Music Notes – Sunday, March 6th:
This Sunday’s musicians are UUCC Pianist Karin Tooley, UUCC Music Director Mike Carney, and The Chancel Choir.
Opening Hymn: #38 Morning Has Broken – Traditional Scottish Folksong/Farjean
“Morning Has Broken” is a setting of the traditional Scottish Gaelic tune “Bunessan”, with lyrics by English author Eleanor Farjean (1881-1965). For decades, the song has appeared in dozens of hymnals (including as #38 in our own Singing the Living Tradition), but it reached a larger audience in 1972 when a recording by Cat Stevens became a top ten hit on the U.S. Billboard charts.
Centering Music: The Rose – McBroom
Most people (or at least most people of a certain age) know “The Rose”, but many of those same people misattribute its authorship to Bette Midler or Conway Twitty, both of whom recorded “The Rose” and took it to great commercial success. In reality, this iconic piece of American songwriting came from Amanda McBroom (b. 1947), a lesser-known actress, singer and songwriter from California. McBroom has written numerous songs for film and television and has had a successful career as a stage actor and cabaret performer. She wrote “The Rose” for the 1979 film of the same name starring Bette Midler, who won the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for her version of the song. Here is Amanda McBroom’s lovely but lesser-known recording of her own song. Come to UUCC this Sunday to enjoy a piano arrangement of “The Rose” by UUCC’s own Karin Tooley.
Meditation Response: From You I Receive – Segal and Segal
Most UUs are familiar with this short and simple round, which is #402 in Singing the Living Tradition and is used by many UU congregations as their weekly offertory response. What many UUs do not know is that the song was written and performed by two brothers, Joseph and Nathan Segal, who describe themselves as “12th generation singing rabbis”. The Segal brothers had a successful career as both spiritual leaders and entertainers, blending music, humor, and life lessons in their appearances.
Offertory Music: Hymn of Promise – Sleeth
A native of Evanston, Illinois, organist and composer Natalie Sleeth (1930-1992) was a prolific and influential voice in American church music of the 20th century. She is responsible for two of the songs in our Singing the Living Tradition hymnal: “Voice Still and Small” (#391) and “Go Now in Peace” (#413). Sleeth’s “Hymn of Promise” did not make it into the UU hymnal, but the song’s rising melody and message of hope make it a beloved hymn in hundreds of Protestant congregations across North America.
Closing Hymn: #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)
Postlude: Sower of Seeds – Traditional Guinean Song/Seeger “Sower of Seeds” is based on “Minuit”, a traditional West African song. The song is typically sung in the Gwaza style common to many types of African folk music, meaning it has several repeated melodies that can be sung or played independently but can also be overlapped with one another. The words about planting and growing were written by legendary American folk singer-songwriter Pete Seeger (1919-2014).
-Mike Carney, UUCC Music Director