Music Notes – Sunday, June 23rd:
This Sunday’s musicians are UUCC Pianist Karin Tooley and UUCC Music Director Mike Carney
Opening Song: # 151 I Wish I Knew How – Taylor and Dallas
#151 in our Singing the Living Tradition hymnbook, “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free” is a jazz-gospel song written in 1963 by Billy Taylor and Dick Dallas. The song became one of the anthems of the American Civil Rights Movement and has been covered by dozens of artists, most famously by Nina Simone in 1967.
Song: This Joy – Caesar
“This Joy” was written by Shirley Caesar (b. 1938), an eleven-time Grammy Award winning singer, actor, and songwriter who is often referred to as the “First Lady of Gospel Music”. The song was popularized in 2020 during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, when it was released on YouTube as a virtual choir video by The Resistance Revival Chorus. That group describes itself as “a collective of more than 60 women, and non-binary singers, who join together to breathe joy and song into the resistance, and to uplift and center women’s voices.” (from resistancerevivalchorus.com).
Centering Music: El Cuarto De Tula – Siaba
“El Cuarto De Tula” was written by little-known Cuban composer and guitarist Sergio González Siaba (1915-1989), although the song is sometimes incorrectly attributed to other musicians. The song rose to much greater popularity in Cuba and internationally when it was recorded and released by Buena Vista Social Club in 1997 on their self-titled debut album.
Offertory Music: Elite Syncopations – Joplin
Scott Joplin (c. 1868-1917) was an 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, mainly due to the rampant systemic racism he faced as a non-white composer. Joplin wrote and published “Elite Syncopations” in 1902.
Closing Song: Come and Go with Me – African American Spiritual
“Come and Go with Me” (also known as “Go with Me to that Land”) originated as an African American spiritual. The song features call-and-response singing and lyrics expressing the hope of a better world to come, and has been recorded by many artists, including Bernice Johnson Reagon, Blind Willie Johnson, and Peter, Paul and Mary. “Come and Go with Me” is also #1018 in our Singing the Journey hymnbook, arranged by Kenny Smith (b. 1965).
Postlude: I’m Still Standing – John & Taupin
“I’m Still Standing” is a song co-written by Elton John (b. 1947 as Reginald Dwight) and Bernie Taupin (b. 1950). The song was released in 1983 as the lead single from John’s album Too Low for Zero, and became a major hit, rising to the top of the charts in Canada, to #4 in the U.K., and to #12 in the U.S. “I’m Still Standing” was also featured on the hit television show Glee and was prominently featured in the 2019 Elton John biopic Rocketman.
-Mike Carney, UUCC Music Director