition. Dr. Benjamin is a frequent contributor to both Singing the Living Tradition and Singing the Journey. “Be Ours a Religion” (#1058 in Singing the Journey) is a musical setting of the famous words by Unitarian minister Theodore Parker (1810-1860).
Song: 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: Beautiful Dawn – Moody
Two-time Juno Award winning singer and songwriter Ruth Moody (b. 1975) was born in Australia but raised in Manitoba, Canada. She is a founding and current member of the Canadian country/folk trio The Wailin’ Jennys. Moody wrote “Beautiful Dawn” in 2004 for The Wailin’ Jennys and the song was released in August of the same year on the group’s debut album 40 Days.
Offertory Music: Oceans and Stars – Bernon
Composer, performer, and conductor Amy F. Bernon grew up in Syracuse, New York and currently resides in Connecticut. Trained at The Hartt School and the Yale University School of Music, Amy studied composition with Martin Bresnick, Robert Carl, Jacob Druckman, and Libby Larsen, and now specializes in choral composition, particularly for women’s voices. Bernon’s 2014 composition “Oceans and Stars” makes metaphorical connections (both lyrically and musically) between our journey through life with the flow of a river to the sea.
Song: Woyaya – Amarfio, Amoa, Bailey, Bedeau, Osei, Richardson, & Tontoh
Primarily written by Ghanaian drummer Sol Amarifio (1938-2022), “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 (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: Where Do We Come From? – Tate, arr. Carney
The lyrics for “Where Do We Come From?” originate from the title of a famous oil painting by Paul Gauguin (1848-1903). Gaugin’s painting depicts a group of women who represent the three questions posed in his title. Women shown with a young child represent the beginning of life: “Where Do We Come From?” A second group of women represent the daily existence of adulthood: “What Are We?” Finally, an old woman nearing the end of her life is asking, “Where Are We Going?” The musical adaptation was written in 1999 by Canadian composer Brian Tate (b. 1954) and is #1003 in our Singing the Journey hymnbook. The choral arrangement you’ll hear this Sunday was written by UUCC Music Director Mike Carney and will be sung by our Chancel Choir.
-Mike Carney, UUCC Music Director