Music Notes – Sunday, March 3rd:
This Sunday’s musicians are The Chancel Choir, Aaron Burkle, and UUCC Music Director Mike Carney
Opening Hymn: #128 For All That Is Our Life – Rickey/Findlow
#128 in Singing the Living Tradition, “For All That Is Our Life” has been a favorite UU hymn for many years. The song resulted from a collaboration between composer Patrick Rickey (b. 1964), a California-based songwriter and church musician and Rev. Bruce Findlow (1922-1994), a British author, educator and UU Minister who wrote the lyrics.
Centering Music: You Must Believe in Spring – Legrand, Bergman, & Bergman
“You Must Believe in Spring” is a jazz ballad written in 1967 by Michel Legrand, with lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman. The song was first featured in the French film The Young Girls of Rochefort (Les demoiselles de Rochefort) and would later go on to be recorded by the likes of Bill Evans, Tony Bennett, and Barbra Streisand. The lyrics make a metaphorical connection between the eventual and inevitable turning of winter to spring with the healing of a broken heart. An excerpt from the song’s lyrics:
You must believe in love and trust it’s on its way,
Just as the sleeping rose awaits the kiss of May
So in a world of snow,
Of things that come and go,
Where what you think you know you can’t be certain of,
You must believe in Spring and love
Offertory Music: Seeds Grow to Plants – Rutter
John Rutter (b. 1945) is a celebrated British composer who is best known for choral works, which famously include Gloria (1974), Requiem (1985) and Magnificat (1990). “Seeds Grow To Plants” is part of Rutter’s larger 1978 work Canticles of America.
Closing Hymn: The Fire of Commitment – Shelton
Jason Shelton is an award-winning composer, arranger, conductor, song and worship leader, workshop presenter, and coach. He served as the Associate Minister for Music at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashville, Tennessee from 1998-2017, and is now engaged in a music ministry at-large, focused on serving the musical resource needs of UU (and other liberal) congregations around the country (from jasonsheltonmusic.com). The Fire of Commitment (#1028) is one of many contributions Rev. Shelton has made to our Singing the Journey hymnbook. The unrest of its irregular meter and the insistent rhythmic pulse drive home the call to action that is at the core of the song’s message.
Postlude: Life Calls Us On – Shelton
“Life Calls Us On” is another Jason Shelton song of joy and celebration. It was commissioned in 2010 by the Unitarian Universalist Church of Las Cruces, New Mexico, and although the song does not appear in either of our hymnbooks, it has become a favorite here in Cleveland and in many UU congregations across the United States. This Sunday, “Life Calls Us On” will be led by UUCC Music Director Mike Carney and our Chancel Choir, accompanied by Aaron Burkle on drums and Lucy Carney at the piano.
-Mike Carney, UUCC Music Director