Music Notes – Sunday, June 22nd:
This Sunday’s musician is UUCC Pianist Karin Tooley.
Prelude: Sing and Rejoice – Bradbury
#395 in our Singing the Living Tradition hymnbook, “Sing and Rejoice” is a short and simple round that is often used as a camp song or in school or worship settings. The song was written by American composer and organist William Batchelder Bradbury (1816-1868), who composed many well-known American hymn tunes, including “Jesus Loves Me”, “He Leadeth Me”, and “Sweet Hour of Prayer”.
Song: Just as Long as I Have Breath – Ebeling/Carpenter
#6 in Singing the Living Tradition, “Just as Long as I Have Breath” is a song based on Johann Ebeling’s (1637-1676) traditional hymn tune “Nicht So Traurig” (“Not So Sad”), with words by UU songwriter and activist Alicia S. Carpenter (1930-2021). Carpenter authored no fewer than 10 of the songs in our ‘big’ hymnal, including “Here We Have Gathered” (#360), We Celebrate the Web of Life” (#175), and “With Heart and Mind” (#300).
Centering Music: Freedom – Brickman
Offertory Music: Glory – Brickman & Benoit
Postlude: Hero’s Dream – Brickman
Shaker Heights native Jim Brickman (b. 1961) is a pianist, songwriter, arranger, and syndicated radio host known primarily for pop and new age music. He has enjoyed great commercial success, with six of his original albums certified Gold or Platinum by the Recording Institute Association of America and over 30 songs reaching the top 20 in Billboard Magazine’s Adult Contemporary Charts. Throughout his career, Brickman has collaborated with numerous other well-known artists, including Johnny Mathis, Martina McBride, Carly Simon, and Lady A, and he is a two-time Grammy Award nominee. “Freedom” is from Brickman’s 1999 album Destiny, “Hero’s Dream” was first released on Brickman’s 1997 album Picture This, and “Glory” comes from Brickman’s 2008 release Unspoken.
Song: Though I May Speak with Bravest Fire – English folk melody/Hopson
“Though I May Speak with Bravest Fire”, more commonly known as “The Gift of Love”, is a hymn setting by American composer and performer Hal Hopson (b. 1933), who is primarily known for hymns and other sacred music. Hopson’s words are an adaptation of I Corinthians 13, the well-known love passage from Paul’s Epistle to the Corinthians which is often read at wedding ceremonies. The tune for this hymn is “O Waly Waly”, a flowing folk melody from the British Isles which dates back at least 400 years, and is most commonly set as “The Water Is Wide”. This well-loved tune has been set for voices and instruments hundreds of times, both by traditional composers (such as Benjamin Britten and John Rutter) and folk musicians (Pete Seeger and Joan Baez among many others).
-Mike Carney, UUCC Music Director