Musical Musings: July 4 – July 10, 2021

Music Notes – Sunday, July 4th:  

This Sunday’s musician is UUCC Music Director Mike Carney

Gathering Music – Simple Gifts – Brackett, arr. Carney

“Simple Gifts” is one of the most familiar and beloved American songs ever written. It was originally composed as a ‘dancing song’ in 1848 by Joseph Brackett, Jr. (1797-1882) for the Shaker Settlement of Gorham, Maine. The song remained relatively unknown outside of the Shaker community for nearly a century, but it entered the American mainstream in 1944 when Aaron Copland (1900-1990) prominently featured the melody (which Copland had discovered in a Shaker songbook borrowed from his local library) in his orchestral suite Appalachian Spring. “Simple Gifts” is also #16 in our Singing the Living Tradition hymnal and is a beloved song in many congregations. The piano version of “Simnple Gifts” you’ll be hearing on Sunday is arranged and will be performed by UUCC Music Director Mike Carney.

Opening Hymn: This Land Is Your Land – Guthrie

American folk music icon Woody Guthrie (1912-1967) wrote “This Land Is Your Land” in 1944, and his song has become one of the most beloved and well-known folk songs in our nation’s history. Guthrie’s song has been recorded by hundreds of artists, from Bruce Springsteen to Everclear to The Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Guthrie was a champion of the working class and intended “This Land Is Your Land” to be a form of protest against Irving Berlin’s immensely popular “God Bless America” and other songs that Guthrie considered to be blindly patriotic. Woody Guthrie’s original manuscript of “This Land Is Your Land” contained little-known verses that were not originally recorded but deemed controversial when later revealed – and we’ll be singing all of Guthrie’s verses this Sunday morning. 

Meditation music: Improvisation on “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” – Based on an American folk song

“The Battle Hymn of the Republic” is one of the best-known patriotic songs in our nation’s history. The melody came from the old American folk tune “John Brown’s Body” and the words from an 1861 abolitionist poem written by Unitarian poet, author, and activist Julia Ward Howe (1819-1910). The song was so popular during the Civil War that it was frequently heard in soldier’s camps on both sides of the conflict.

Meditation response: Oh, Freedom – African American Spiritual

“Oh, Freedom” is an African American folk song in the spiritual tradition. The song is believed to have been created after the end of the Civil War, which makes it one of the youngest songs to be considered part of the African American Spiritual tradition. The song gained newfound prominence during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s when it was recorded by Odetta Holmes (1930-2008) and later performed by Joan Baez (b. 1941) during the 1963 March on Washington.

Musical Interlude #1: Deep River – African American Spiritual

One of the best-known of all African American Spirituals, “Deep River” is a simple yet powerful song expressing faith and an abiding hope in a brighter tomorrow. Like almost all songs from the spiritual tradition, its true origins are lost to history. “Deep River” was first published in 1876 and recorded in 1911, but most music historians believe it dates back at least 100 years before its publication and could be far older still. 

Musical Interlude #2: Profetiza, Pueblo Mio – Zárate Macias

Musicians are not strangers to the cause for civil rights, and Rosa Martha Zárate Macias is a heroic example. Zárate Macias came to the United States from Mexico in 1968 and has successfully combined her rich musical talent with courageous leadership in championing the rights of the Mexican and Latinx community in the U.S. She has performed benefit concerts in numerous countries of Central and South America as well as in Portugal and the United States. (from giamusic.com) In 1985, she was the cofounder of the California-based immigration and citizenship project Libreria del Pueblo, and from 1990–1993 she acted as cofounder of Calpulli, an organization that promotes and develops programs to aid disadvantaged people of Central and South American heritage. Profetiza, Pueblo Mio (#1016 in our Singing the Journey hymnbook) was written in 1975 and first sung at the II National Convention of Spanish Speaking Catholics in Washington, DC.  

Offertory: Freedom #7 – Ellington 

One of the true legends of American music, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington (1899-1974) was famously known as the composer of dozens of jazz standards, including “It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)”, “Mood Indigo”, and “Come Sunday”. Late in his career, Ellington composed three larger works (each titled Sacred Concert) that combined elements of jazz, classical music, choral music, spirituals, gospel, blues, and dance and explored Ellington’s relationship with the spiritual world. Ellington called these compositions “the most important music I’ve ever written.” “Freedom #7” is from Sacred Concert No. 2, which premiered at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York on January 19, 1968. 

Closing Hymn: 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: America – Simon

“America” is a song written by Paul Simon (b. 1941), inspired by a 1964 road trip he spent with his then-girlfriend Kathy Chitty. The music and lyrics describe a voyage of self-discovery and express a longing to explore and more fully understand the United States, both in a literal (geographic) sense, and on a more existential level. “America” was recorded by Simon and Garfunkel and released on their 1968 album Bookends. Although the song did not achieve commercial success as a single, it grew to become a favorite of the duo’s fans and was included on the 1972 retrospective album Simon and Garfunkel’s Greatest Hits.

                                                                          –Mike Carney, UUCC Music Director