This Sunday: Multigen pickup choir for all ages – meet at 9:45, all are welcome!
Come, sing a song with me! Any UUCC members or friends who would like to sing, meet me on the east lawn (or in the sanctuary in case of rain) at 9:45 a.m. this Sunday, June 2nd. I’ll teach you an easy-to-learn version of “What a Wonderful World”, which we’ll then sing during that morning’s service. No special musical expertise or weekday commitments are required – just be there at 9:45 on Sunday. I’ll see you then!
Music Notes – Sunday, June 2nd:
This Sunday’s musicians are UUCC Music Director Mike Carney and the Multigen Pickup Choir
Opening Hymn: #1067 Mother Earth, Beloved Garden – Udis-Kessler
Amanda Udis-Kessler (b. 1965) is a hymnwriter, songwriter, composer, and writer who specializes in music and lyrics for liberal/progressive religious people and communities, including inclusive, social justice-minded Christians, Unitarian Universalists, and other open-hearted religious traditions. Amanda’s religious music is in use across the US and in Canada, the UK, South Africa, and New Zealand. (from queersacredmusic.com) #1067 in Singing the Journey, “Mother Earth, Beloved Garden” is a 2004 piece by Udis-Kessler, expressing reverence for the Interdependent Web and outlining the Pagan earth-centered ritual of Calling the Corners.
Hymn: #328 I Sought the Wood in Summer – Hopson/Cather
“I Sought the Wood in Summer” (#328) is one of the lesser-known treasures within Singing the Living Tradition. The hymn tune was written by American composer and performer Hal Hopson (b. 1933), who is primarily known for hymns and other sacred music. The words for “I Sought the Wood in Summer” come from American author and poet Willa Cather (1873-1947). Cather was most famously known for her novels depicting immigrant life on the American frontier, which included O Pioneers!, My Antonia, and One of Ours, which earned her the 1923 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. The hymn lyrics we’ll sing on Sunday are an excerpt from Cather’s 1903 poem “I Sought the Wood in Winter”.
Centering Music: Hiraita, Hiraita – Japanese Folk Song, arr. Hakoda
“Hiraita, Hiraita” is a traditional song from Japan about lotus blossoms. The piano arrangement you’re hearing today is based on a choral version of the song by Ken Hakoda (b. 1973), a native of Japan who is now the Music Department Chair and Director of Choral Music at Kansas Wesleyan University and Music Director of the Salina Symphony. Of “Hiraita, Hiraita”, Hakoda writes, “(The song) portrays the wondrous yet simple moments when a lotus flower blossoms and then closes…The music depicts this eternal cycle by overlapping several layers of melodies to create a mysterious and dream-like atmosphere.”
Offertory Music: 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 numerous movies and television shows.
Special Music: De Colores – Spanish/Mexican 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.
Closing Hymn: #78 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.
-Mike Carney, UUCC Music Director