Musical Musings: May 2 – 8, 2021

Thank you to everyone who attended Good Company’s 25th Anniversary Concert on Zoom last Sunday! If you couldn’t be there, but still want to check out the show, a recording is available here.

Also, don’t forget that UUCC will once again host Moises Borges and his Brazilian Jazz Band along with the Mo’ Mojo Band for a fantastic parking lot concert! The event will be in our parking lot at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 29th (rain date is Sunday, May 30th) Come and sing and dance along to some wonderful music – you can stay inside your car or bring a lawn chair and enjoy the spring weather. Either way, all audience members will be expected to follow county and state recommendations for safe outdoor gatherings. Don’t miss your chance to join some old and new friends and enjoy a concert in the great outdoors!

Music Notes – Sunday, May 2nd:  

  • Music 1:  Come, Sing a Song with Me – McDade
  • Music 2:  The Wood Song – Saliers
  • Music 3/Offertory: Improvisation – Tooley
  • Music 4: Love Will Guide Us – Rogers

#346 in our Singing the Living Tradition hymnal, “Come, Sing a Song with Me” is a well-known and beloved hymn to many Unitarian Universalists. The words and music were written by Carolyn McDade (b. 1935), a self-described songwriter, spiritual feminist, and social activist. McDade is also the composer of two other UU favorites: “Spirit of Life” and “We’ll Build a Land”. In this week’s service, “Come, Sing a Song with Me” will be led by Mike Carney on piano and the UUCC Chancel Choir.

Emily Saliers (b. 1963) and her longtime friend and musical collaborator Amy Ray (b. 1964) are better known to most people as Indigo Girls, Grammy Award-winning folk rock musicians and activists who have performed together since their high school days. Written by Saliers, “The Wood Song” was released in 1994 as part of Indigo Girls’ fifth studio album Swamp Ophelia. The song is about the uncertainty of life’s journey, and the invisible hand of God (or perhaps fate). In this Sunday’s service, “The Wood Song” will be performed by members of the Watkins/Burns family.

One of the themes of this Sunday’s service is how – at a moment’s notice – the pandemic forced us to adapt and adjust the way we worship together. Appropriately enough, our offering music this week will be an om-the-spot improvisation from our talented and musically flexible UUCC Pianist Karin Tooley.

Sally Rogers is an award-winning folk musician, songwriter and children’s arts educator. 2019 marked Sally’s 40th year as a songwriter, performer and educator, and she is still steaming ahead, warming hearts and minds wherever she goes. Her songs “Lovely Agnes” and “Touch of the Master’s Hand” have frequently been mistaken for traditional, while “Love Will Guide Us” and “Circle of the Sun” are now anthems for rituals of passage and protest (from sallyrogers.com). Rogers’ gospel-inspired “Love Will Guide Us” is #131 in our Singing the Living Tradition hymnal and is a favorite of many UUs. In this week’s service, the song will be led by UUCC Music Director Mike Carney and our Chancel Choir.                                                                           -Mike Carney, UUCC Music Director