Music Notes – Sunday, June 8th:
This week’s musicians are The Treble Ensemble and UUCC Music Director Mike Carney
Prelude: So Much – Morris
“So Much” is a song about joy and gratitude, written by award-winning performer and composer Lea Morris (b. 1978), also known simply as LEA. Born in Baltimore to a father who toured the world playing trumpet in the funk band Black Heat and a mother who dreamed of opera while performing with her siblings in the Jones Family Gospel Singers, LEA was singing on the pulpit of the Baptist church where she grew up as soon she could speak. When she discovered the acoustic guitar as a teenager, she began teaching herself to play by writing songs. LEA’s final year in high school in Germany at a classical conservatory, where she sang with the jazz ensemble Black & White and co-wrote with the British pop trio Indigo Wild. Having shared the stage with luminaries including Odetta, Mavis Staples, Dar Williams and Anthony Hamilton, LEA performs at a far-ranging array of venues, including arts centers, universities, festivals, places of worship and beyond. She performs solo and with her band, The Moment. (includes material from thisislea.com)
Song: From You I Receive – Segal and Segal
Most UUs are familiar with this short and simple round, which is #402 in Singing the Living Tradition and is used by many UU congregations as their weekly offertory response. What many UUs do not know is that the song was written and performed by two brothers, Joseph and Nathan Segal, who describe themselves as “12th generation singing rabbis”. The Segal brothers had a successful career as both spiritual leaders and entertainers, blending music, humor, and life lessons in their appearances.
Offertory: True Colors – Steinburg & Kelly, arr. Sharon
“True Colors” was primarily written by American songwriters Billy Steinberg (b. 1950) and Tom Kelly (b. 1952) and made famous by American singer/songwriter, actress, and activist Cyndi Lauper (b. 1953). The song was the first single released from Lauper’s second album (also titled True Colors) and became a major hit, spending two weeks at #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and earning Lauper a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. “True Colors” has been covered by numerous other artists, including Phil Collins, Jenna Ushkowitz (for the television show Glee) and Kasey Chambers. This Sunday, “True Colors” will be sung by UUCC’s Treble Ensemble with solos from Molly Watkins and Holly Walker.
Song: Color and Fragrance – Čapek
#78 in our Singing the Living Tradition hymnal, “Color and Fragrance” was written by Norbert Čapek (1870-1942), a Czech author, poet, activist and minister who brought the Unitarian movement to his native country. Most modern UUs associate “Color and Fragrance with flower communion, a much-loved UU tradition that was first celebrated by Čapek with his home congregation in 1923. The song is defined by its sweet and simple melody and by its lyrical message of hope and promise, both in the beauty of nature and in humankind’s capacity for love and compassion.
Song: De Colores – Spanish folk song
“De Colores” is a traditional folk song that is well-known throughout the Spanish-speaking world. It is sung in many religious traditions and is also frequently heard at rallies for the United Farm Workers. There is some debate among musicologists regarding the history of “De Colores”, with some claiming the song is purely Mexican in origin, while the more widely accepted view is that the melody and some of the lyrics came from Spain and date back at least 400 years. “De Colores” is #305 in our Singing the Living Tradition hymnal, and the song has become a staple of flower communion services for many UU congregations.
Postlude: What a Wonderful World – Weiss & Thiele
“What a Wonderful World” was written in 1967 by record producer Bob Thiele (1922-1996) and songwriter George David Weiss (1921-2010). The song was first offered to Tony Bennett, who turned it down, and it was subsequently recorded by Louis Armstrong. Armstrong’s now-iconic recording did not initially receive much attention or airplay in the United States, although it became a #1 hit in the United Kingdom. Over the years, “What a Wonderful World” has become one of the best-known and beloved standards in American popular music, having been recorded by dozens of other artists (including one Mr. Tony Bennett) and featured on the soundtracks of countless movies and television shows.
-Mike Carney, UUCC Music Director