Save the date: Linking Legacies concert on March 12th
Be sure to join us in the UUCC Sanctuary at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 12th for Linking Legacies, a free concert celebrating the music of Black composers and performers with a connection to Northeast Ohio. Click here for more information about this very special musical event.
Music Notes – Sunday, February 19th:
This week’s musicians are The Women’s Ensemble, The YoUUth Choir, and UUCC Music Director Mike Carney
Opening Hymn: What the World Needs Now Is Love – Bacharach & David
“What the World Needs Now Is Love” is a 1965 song co-written by lyricist Hal David (1921-2012) and composer Burt Bacharach (1928-2023). The song was first recorded and released by singer/songwriter Jackie DeShannon (b. 1941) and became a top ten hit in the United States and Canada, much to the surprise of David, who wrote the lyrics in response to the Vietnam War and resulting protests throughout the United States. David believed the nation was too fractured over Vietnam, the Civil Rights Movement, and other sources of unrest in the 1960s to embrace the song’s message of love and unity. “What the World Needs Now Is Love” was one of several songs that Bacharach and David wrote together. Their award-winning partnership led to both commercial and critical success and resulted in some of the best-loved songs of American popular music, including “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on my Head”, “(They Long to Be) Close to You”, and “This Guy’s in Love with You”, all of which topped the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Bacharach and David were jointly awarded The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song in May of 2012, just a few months before David’s passing.
Centering Music: The Promise – Chapman
Cleveland native and four-time Grammy Award winner Tracy Chapman (b. 1964) is a songwriter, singer, guitarist, and activist. Her musical style is difficult to define, incorporating elements of rock, blues, gospel, and folk, all of which are underpinned by her distinctive vocals and guitar playing. Chapman is best known for her hit songs “Fast Car” (1988) and “Give Me One Reason” (1995). “The Promise”, also known as “If You Wait for Me”, was released in 1995 as part of Chapman’s New Beginnings album. As a social advocate, Chapman has supported Amnesty International, the AIDS/LifeCycle Ride to End AIDS, and other charities, and has co-sponsored multiple programs to support students in the Cleveland Public Schools.
Centering Hymn: Open My Heart – Flurry
#1013 in Singing the Journey, “Open My Heart” is a simple round written by Henry Flurry (b. 1964), an award-winning UU composer, educator, and pianist based in Prescott, Arizona. Flurry has composed in response to commissions from the Atlanta Wind Symphony, University City Symphony, Camarata Singers, and others. He has also collaborated with various artists to create multimedia children’s software for many different publishers, including Disney, Scholastic, IBM, and Harper Collins. Flurry and his wife Maria regularly perform together as the duo Sticks and Tones. (includes material from henryflurry.com)
Offertory: True Colors – Steinburg & Kelly, arr. Sharon
“True Colors” is a song by American songwriters Billy Steinberg (b. 1950) and Tom Kelly (b. 1952), which was made famous by American singer/songwriter, actress, and activist Cyndi Lauper (b. 1953). The song was the first single released from Lauper’s second album (also titled True Colors) and became a major hit, spending two weeks at #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and earning Lauper a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. “True Colors” has been covered by numerous other artists, including Phil Collins, Jenna Ushkowitz (for the television show Glee) and Kasey Chambers. This Sunday, “True Colors” will be sung by UUCC’s Women’s Ensemble along with our YoUUth Choir.
Closing Hymn: When I Am Frightened – Denham
“When I Am Frightened” (#1012 in Singing the Journey), also titled “Then I May Learn”, was commissioned in 1999 by the First Unitarian Church of Dallas. Because of her lifelong commitment to working with and empowering youth, UU composer Shelley Jackson Denham (1950-2013) took the opportunity to write a piece based on children’s yearning for truth, respect, and engagement with adults. In keeping with a philosophy that “children are watching, what are they learning?”, the song is meant as a reminder that all children deserve and need compassion, acceptance, commitment…and that they often learn to both give and receive these essential elements of relationship through the simple act of observation. (includes material from uua.org)
Postlude: When We Are Singing – Folk hymn, arr. Padworski
“When We Are Singing” is an arrangement of a folk hymn that is believed to be of Mexican origin (it first appeared in print within the 1983 songbook Celebremos II). The lyrics and harmonic treatment were written by American composer, conductor, and performer Kevin Padworski (b. 1987), and published in The Justice Choir Songbook.
-Mike Carney, UUCC Music Director
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