Music: Sun Sep 8

St. Francis of Paola had a problem: how to cross the Straits of Messina to Sicily without sufficient funds to pay the ferryman? According to the Catholic legend, after being refused passage, the saint prayed to God, and received the inspiration to spread his cloak upon the waters and ride the waves. In the tale, the boatman sees the miracle, repents of his stinginess, and begs the saint to come aboard. However, in order to teach that Faith commands Nature, St. Francis remains steadfast, and the winds propel him to his destination faster than the boat! The composer Franz Liszt owned a painting by Eduard von Steinle, which depicted the scene. In the second of his “Deux Légendes,” performed as the morning’s Centering Music in celebration of our annual Ingathering Water Ceremony, Liszt recreates the Saint's adventure in vivid pianistic terms. Other repertoire connected to water imagery is featured in the Offertory as well as in the actual ritual. The CUUC Choir is also on hand with Amy Bernon’s “I Am the River” and Roger Emerson’s arrangement of the American folk song “Down to the River to Pray," both of which movingly describe the river as a source of universal connectedness and spiritual renewal. Read on for programming details

Centering Music: Adam Kent, piano
“St. Francis of Paola Walking on the Waves”

                                                Franz Liszt

Anthem: CUUC Choir directed by Lisa N. Meyer and accompanied this Sunday by Barbara Orwick, while Georgianna Pappas is away.

I Am the River   

Amy F. Bernon   

Offertory:
“La marchande d’eau fraiche” from Histoires (The Fresh Water Seller Woman)

                                                Jacques Ibert

Anthem:

Down to the River to Pray  

 American Folk Song, arr. by Roger Emerson 

Water Ingathering Ceremony

Still Waters: Venetian Boatsong No. 2, Op. 30, No. 6

                                                Felix Mendelssohn

Shining Waters: “By a Meadow Brook” from Woodland Sketches, Op. 51

                                                Edward MacDowell

Stormy Waters: “From the Depths” from Sea Pieces, Op. 55

                                                            Edward MacDowell

Rushing Waters: Little Brook, Op. 62, No. 4

                                                            Edvard Grieg

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