Good Company’s spring concert is this Sunday in Lakewood
You’re invited to join Good Company: A Vocal Ensemble for Lost in the Stars, a concert of music about the transcendent beauty and wonder of the night sky. The concert will be this Sunday, April 23rd at 4:00 p.m. at Lakewood Presbyterian Church (14502 Detroit Ave. in Lakewood). Lost in the Stars will feature music of Johannes Brahms, Morten Lauridsen, Kate Rusby, Kurt Weill, Franz Schubert, and others, including the premiere of “Past the Moon”, a new composition by Jena Root. Good Company: A Vocal Ensemble is directed by UUCC Music Director Mike Carney and many UUCC members and friends sing in the ensemble, including Barbara Bradley, Amy Collins, Leon Michaud, Anne and Steve Sanford, Pam Schenk, and Holly Walker.
Save the date: Linking Legacies concert is rescheduled for May 14th
Be sure to join us in the UUCC Sanctuary at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 14th 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, April 23rd:
This week’s musician is UUCC Pianist Karin Tooley
Opening Hymn: #175 We Celebrate the Web of Life – Carpenter/Vulpius
#175 in our Singing the Living Tradition hymnal, “We Celebrate the Web of Life” is a song based on the traditional hymn tune “Christus, Der Ist Mein Leben”, written in the early 17th century by German composer Melchior Vulpius (1570-1615), a tune which is found in more than 250 hymnals today. The words for “We Celebrate the Web of Life” were written 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), “Just as Long as I Have Breath (#6), and “With Heart and Mind” (#300).
Centering Music: Mother Nature’s Son – McCartney & Lennon
“Mother Nature’s Son” is a song written primarily by Paul McCartney (b. 1942) but officially credited to John Lennon (1940-1980) and McCartney, and released on the 1968 album The Beatles (commonly known as The White Album). McCartney has stated the song was inspired by a lecture given by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi he attended while in India.
Offertory Music: Earth Song – Jackson
“Earth Song” was written in 1988 by singer-songwriter Michael Jackson (1958-2009) and released on Jackson’s 1995 album, HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I. Although it was only a modest hit in the U.S., “Earth Song” went to #1 in the U.K. and several other European countries and won critical acclaim, earning a Grammy nomination among other accolades.
Closing Hymn: #1064 Blue Boat Home – Mayer
A native of Minnesota, folk musician Peter Mayer (b. 1963) is a guitarist and songwriter who specializes in earth-centered music. UU congregations know and love Peter as the lyricist behind “Blue Boat Home”, which first appeared on Mayer’s album The Great Story and is #1064 in our Singing the Journey hymnbook. The melody Mayer set his inspiring words to is called “Hyfrodol”, a popular Welsh hymn tune credited to Rowland Prichard (1811-1887). The piano accompaniment and choral harmonies were added by Rev. Jason Shelton (b. 1972), who also wrote several other beloved UU songs, including “Standing on the Side of Love”, The Fire of Commitment”, and “Life Calls Us On”.
Postlude: Big Yellow Taxi – Mitchell
“Big Yellow Taxi” was originally written and recorded in 1970 by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell (b. 1943), a 9-time Grammy Award winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee. Released first as a single and then on Mitchell’s 1970 album Ladies of the Canyon, “Big Yellow Taxi” reached the top 20 in Canada, Australia, the U.K., but did not crack the top 50 in the U.S. However, the song grew to become one of Mitchell’s signature songs and is considered an iconic environmental justice anthem. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Mitchell said her inspiration from the song came while traveling: “I wrote ‘Big Yellow Taxi’ on my first trip to Hawaii. I took a taxi to the hotel and when I woke up the next morning, I threw back the curtains and saw these beautiful green mountains in the distance. Then, I looked down and there was a parking lot as far as the eye could see, and it broke my heart […] this blight on paradise. That’s when I sat down and wrote the song.” “Big Yellow Taxi” has been covered by many other artists, most successfully by Amy Grant (1994) and Counting Crows (2002).
-Mike Carney, UUCC Music Director