Music Notes – Sunday, November 3rd:
This Sunday’s musicians are The Chancel Choir and UUCC Music Director Mike Carney
Song: Come, Sing a Song with Me – McDade
#346 in our Singing the Living Tradition hymnal, “Come, Sing a Song with Me” is a well-known and beloved hymn to many Unitarian Universalists. The words and music were written by Carolyn McDade (b. 1935), a self-described songwriter, spiritual feminist, and social activist. McDade is also the composer of two other UU favorites: “Spirit of Life” and “We’ll Build a Land”.
Song: I Walk the Unfrequented Road – Hosmer/American folk tune
“I Walk the Unfrequented Road” (#53 in our Singing the Living Tradition hymnal) is a setting of words from Unitarian minister Frederick Lucian Hosmer (1840-1929), who served as minister of our congregation from 1878-1892. Hosmer’s text describes the beauty of journeying down the proverbial ‘road less traveled’ on an Autumn day. The hymn tune (usually known as “Consolation” or Morning Song”) first appeared in print in the 1813 Repository of Sacred Music, although it is likely years or even decades older than its first publication. The exact origins of the tune are uncertain, but it is often attributed to Presbyterian minister and hymn writer Elkanah K. Dare (1782-1826). The tune has appeared in well over 100 hymnals, most frequently set as “The King Shall Come When Morning Dawns” and “O Holy City, Seen of John”.
Centering Music: Autumn Leaves – Kosma/Prévert
“Autumn Leaves” (Les Feuilles Mortes) is the most famous jazz standard to have originated outside the United States. The distinctive melody and unconventional supporting harmony were originally written by French-Hungarian composer Joseph Kosma (1905-1969) as a pas de deux (choreographed duo) within his 1945 ballet Le Rendez-vous, whose storyline was written by French poet and author Jacques Prévert (1900-1977). The original French lyrics were added by Prévert shortly thereafter and the completed song reached a larger audience when it was featured a year later in the film Les Portes de la Nuit (The Gates of the Night). Since then, “Autumn Leaves” has been recorded over 1000 times by a veritable who’s who of performers from every corner of the globe.
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 Song: All My Memories of Love – Plainsong melody/Belletini
#336 in our Singing the Living Tradition hymnbook, “All My Memories of Love” is a setting of “Adoro te devote” (Humbly I Adore Thee), a 13th Century plainsong melody that is often (but probably incorrectly) attributed to St. Thomas of Aquinas. The lyrics in our hymnal were written by Rev. Mark Belletini, who served for many years as senior minister at the First Unitarian Church of Columbus, Ohio.
Postlude: When We Are Singing – Folk song, 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