Music Notes – Sunday, July 5th:
This Sunday morning, come to Fellowship Hall for a potluck breakfast and ‘watch party’ featuring the Sunday Worship Service from this year’s UUA General Assembly! Be sure to arrive by 10:00 to hear terrific pre-service music from the GA Musicians! Many of the musical selections featured before and during this year’s GA Service are listed below.
And scroll down to the end of this article for a list of ‘coming attractions’, as we have many amazingly talented guest musicians from within our congregation and elsewhere that will be playing and singing at UUCC later this summer!
GA Service Music
“Hush, Somebody’s Callin’ My Name” is a Spiritual/Gospel song, and like so many songs from the Black Spiritual tradition, its exact authorship and age are impossible to determine. Some scholars believe it originated as an ‘escape’ song during the time of slavery, with the lyrics holding the double meaning of listening for the voice of God, but also reminding children to remain quiet to avoid being caught during an escape attempt. The song was first recorded in 1923 by the Bethel Jubilee Quartet, and it has come into greater popularity and use during the last 50 years, partly due to the fact that it was featured in the soundtrack of the television miniseries Roots and the movie Crossroads. Our Singing the Journey hymnbook includes this song (titled simply as “Hush”) as #1040.
“I Choose Love” is a choral anthem by American composer, conductor, and performer Mark Miller (b. 1967), who 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.
#1051 in Singing the Journey, “We Are…” was composed by Ysaye Barnwell (b. 1946) for Sweet Honey in the Rock. “We Are…” was originally the last song in a suite that began with the lyric, “Lawd, it’s midnight. A dark and fear filled midnight. Lawd, it’s a midnight without stars.” Dr. Barnwell wanted to create a complete circle of experience, and so she wrote “for each child that’s born, a morning star rises…” This phrase is meant to establish hope, and it defines the uniqueness of each one of us. No matter what our race, culture or ethnicity, each one of us has been called into being and are the sum total of all who came before. In the composer’s words, “Each and every one of us stands atop a lineage that has had at its core, mothers and fathers and teachers and dreamers and shamans and healers and builders and warriors and thinkers and, and, and…so in spite of our uniqueness, we come from and share every experience that human kind has ever had. In this way, we are one. (from uua.org)
Colorado native Loretta K. Notareschi (b. 1977) is a composer, professor of music at Regis University, and faculty member of The Walden School Creative Musicians Retreat. With her music, she seeks to foster compassion, connection, and meaning. She is a member of First Universalist Church of Denver, where she sings in the choir. Her work spans diverse ensembles and has been performed internationally, from small churches to Carnegie Hall. “Be Still and Breathe” is a meditative song intended to help the listener hear and honor their own feelings, whether they’re difficult or joyous. With its lyrics “Be still and breathe” and “Be still and be,” it encourages being peaceful and present with one’s current experience, without resistance or judgment. (includes material from singoutlove.org)
“We Walk in Love” was written in 2017 by jazz pianist/composer Deanna Witkowski with lyrics from poet and author Lemuel Colon. The song was composed for The Justice Choir Songbook, an online resource that activists and musicians have been using for the last several years to support causes of racial, social, and environmental justice around the world. In the composer’s own words: “In early 2017, I responded to a call for scores for a new collection of social justice songs being curated by Abbie Betinis, Tesfa Wondemagegnhehu, and Ahmed Anzaldúa. The songs to be selected as part of a new movement called Justice Choir would be offered free of charge for anyone to sing for non-commercial use: at concerts, marches, protests, and in houses of worship…I immediately responded by sitting down at the piano. I wrote and harmonized a simple tune in 3/4- not rangy, no big jumps, something that everyone could sing. Next, I went to my living room couch with a large sketchbook on my lap. I started writing lists of nouns: ‘love, purpose, voice, compassion, truth, bridge, justice, kindness’. Then I pulled out the text to James Weldon Johnson’s hymn, ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’, and started adding more nouns: ‘hope, faith’…my boyfriend sat with me when I got stuck on a phrase or two and contributed to the lyric. We sang the three verses to each other multiple times before I returned to the piano and recorded myself singing and playing the song, ‘We Walk in Love’. I wrote out a lead sheet and emailed it along with the recording to Abbie. Soon I received a reply: ‘We love your harmony! Can you write a four-part SATB version?’ I scored the song for four parts and sent it back, hoping that it would be selected. ‘We Walk in Love’ made the cut and became one of 43 free-to-download songs in The Justice Choir Songbook. (from deannawitkowski.com)
Finally, here’s our summer music schedule at UUCC (coming soon to a congregation near you!) As you can see, there is no shortage of summery musical treats to be enjoyed during the coming weeks!
- On Sunday, July 12th, you’ll hear some terrific music from Dana Bjorklund (French horn) and Lucy Carney (piano), along with Mike Carney.
- Laura Silverman (piano) will be our special guest musician on Sunday, July 19th.
- On Sunday, July 26th, Karin Tooley will be joined by Amy Collins (soprano) for what’s sure to be a wonderful morning of music.
- The talented ‘family act’ of Pamela Schenk (piano) and Leon Michaud (cello) will be featured on Sunday, August 2nd – Karin Tooley will also be at the piano that morning.
- The amazing and versatile Watkins/Burns Family will be singing and playing in our service on Sunday, August 9th, accompanied by Mike Carney as well.
- Our own very talented Karin Tooley will be the pianist on Sunday, August 16th, and there may be another special surprise that morning as well – keep an eye on Music Notes for updates!
- Bill McNally will treat us to some excellent piano music on Sunday, August 23rd.
- On Sunday, August 30th, our own Anya Ustin (mezzo-soprano) and Mike Carney (piano) will take us on a musical journey through the Great American Songbook.
-Mike Carney, UUCC Music Director