Music Notes – Sunday, August 22nd:
This Sunday’s musicians are UUCC Music Director Mike Carney and UUCC Pianist Karin Tooley
Centering Music – Mystic Walls by Marie-Eve Mainguy
“Mystic Walls” is a contemplative 2020 piano piece by Marie-Eve Mainguy, a French-Canadian composer who writes primarily for the piano and for pitched percussion instruments such as the xylophone and marimba.
Opening Hymn: #195 Let Us Wander Where We Will
The words for Singing the Living Tradition #195 “Let Us Wander Where We Will” are from an 1873 poem by Scottish author and poet Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894), who today is best-known for Treasure Island and A Child’s Garden of Verses. The tune we’ll be singing together on Sunday is titled “Nun Komm, Der Heiden Heiland” (“Savior of the Nations, Come”), a Lutheran chorale that dates to at least the 16th century and is believed to be based on a plainsong melody from centuries earlier.
Offertory: Tapestry of the Ages by Suzanne Herman
“Tapestry of the Ages” is a solo piano piece written by Florida-based composer and performer Suzanne Herman and released on her 2019 piano album Cascades of Time. Herman’s website describes her creative inspiration for the music of that album: “While hiking Cascade Canyon in the spectacular Grand Teton National Park, the passage of time was extremely evident in the numerous layers of rock and the jagged appearance of the massive mountains. These original piano compositions reflect changes that we all encounter as time quickly passes and never stands still.”
Closing Hymn: #1020 Woyaya
Written by Ghanaian drummer Sol Amarifio (b. 1938), “Woyaya” is the title song of a 1971 album by Oisibisa, a group of Ghanaian and Caribbean musicians. The song was frequently heard in work camps throughout central West Africa in the 1970s and 1980s. The word “Woyaya” has no literal English translation but can have multiple meanings, as is the case with many scat syllables, which are a common feature in West African music. The arrangement of “Woyaya” used in our service (and appearing as #1020 in our Singing the Journey hymnbook) comes from Ysaye Barnwell of Sweet Honey in the Rock.
Postlude: Mystery of Love by Sufjan Stevens, arr. Andrew Layton
Michigan native Sufjan Stevens (b. 1975) is a musician and songwriter who has written and performed in multiple styles, including electronica, new age, folk rock, and symphonic rock. Stevens wrote and performed “Mystery of Love” for the 2017 film Call Me by Your Name. “Mystery of Love” earned a great deal of critical praise, and was nominated both for the Academy Award for Best Original Song and for the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media.
-Mike Carney, UUCC Music Director