Genre: Round
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STJ#1059, May Your Life Be As Song
For a long time I loved this one. I thought it was a great creative, artsy way to think about our lives. But when you sit down and really think about it – the initial metaphor, the remaining lyrics – yeah, not so much. Here are Jim Scott’s lyrics – the chorus of a longer song… Continue reading
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STJ#1050, Jazz Alleluia
As I have mentioned before, I love an Alleluia. And as I have mentioned before, I love music in 5, whether it’s 5/4 or 5/8, as we find here. And as I have mentioned before, I am a huge fan of composer Tom Benjamin. So there’s not much left to say, except this is a perfect storm… Continue reading
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STJ#1036, Calypso Alleluia
Happy Christmas Eve – let’s sing an Alleluia! A number of years ago, Tom Benjamin (whose work graces many pages of both hymnals) put out a collection of 62 Responses, Benedictions, Introits, and Chalice Lighting Songs, which add music to many elements we think of as spoken. Some are short, some are longer. Some are… Continue reading
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STJ#1023, Building Bridges
There is a moment in the film The Princes Bride, where Westley, who has been mostly dead all day, is trying to figure out how he and his companions Fezzick and Inigo can storm the castle to rescue Westley’s true love, Buttercup. However, having been mostly dead, and having only just taken the miracle pill… Continue reading
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STJ#1013, Open My Heart
Hmm. Welcome to another edition of “I want to like this one.” I hate when I get to these moments in this practice; I often wonder if I’m being too critical, or too obtuse, or too…something. But this prayerful round, written by UU composer Henry Flurry, feels like a camel – a horse built by… Continue reading
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STJ#1003, Where Do We Come From?
Throughout this practice, I’ve happened upon many hymns that were inspired by (or were outright settings of) poetry; that makes sense, as lyric forms seek out one another naturally. But this is the first time I’ve encountered one inspired by paintings. As noted on the UUA’s Song Information page, The lyrics of this song come… Continue reading
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STLT#400, Shalom Havareem
This morning I am grateful for Google’s proximate search capabilities. You see, I typed in the title of today’s hymn, a sweet traditional Jewish round, and it corrected me in that totally not shaming way Google has, by sending me results with ‘chaverim’ instead of the more phonetic ‘havayreem’. It also presented me with a… Continue reading
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STLT#399, Vine and Fig Tree
In my last year of seminary, I and five of my most creative friends co-created and produced a Broadway revue that told the story of the book of Exodus. We began our work with Biblical preparation led by Old Testament scholar David M. Carr: not just reading and exegeting the text but also examining the… Continue reading
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STLT#397, Morning Has Come
I must begin with a shout out to my friends. Y’all are something … yesterday I confess that the lyrics don’t click for me, and you all make an effort to help me get it. You explain on Facebook, and you even email the composer herself to get her take on it (and to introduce… Continue reading
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STLT#396, I Know This Rose Will Open
Lovely Update Below! Things I don’t know: I don’t know composer and colleague Mary Grigolia, although I feel like I should. I don’t know when I learned this, but it was sometime between the Louisville General Assembly (summer 2013) and the Florida Chapter UUMA retreat (spring 2015). I don’t know why I never heard it or… Continue reading
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links
Learn more about my ministry at The Art of Meaning
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