Music Notes – Sunday, May 11th:
This Sunday’s musician is Bill McNally
About Sunday’s guest musician:
The New York Times calls him “a hot item” and “powerful,” and the Santa Barbara Independent called him a pianist, “…with great sympathy and insight.” William McNally is a two–time winner of the World Championship Old–Time Piano Playing Contest, and three–time winner of their New Rag Contest. He now serves as their Contest Coordinator, and he has since taken on the role of the Scott Joplin Foundation’s Ragtime Kid Program Director. His performance of George Perle’s Concertino for Piano, Winds and Timpani at Tanglewood, conducted by Cristian Măcelaru, was hailed for its “nimble,” “miraculous,” “sharp soloing.” As a collaborative pianist, McNally has performed with a wide range of musicians, including the Verona String Quartet, mezzo–soprano Davida Karanas, the Mark Morris Dance Company, and many others.
His album Dream Shadows was released to high acclaim: reviews in Fanfare Magazine—two of them—called the recording “highly natural and persuasive…his prismatic range of touch and tone allows him to trace out the shifting moods of the music—from the sentimental to the nonchalant to the smashing—with unusual sensitivity…the disc is so good, from beginning to end, that it’s hard to know what to highlight…a treasure!” McNally’s “serious classical” CD with works by Brahms, Reger and Busoni was lauded by the New York Times as “effortless…fascinating…mercurial… and intelligently curious.” This June, Rivermont Records will release Piano Puzzles & Magic Trix, McNally’s recording of the complete solo piano works of Arthur Schutt, packaged with the first serious biography of Schutt. It is paired with novelty works by Vincent Matthew Johnson, and it also includes the premiere recording of four works by Art Tatum.
He completed his doctorate at CUNY’s Graduate Center, where he studied with Ursula Oppens and wrote a ragtime–focused dissertation. He has served on the faculties of Texas State University, CUNY Queens College, and Temple University. He currently lives in Cleveland, Ohio with his wife Daria and nine–year–old son Nick, where he spends most of his “free” time cooking, biking, hiking, and cleaning up loose chess pieces. Check out his two upcoming outdoor performances for Piano Cleveland this July! For more information, visit http://www.williammcnally.com.
Prelude and Fugue in E Major – Bach
The “Prelude and Fugue in E Major” (BWV 854) was originally composed for keyboard by Baroque master Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) during the early 1720s. This piece is #9 in the first volume of Bach’s famous collection of keyboard pieces known as The Well-Tempered Clavier. Each volume of The Well-Tempered Clavier includes a pair of preludes and fugues composed in each of the twelve major and minor keys.
Song: If Every Woman in the World – McKay
#1026 in our Singing the Journey hymnbook, “If Every Woman in the World” is a country/folk style waltz written by American singer, songwriter and storyteller Karen Mackay (b. 1952) with additional lyrics by Nancy Nordlie (b. 1953). The song grew from Karen MacKay’s deep connection to the living tradition of West Virginia women’s music; a tradition that, in Karen’s hands and voice, continues to be the means for perpetuating the simple ancient wisdom of mountain women. In 1982, suffering harassment at work and unsure of her life’s direction, Karen spent a weekend with “Aunt Jenny” and received the wisdom that has guided her life and music ever since. “Just git out there and play yer banjo. Git out there and play yer music and give ‘em all you’ve got!” Two weeks later Karen had quit her job, and a year later she had written and recorded the songs on her first album, Annie Oakley Rides Again, which included “If Every Woman in the World”. Karen’s strong belief in the power of women to influence global culture and bring peace to the world found a deep expression in this song, and women all over the world have responded by passing it on from woman to woman, country to country. It has been sung at the 1985 International Women’s Conference in Nairobi, as well as at retreats and gatherings throughout Canada and the United States. The most important thing to remember when singing this music is to heed the simple wisdom of “Aunt Jenny” Wilson, “Just git out there…and give ‘em all you’ve got!” (includes material from uua.org and from Hot Wire Magazine, July 1985)
Centering Music: Solace – Joplin
Scott Joplin (c. 1868-1917) was an African American composer and pianist who became known as the King of Ragtime for his popular tunes such as “Maple Leaf Rag” and “The Entertainer”. Joplin also composed a ballet and two operas, but never achieved recognition as a ‘serious’ composer, largely because of systemic racism. Composed in 1909, “Solace” (subtitled “A Mexican Serenade”) is more in slow drag than ragtime style and is the only piece Joplin wrote using tango rhythms.
Offertory Music: No. 7 and No. 5 from 24 Preludes and Fugues – Shostakovich
One of the true titans of 20th-century classical music, Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) was a Russian composer and pianist who had a complicated relationship with the Soviet government that was in power in Russia during his entire adult life. The restrictiveness of the Soviet Union meant that Shostakovich and his music were not as well-known or celebrated outside of Russia as they otherwise might have been during his lifetime, but his significance as a composer is fully recognized around the world today. Composed in Moscow during 1950 and 1951, Shostakovich’s 24 Preludes and Fugues (Op. 87) for piano were profoundly influenced by Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier. Following Bach’s example, Shostakovich’s collection pairs preludes and fugues in each of the 12 major and minor keys of the chromatic scale. This Sunday, you’ll hear #7 (A Major) and #5 (D Major) from this set of works.
Song: Wake Now, My Senses – Irish folk tune/Mikelson
#298 in Singing the Living Tradition, “Wake Now, My Senses” is a setting of “Slane”, an Irish folk song that is most commonly associated with “Be Thou My Vision” (which is also in our hymnal as #20). “Slane” is named for a hill in County Meath, Ireland, where St. Patrick’s lighting of an Easter fire – an act of defiance against the 5th Century pagan king Loegaire – led to his unlimited freedom to preach the gospel in Ireland. The words you’ll be singing along with this Sunday were written by the Rev. Thomas Mikelson (1936-2020), a UU Minister and Iowa native who was also known as an educator and activist for racial justice and LGBTQ rights.
Postlude: Marigold – Mayerl
Composed in 1927, “Marigold” was the best-known work by English pianist and composer Billy Mayerl (1902-1959). Mayerl was a child prodigy who began studying at Trinity College of Music at the age of seven and performed his first major concert just two years later, playing Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto. But despite his early training and talent in classical music, Mayerl was drawn to American popular music, especially ragtime and stride piano. Ragtime and related styles of so-called “light music” would define Mayerl’s career as a performer, bandleader, and composer.
-Mike Carney, UUCC Music Director