Music Notes – Sunday, September 28th:
This Sunday’s musician is UUCC Pianist Karin Tooley
Centering Music: Kol Nidrei – Bruch
Max Bruch (1838-1920) was a German composer, violinist, and music educator of the Romantic Era. Bruch wrote more than 200 works in varying styles, but he is probably best-remembered today for his violin concertos, as well as for Kol Nidrei (op. 47), an 1880 composition for cello with orchestra. Although Bruch was a Protestant Christian, he was inspired by Jewish folk music, and incorporated melodies from that tradition into Kol Nidrei (“All Vows”). The opening theme, introduced by the cello in Bruch’s original setting, is meant to represent the voice of the cantor reciting the “Kol Nidre” declaration, which traditionally begins the worship service in the Jewish celebration of Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). Bruch’s Kol Nidrei is still performed frequently today by orchestras around the world.
Song: Who Can Say (Janowski/Partain)
#218 in our Singing the Living Tradition hymnal, “Who Can Say” is a hymn that celebrates the Jewish roots of Unitarian Universalism. The music for was written by Max Janowski (1912-1991), a German-American composer, conductor, music educator, and temple musician. Janowski composed in a variety of forms, but he is best-remembered today for his sacred Jewish choral music, which includes “Avinu Malkeinu” (“Our Father, Our King”) and “Sim Shalom” (“Song of Peace”). In Singing the Living Tradition, the words for “Who Can Say” are adapted from one of the prayers in Gates of Repentance: The New Union Prayerbook for the Days of Awe, published in 1984 and edited by Chaim Stern. This Sunday, we’ll also sing an additional verse written by our own Rev. Randy Partain.
Offertory Music: Prayer – Bloch
Ernest Bloch (1880-1959) was a composer and music educator primarily known for his orchestral and chamber music. Originally from Geneva, Switzerland, Bloch moved to the United States in 1916 and became the first musical director of the Cleveland Institute of Music upon the founding of the school in 1920. Much of Bloch’s music was inspired by his faith, including “Prayer”, which is the opening movement of From Jewish Life, a 1924 suite for cello and piano.
Song: When Our Heart Is in a Holy Place – Poley
#1008 in our Singing the Journey hymnbook, “When Our Heart Is in a Holy Place” was written in 1996 by UU musician and composer Joyce Poley (b. 1941). This song “invites us to see ourselves in others. As we come to understand that all people have wisdom to share and stories to tell—regardless of culture, race, social status, or faith—we begin to realize how important our commonalities are, and how interwoven our lives. When we open ourselves to this sacred idea, then ‘our heart is in a holy place’.” (from uua.org)
Postlude: Hayom t’amtzeinu – Litvack
Cantor Leon Litvack is a native of Canada, who now lives and works in the United Kingdom, where he serves as Professor of Victorian Studies at the Queen’s University of Belfast, Northern Ireland. This Sunday’s postlude will be Litvack’s setting of the Hayyom t’amtzeinu, a prayer that occurs near the conclusion of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services, and which is often set to a lively, dance-like tune.
-Mike Carney, UUCC Music Director