Don’t miss it! FREE concert in our sanctuary next Wednesday, October 9th with Linking Legacies
Join us for a delicious community meal next Wednesday, October 9th at 6 p.m., then stick around for a free concert in our sanctuary beginning at 7:00. The program of French music will feature the Linking Legacies ensemble of African American faculty members from Oberlin, Baldwin-Wallace, and Cleveland State. Click this link for more details – I’ll see you there!
Music Notes – Sunday, October 6th:
This Sunday’s musician is UUCC Pianist Karin Tooley
Song: 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.
Centering Music: Mystery of Love – Stevens
Michigan native Sufjan Stevens (b. 1975) is a musician and songwriter who has written and performed in multiple styles, including electronica, new age, folk rock, and symphonic rock. Stevens wrote and performed “Mystery of Love” for the 2017 film Call Me by Your Name. “Mystery of Love” earned a great deal of critical praise, and was nominated both for the Academy Award for Best Original Song and for the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media.
Offertory Music: God Is a Woman – Grande
American singer-songwriter and actress Ariana Grande (b. 1993 as Ariana Grande-Butera) is one of the most iconic and influential musicians of her generation. She began her career as a teenager on Broadway and in the Nickelodeon television shows Victorious and Sam & Cat. Grande signed her first major record deal in 2011 at the age of 18, and she has since become one of the best-selling artists of the 21st century, with over 90 million records sold worldwide to date, including 22 singles in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, nine of them reaching #1. She has received two Grammy Awards among many other accolades, and was twice listed as one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World. “God Is a Woman”, co-written by Grande with songwriter/producers Ilya Salmanzadeh, Max Martin, Rickard Göransson, and Savan Kotecha, was the second single from Grande’s 2018 album Sweetener, and reached the top ten in the U.S., U.K., Australia, and 14 other countries. The song also received near-universal critical acclaim and was nominated for a Grammy Award and an MTV Video Music Award.
Closing Song: Everything Possible – Small
Singer-songwriter, lawyer, activist, and UU minister Fred Small (b. 1952) was born in Plainfield, New Jersey and currently lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He started out as a lawyer working for the Conservation Law Foundation, but soon answered another calling and became a full-time folk singer and songwriter. Some of Small’s best-known songs are “Heart of the Appaloosa”, “Cranes Over Hiroshima”, and “Everything Possible”, which was first released in 1985 on his album No Limit. “Everything Possible” was also used for the finale of the AIDS benefit musical Heart Strings in 1992 and is #1019 in our Singing the Journey hymnbook.
Postlude: Like a Prayer – Ciccone & Leonard
Released in 1989 from her album of the same name, “Like a Prayer” became the 7th (of 13 so far) U.S. Billboard #1 hit for Madonna Louise Ciccone (b. 1958), more commonly known simply as Madonna. A singer, songwriter, actor, dancer, and author who is constantly reinventing herself, Madonna is a seven-time Grammy Award winner and is the most successful solo musical artist in history, having sold more than 300 million records to date. Among her most memorable songs, “Like a Prayer” achieved critical and commercial success amid controversy over the blending of religion and sexuality in its lyrics and music video. The song was co-written by Madonna along with her longtime collaborator Patrick Leonard (b. 1956), an award-winning songwriter, producer, keyboardist, and film composer.
-Mike Carney, UUCC Music Director