I want to like this one. Composer Joyce Poley is one of the sweetest human beings I ever met. She was open, generous, and kind to us UU Musicians Network conference newcomers. She had amazing insights when it came to song leading. And there is a sweetness to the music she writes. And there is …
Among the things I have learned in almost a year of doing this practice is that I am sometimes the outlier – sometimes I see something in a hymn others don’t see that makes me anxious or angry or bored. I know some of it is that I do this before the coffee’s kicked in, …
I’ve been sitting here trying to troubleshoot a problem with the site in an attempt to avoid writing about today’s hymn. But I know I must, so here goes. I have problems with this hymn. Not because it’s set to an unfamiliar tune by noted Vietnamese composer Nguyễn Đức Toàn. (We also have from him …
Dear STLT Hymnal Commission: I love you, you know I do. I have been impressed with all you did to come up with this collection, and I have been honored to hear some of the stories from your chair, Mark Belletini. I know it was hard. I know it required a lot of sometimes unpopular …
Oof. This is a complex lyric – three verses of a complex poem, “Stanzas on Freedom,” written by James Russell Lowell (one of the 19th century American Fireside Poets). It’s not even a terribly good poem – technically, his writing was good, but as Margaret Fuller wrote, “”his verse is stereotyped; his thought sounds no depth, …
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO. Holy cow this is a terrible hymn. Technically, it’s not terrible – the tune is a favorite – Hyfrodol, made fresh by Peter Mayer in 1064, Blue Boat Home (which will get its day next January). And the lyrics in terms of rhyme and meter are just fine. …
My love/hate relationship with lyricist John Greenleaf Whittier continues. As regular readers may remember, I have loved some of his lyrics; I loved the movement in No Longer Forward or Behind and the call to action hidden under Immortal Love… and I have hated others; I found the ‘people suck’ attitude of The Harp at …
Blech. Seriously – it was like I had bit into a sour lemon or sipped some turned milk when I sang this. I honestly don’t know when I’ve ever had such a reaction to a song as I have sung; I’ve had lots of “um…what” and “dang, I cannot get this” moments, particularly the first …
Any other day, I might be up for a significant rewrite of a classic poem, but today is not that day. Snarky, cynical Kimberley is back, and she’s not having it. I read the lyrics, sang (another fine Southern Harmony tune), then read again, feeling baffled. So I went to the internet to look up the …
Let’s just tuck right in, shall we? This is a pretty and light tune (albeit with an odd harmonic choice in the second phrase), and it accompanies pretty and light lyrics, almost. Because while everything is lovely and wonderful in nature, from star to sea, from earth to sky, apparently our lyricist, John Greenleaf Whittier, thinks …
Hymns that make you go “hmmm….” Holy, holy, holy, author of creation! Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee; holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty; who was, and is, and evermore shall be. Holy, holy, holy, though the darkness hide thee, hindered by our vanities we have not eyes to see. Only …
Bring many names, beautiful and good; celebrate in parable and story, holiness in glory, living, loving God: hail and hosanna, bring many names. Strong mother God, working night and day, planning all the wonders of creation, setting each equation, genius at play: hail and hosanna, strong mother God! Warm father God, hugging ev’ry child, feeling …
Songs of spirit, like a prayer breathing in the ambient air; singing in the morning light, in the radiance of the day, in the twilight shadows gray, in the brooding hush of night; dark or light, or storm, or fair — singing, singing everywhere. In the burgeoning of spring, in the summer’s scented bloom, in …