Music Notes – Sunday, November 24th:
This week’s musicians are UUCC Pianist Karin Tooley, Music Director Mike Carney, and The Chancel Choir
Prelude: Building Bridges – Quaker song, arr. Page
“Building Bridges” is a song of uncertain origins. It was discovered by a British Quaker named Elizabeth Cave, who heard the song at Greenham Common, a peaceful sit-in at a nuclear energy plant in England. Cave submitted the song for publication, and soon afterward, Sing Out magazine published it in their RISE UP SINGING collection. The arrangement of this round you’ll find in Singing the Journey (#1023), which was premiered at the UUA’s 2002 General Assembly in Quebec City.
Song: We Gather Together – Valerius/Senghas/Dutch folk melody
Found in the hymnals of dozens of denominations, “We Gather Together” is among the most familiar and well-loved hymns within Singing the Living Tradition – in fact, it appears twice (with lyric variations) in our hymnbook, as #67 and #349. The hymn tune, known as “Kremser”, is derived from a Dutch folk melody called “Ey, wilder den wilt”, which dates to at least the 16th century. The words for “We Gather Together” were originally written by Dutch poet Adrianus Valerius (c. 1575-1625) in celebration of a 1597 Dutch victory over the Spanish force that had been occupying The Netherlands. That victory resulted in liberation from an order by Spanish King Philip II that had prohibited Dutch Protestants from worshipping with one another. Many years later, Dutch settlers brought their beloved song to the new world, and the hymn gained popularity in the United States, particularly at the end of World War II when American families were especially grateful to be reunited. The adapted words we’ll sing on Sunday were written by two Unitarian Universalists, Dorothy Caiger Senghas and Rev. Robert Sengas.
Offertory Music: Praise and Honor and Wisdom and Thanks – Wagner
“Praise and Honor and Wisdom and Thanks” (originally “Lob und Ehre und Weisheit und Dank”) is a choral motet, which – when it was first published in 1819 – was originally credited to Baroque master Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), but is now recognized as the work of Georg Gottfried Wagner (1698-1756), a lesser-known Baroque composer and musician who was one of Bach’s students in Leipzig.
Centering Music: Selections from Album for the Young, Op. 68 – Schumann
Renowned composer and pianist Robert Schumann (1810-1856) was one of the most important figures of the Romantic era. A virtuoso pianist himself, Schumann wrote exclusively for the piano until 1840, after which his output included concertos. symphonies, tone poems, vocal and choral pieces, and an opera. Schumann wrote his Album for the Young (Album für die Jugend), in 1848 for his three daughters. The work is comprised of 43 short pieces, which become progressively more advanced to guide students along a path of learning.
Song: We Give Thanks – Perkins
A native of Nova Scotia, Wendy Luella Perkins (b. 1966) is a singer, songwriter and UU Minister. Still active as a musician, Wendy is also known as a local food and farm activist in Ontario, where she currently lives. Ms. Perkins wrote “We Give Thanks” in 2004, and her song is #1010 in our Singing the Journey hymnbook.
Postlude: The Gift to Be Simple – Brackett, arr. Chilcott
Bob Chilcott (b. 1955), described by The Observer as “a contemporary hero of British Choral Music”, has become one of the most widely performed composers of choral music in the world. His music has been recorded by many groups including Tenebrae, The Cambridge Singers, The Choir of King’s College, Cambridge and The Choir of Westminster Abbey. (from bobchilcott.com). Mr. Chilcott was a member of The King’s Singers for several years and wrote his version of the Shaker hymn “The Gift to Be Simple” in 1989 for that group. Chilcott’s arrangement juxtaposes the traditional hymn tune with close harmonies, syncopated rhythms and meter changes that are hallmarks of contemporary music.
-Mike Carney, UUCC Music Director
Share this post: