Music Notes – Sunday, June 12th:
This Sunday’s musicians are Eldreth, Rev. Randy Partain, and UUCC Music Director Mike Carney.
Call to Worship/Sung Meditation: Heart Opening Song – Partain
“Heart Opening Song” is an original composition by UUCC Minister Rev. Randy Partain. In the composer’s own words: “In May of 2022, I attended the Spiritual Directors International conference in Santa Fe. Pat McCabe led a morning ceremony each day. One morning, she introduced a “heart-opening song” drawn from her Diné (Navajo) tradition. Participating in this beautiful communal song, the thought occurred to me that it would be wonderful to bring this song back to the congregation I serve. This thought was immediately followed by an awareness of how inappropriate this appropriation would be. So, in the open-hearted space of that morning’s plenary session, I conceived a more appropriate heart opening song in preparation for our summer series on Connection.”
Opening Hymn: #78 Color and Fragrance – Čapek
#78 in our Singing the Living Tradition hymnal, “Color and Fragrance” was written by Norbert Čapek, a Czech author, poet, activist and minister who brought the Unitarian movement to his native country. Most modern UUs associate “Color and Fragrance with flower communion, a much-loved UU tradition that was first celebrated by Čapek with his home congregation in 1923. The song is defined by its sweet and simple melody and by its lyrical message of hope and promise, both in the beauty of nature and in humankind’s capacity for love and compassion.
Centering Music: Watercolor Grasses- Eldreth
Flower Communion Music: Flying – Eldreth
“Watercolor Grasses” and “Flying” are both original songs by Eldreth (aka Robert McDonald), a familiar face – and voice – to UUCC members and friends. Eldreth is a singer/songwriter and guitarist who has been singing since preschool, playing guitar since junior high, and writing his own songs since high school. He sang in the Columbus Boys’ Choir while in elementary school and later with The Singing Angels. He sang in school and church choirs from an early age and played with several bands before he began to perform as a solo singer-songwriter. Eldreth has played in many venues, including the New Orleans Jazz Fest, the Summer Solstice Festival in Stonehenge, England, and in numerous social justice events and demonstrations across the U.S. He has opened for many other musicians, including Richard Thompson, Bunny and the Wailers, and Jimmy Cliff.
Offertory Music: The Garden Song – Mallet
“The Garden Song (Inch by Inch)” is the most famous composition by American folk singer-songwriter and guitarist David Mallett (b. 1951). Mallet wrote “The Garden Song” in 1975 and it has since been performed and recorded by many artists, including Arlo Guthrie, Paul Stookey, and even The Muppets. The song is often attributed to John Denver, whose recording of “The Garden Song” became a hit in the U.S. and Canada in 1979. This Sunday, you’ll hear our Chancel Choir singing a new arrangement of “The Garden Song” by UUCC Music Director Mike Carney.
Closing Hymn: De Colores – Spanish folk song
“De Colores” is a traditional folk song that is well-known throughout the Spanish-speaking world. It is sung in many religious traditions and is also frequently heard at rallies for the United Farm Workers. There is some debate among musicologists regarding the history of “De Colores”, with some claiming the song is purely Mexican in origin, while the more widely accepted view is that the melody and some of the lyrics came from Spain and date back at least 400 years. “De Colores” is #305 in our Singing the Living Tradition hymnal, and the song has become a staple of flower communion services for many UU congregations.
Postlude: #1068 Rising Green – McDade
Written in 1983, “Rising Green” is #1068 in our Singing the Journey hymnbook. The song was written by Carolyn McDade (b. 1935), a self-described songwriter, spiritual feminist, and social activist, who is also the composer of three other UU favorites: “Spirit of Life”, “Come, Sing a Song with Me”, and “We’ll Build a Land”. About “Rising Green”, the composer shares these words: “Earth shakes out a mantle of green—each blade of grass true to the integrity within, yet together with others is the rise of spring from winter’s urging. Our coming is with the grass—the common which persists, unexalted, but with the essence of life. Our humanness, our rhythms and dreams, the faith which nurtures our ardent love and hope for life—all this we share with earth community, of which we are natural and connected beings.” (from uua.org)
-Mike Carney, UUCC Music Director
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