Thoughts of Election Day carry musical associations from diverse peoples and disparate eras. Legendary folksinger Woody Guthrie probably best summarizes a contemporary UU take on collective participation and shared responsibility in his “This Land Is Your Land”, performed this morning by Kim Force. Elsewhere, the music of a traditional Spiritual reminds us of the many peoples disenfranchised in our country’s paternalistic origins, while the music of Aaron Copland—a gay Jew from Brooklyn—reminds us of communities at once intensely invested in the American vision and, at the same time, still at risk. Leonard Bernstein, whose centennial is commemorated this year, furnishes a tender portrait of his one-time wife, the Argentine-born actress Felicia Montealegre, an example of many immigrant voices which contributed to the American fabric, and a Colonial-period riff on “Yankee Doodle” recalls the early years of a republic, still trying to define itself today. Read on for programming details.
Centering Music: Adam Kent, piano
“Let Us Cheer the Weary Traveler”
African-American Spiritual, arr. by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
Sentimental Melody
The Young Pioneers
Aaron Copland
Opening Music:
“For Felicia Montealegre” from Four Anniversaries
“For Felicia Montealegre” from Four Anniversaries
Leonard Bernstein
Offertory:
Variations on “Yankee Doodle”
Variations on “Yankee Doodle”
Traditional Colonial arr. by Anonymous
Interlude: Kim Force, vocals
This Land Is Your Land
Woody Guthrie
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