Music Notes – Sunday, June 9th:
This Sunday’s musician is UUCC Pianist Karin Tooley
Opening Hymn: #1017 Building a New Way – Sandefer
Martha Sandefer (b. 1952) is an American vocalist and composer who is currently involved with the Work o’ the Weavers project. She wrote “Building a New Way” in 1986 and her song was later arranged by Jim Scott (b. 1946) and included as #1017 in our Singing the Journey hymnbook.
Centering Music: Theme from Field of Dreams – Horner
American composer and conductor James Horner (1953-2015) was best-known for his many film scores, which included Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, and Titanic, for which Horner won two Academy Awards (Best Original Dramatic Score and Best Original Song.) Over his career, Horner was also nominated for eight other Oscars and won numerous Grammy and Golden Globe Awards, among other accolades. The music you’ll hear on Sunday morning is from the 1989 fantasy baseball drama Field of Dreams, one of Horner’s most memorable scores.
Offertory Music: Love Can Build a Bridge –Judd, Jarvis, and Overstreet
“Love Can Build a Bridge” was a hit for the mother-daughter country duo The Judds in 1990. The song, which was written by Naomi Judd (1946-2022) along with John Jarvis (b. 1954) and Paul Overstreet (b. 1955), became a top five country hit and won a Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group. A few years later, the song was covered by Children for Rwanda as part of a benefit for the British charity Save the Children, becoming a mainstream pop hit in the United Kingdom.
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: Proud of the House We Built – Dunn, McBride, and Green
“Proud of the House We Built” was a 2007 hit for Brooks & Dunn, reaching number four on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart as the first release from their tenth studio album, Cowboy Town. The song was co-written by Ronnie Dunn (who sang lead vocals on the recording) along with Terry McBride and Marv Green. The song’s lyrics describe some of the difficulties overcome by a young couple who are starting a family.
-Mike Carney, UUCC Music Director