Music Notes – Sunday, January 29th:
This week’s musicians are The Women’s Ensemble and UUCC Music Director Mike Carney
Opening Hymn: #1017 Building a New Way – Sandefer
Martha Sandefer (b. 1952) is an American vocalist and composer who is currently involved with the Work o’ the Weavers project. She wrote “Building a New Way” in 1986 and her song was later arranged by Jim Scott (b. 1946) and included as #1017 in our Singing the Journey hymnbook.
Centering Music: January – Gjeilo
Norwegian-born Ola Gjeilo (b. 1978) is one of the rising stars in the classical music world of the 21st century. He holds composition degrees from both The Royal College of Music in London and The Juilliard School in New York and spent several years as composer-in-residence with the renowned choral group Voces8. “January” is from Gjeilo’s Five Pieces for Piano, which he wrote during 2006-2007 in New York City.
Offertory: Profetiza, Pueblo Mio – Zárate Macias
Musicians are not strangers to the cause for civil rights, and Rosa Martha Zárate Macias is a heroic example. Zárate Macias came to the United States from Mexico in 1968 and has successfully combined her rich musical talent with courageous leadership in championing the rights of the Mexican and Latinx community in the U.S. She has performed benefit concerts in numerous countries of Central and South America as well as in Portugal and the United States. (from giamusic.com) In 1985, she was the cofounder of the California-based immigration and citizenship project Libreria del Pueblo, and from 1990–1993 she acted as cofounder of Calpulli, an organization that promotes and develops programs to aid disadvantaged people of Central and South American heritage. Profetiza, Pueblo Mio (#1016 in our Singing the Journey hymnbook) was written in 1975 and first sung at the II National Convention of Spanish Speaking Catholics in Washington, DC.
The English translation of the song’s refrain is:
Prophesy, oh my people, prophesy one more time.
Let your voice be the echo of the outcries of all oppressed.
Prophesy, oh my people, prophesy one more time.
Announce to them the coming of a new society.
Closing Hymn: #168 One More Step – Poley
Canadian UU Composer Joyce Poley (b. 1941) wrote “One More Step” in 1986 and its message of commitment and perseverance still rings true today. “One More Step” is #168 in our Singing the Living Tradition hymnal and is a favorite of many UUs in congregations around the world.
Postlude: We Are the Ones – Reagon
“We Are the Ones (We Been Waiting For)” is a song about justice and empowerment, originally written as tribute to the women of South Africa. The words come from renowned Jamaican American poet, teacher, and activist June Jordan (1936-2002) and were set to music by composer, song leader, and activist Bernice Johnson Reagon (b. 1942) for Sweet Honey in the Rock, the afro-feminist a cappella group she founded in 1973.
-Mike Carney, UUCC Music Director