Music Ministry Update
Winter Solstice Celebration on Friday, 12/20 at 7:00 pm
Join us for our annual celebration marking the Longest Night and the Return of the Light! The evening is a deep ritual and celebration of the light that shines within and between us, with reflections, silence, and candlelight, and music featuring Jennifer Hedstrom and the JRUUC Sacred Breath Choir. The service will be in person and also streamed via Zoom.
December Hymn of the Month: #319 “Ye Earthborn Children of a Star”
Words by John G. MacKinnon, Tunes by Various
Hymnody is the singing and/or composition of hymns. An important aspect of hymnody is matching poetic text to tunes. There is an art to setting words to music. After all, the rhythm of the words impacts the rhythm of the music. And the melody might strive to evoke the same mood as the words, while also remaining singable for congregations.
When you look at a hymn in our gray hymnal, the bottom right-hand corner shows the tune name and the meter. Meter here refers not to the musical concept of meter (such as 3/4 or 4/4 time), but instead to poetic meter: the number of syllables per line. In the back of the hymnal, there are indexes of tune names and meter names, which allows worship leaders, music directors, and hymnodists to experiment with different combinations of tune and text. This explains why you can find the same hymn tunes in hymnals across numerous Christian denominations. This type of adaptation and experimentation has been a long-standing tradition in hymnody. While modern hymns are moving away from this type of adaptability, we can still have fun with our old hymns in this manner.
The poetry of “Ye Earthborn Children of a Star” is quite grand. It suggests presence with the cosmic, with the Earthly, and with ourselves. The original tune isn’t terrible, but it’s not particularly catchy either. So this month we are going on a hymnodic journey! On the first Sunday in December, we’ll sing this text with its original tune. Every Sunday after, we’ll experience the same text matched with a different tune. Most of these tunes will be easier than the original tune and might be familiar to friends and members of JRUUC. You are welcome to laugh as we embark on this journey, since it may feel new and silly to sing the same hymn in so many different ways. And, at the end of the month, I’d love to hear which tunes you thought fit the poem best. Enjoy the text without melody below.
Ye earthborn children of a star
Amid the depths of space
The cosmic wonder from afar
Within your mind’s embrace.
Look out, with awe, upon the art
Of countless living things;
The counterpoint of part with part,
As nature’s chorus sings
Beyond the wonder you have wrought
Within your little time;
The knowledge won, the wisdom sought,
The ornaments of rhyme.
Seek deeper still within your souls
And sense the wonder there;
The ceaseless thrust to noble goals
Of life, more free and fair.
Ye earthborn children of a star,
Who seek and long and strive,
Take humble pride in what you are:
Be glad to be alive.
Songleaders needed!
Jennifer is seeking songleaders for our Music Ministry team. Songleaders will help lead congregational music on weeks that the choir is not singing in worship. This is a great opportunity for folks who love to sing, but cannot commit to Thursday night choir rehearsals. Email Jennifer at music@jruuc.org with questions or to get on the songleader email list!
Sacred Breath Choir
Sacred Breath Choir begins gathering again on Thursday August 29 from 7-8:30pm. Sacred Breath Choir welcomes folks of all voice types and musical backgrounds. We meet weekly on Thursdays from 7-8:30pm and sing at 1-2 worship services per month. Singing is nourishment for the mind, body, and spirit. Nourish yourself and your community by joining Sacred Breath Choir! Email Jennifer at music@jruuc.org or chat with them during coffee hour if you have any questions.
Folk Group
This season we will meet on the first and third Saturdays of each month from 2pm – 3:30pm at Reeb. All are welcome! We have songbooks to sing and play from, and you are welcome to bring your favorites too.
If you want to be added to the Reeb Folk Group mailing list, please contact Mike Stimson. You can also contact Mike if you have particular songs you want to share with the group and he will add them to the group music.
Please send an email to music@jruuc.org with any questions or thoughts you have about music ministry at JRUUC.
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