Music Notes – Sunday, July 13th:
This Sunday’s musicians are Anya Ustin, Aaron Burkle, and UUCC Music Director Mike Carney
About Sunday’s guest musicians:
Anya Ustin is a rising junior at the Mastery School of Hawken and a lifelong UUCC member. She started Suzuki violin at age five before being introduced to jazz in middle school. She enjoys participating in the Tri-C jazz program and performing Croatian folk dance with the American Zagreb Junior Tamburitzans.
UUCC’s own Aaron Burkle has worked professionally as a percussion performer, educator, clinician, and adjudicator since 1995, primarily across Pennsylvania. He studied briefly at Berklee College of Music, and serves as the Commander and Conductor of the 28th Infantry Division Band of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard where he holds the rank of Chief Warrant Officer Three.
Prelude: Return Again – Carlebach
Written by Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach (1925-1994, also known as Reb Shlomo), “Return Again” (#1011 in our Singing the Journey hymnbook) comes from a musical village that Carlebach founded in Israel. The Hebrew word “tshuva,” often translated as “repentance” during Yom Kippur, literally means “return.” This has a deeply spiritual sense of coming back to the source of our being to re-establish right relationship with yourself.
Song: Thula Klizeo – Shabalala
“Thula Klizeo” (#1056 in Singing the Journey) is a Zulu chant written by Joseph Shabalala (1940-2020). Shabalala, a native of South Africa who is best-known as the founder and musical director of the choral group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, wrote this song while staying in New York City in 1988. He was missing his home in South Africa, and with Apartheid still in effect, did not know if he would ever be allowed to return. His simple but profoundly impactful statement: “Be still my heart, even here I am at home.” is the entirety of the song’s lyrics. The power in chants like “Thula Klizeo” is in the depth of the meaning, its connection to the traditions of the past and its defiance for a better tomorrow. (includes material from uua.org)
Centering Music: Stardust – Carmichael & Parish
American songwriter Hoagy Carmichael (1899-1981) was one of the most celebrated composers of the Tin Pan Alley era. Carmichael’s well-known songs include “Heart and Soul”, “The Nearness of You”, “Georgia on my Mind”, and – of course – “Stardust”, which is one of the most enduring jazz standards of all time. Carmichael first conceived the melody for “Stardust” while he was a student at Indiana University, and then completed the song in 1928 with help from Lithuanian-American lyricist Mitchell Parish (1900-1993), who was also known for such standards as “Stairway to the Stars”, Sophisticated Lady”, and “Moonlight Serenade”. Today, “Stardust” is considered an all-time standard, having been featured in numerous films and television shows, performed by countless artists, and recorded over 1,500 times.
Offertory Music: Nature Boy – Ahbez
Despite its unconventional melodic, harmonic, and lyric structure, “Nature Boy” became an instant hit when it was first recorded in 1948 by Nat “King” Cole (1919-1965), spending 8 weeks at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. The song was written by American songwriter and recording artist eden ahbez (1908-1995), who wrote it as an homage to Bill Pester, considered by some to be the founding father of the American hippie movement. “Nature Boy” was ahbez’s only well-known song, but it is often performed to this day, and has been recorded by numerous artists, including Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, Miles Davis, and many others.
Song: When Our Heart Is in a Holy Place – Poley
#1008 in our Singing the Journey hymnbook, “When Our Heart Is in a Holy Place” was written in 1996 by UU musician and composer Joyce Poley (b. 1941). This song “invites us to see ourselves in others. As we come to understand that all people have wisdom to share and stories to tell—regardless of culture, race, social status, or faith—we begin to realize how important our commonalities are, and how interwoven our lives. When we open ourselves to this sacred idea, then ‘our heart is in a holy place’.” (from uua.org)
Postlude: On the Sunny Side of the Street – McHugh & Fields
Written in 1930, “On the Sunny Side of the Street” is an American jazz standard composed by Jimmy McHugh (1894-1969) with lyrics by Dorothy Fields (1905-1974). The song rose to popularity almost immediately, and has been recorded by a veritable who’s who over the years, including Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Willie Nelson, and Jon Batiste.
-Mike Carney, UUCC Music Director