Music Notes – Sunday, January 21st:
This Sunday’s musicians are the Chancel Choir and UUCC Pianist Karin Tooley.
Opening 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)
Centering Music: Goodbye, My Love – Flaherty and Ahrens
“Goodbye, My Love” is a song written by lyricist Lynn Ahrens (b. 1948) and composer Stephen Flaherty (b. 1960) for their 1996 Tony Award-winning musical Ragtime. Flaherty and Ahrens are also the songwriting team behind several other Broadway musicals, including Once on This Island (1990), Seussical (2000), and the 1997 animated film Anastasia, which was adapted into a staged musical in 2017.
Offertory Music: That Lonesome Road – Taylor and Grolnick, arr. Knowles
“That Lonesome Road” is a ballad exploring themes of pride and self-isolation. It was co-written by guitarist, singer-songwriter, and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee James Taylor (b. 1948) along with jazz pianist/composer/producer Don Grolnick (1947-1996). The song was the closing track of Taylor’s 1981 album Dad Loves His Work. “That Lonesome Road” never charted, but is a fan favorite, and Taylor frequently performs it at live shows. This Sunday, you’ll hear our Chancel Choir sing a choral arrangement by American composer/arranger Julie Knowles (b. 1946).
Closing Hymn: There Is a Love – Norton/Parker
“There Is a Love” is a simple but powerfully moving song with words and music by two strong UU women. The music was composed by Elizabeth Norton (b. 1959), who is a performer, composer, and the longtime music director at First Parish (UU) in Concord Massachusetts. The words were written by the Rev. Dr. Rebecca Ann Parker (b. 1953), a minister, author and theologian who served as president of the UU Starr King School for the Ministry from 1999 to 2014.
Postlude: Good Enough – Morris
“Good Enough” is a song about love and self-worth, written by award-winning performer and composer Lea Morris (b. 1978), also known simply as LEA. Born in Baltimore to a father who toured the world playing trumpet in the funk band Black Heat and a mother who dreamed of opera while performing with her siblings in the Jones Family Gospel Singers, LEA was singing on the pulpit of the Baptist church where she grew up as soon she could speak. When she discovered the acoustic guitar as a teenager, she began teaching herself to play by writing songs. LEA’s final year in high school in Germany at a classical conservatory, where she sang with the jazz ensemble Black & White and co-wrote with the British pop trio Indigo Wild. Having shared the stage with luminaries including Odetta, Mavis Staples, Dar Williams and Anthony Hamilton, LEA performs at a far-ranging array of venues, including arts centers, universities, festivals, places of worship and beyond. She performs solo and with her band, The Moment. (includes material from thisislea.com)
-Mike Carney, UUCC Music Director