Music Notes 5-5-24
It’s been a little more than a week since we returned from Paris, and it’s been a whirlwind of activity getting back into the swing of things. My computer received some TLC while I was gone – hard drive wipe, upgraded to Windows 11, new cooling fans, new disk drive (upgraded to Blu-ray burner), fresh gel, etc, - and I’m back in business. Our trip to Paris was wonderful, especially the food (how can you go wrong with Parisian pain au chocolat and espresso in the morning?), and discovering that crazy Los Angeles drivers don’t hold a candle to the insane Parisians when they get behind the wheel. It was a breath of fresh air to step in front of our dedicated choir and make music again.
This week, our wonderful band joins us for the service. Tracy will channel the nuns of the movie Sister Act as we sing the closing number from that movie. We’ll also resurrect the favorite songs Shine, Jesus, Shine and 10,000 Reasons, and we’ll add the old Samuel Wesley chestnut Lead Me, Lord to the mix. Since we’ll be celebrating communion, we’ll also sing One Bread, One Body. Spread the word, and be there or be square.
One of the more engaging Whoopi Goldberg movies was “Sister Act”, where she played a lounge singer that was a witness to a murder. The police hid her from the bad guys by stashing her in a convent, where she made waves by taking over and modernizing the choir of nuns. The final song from this movie is a favorite of many musicians, as it takes an old hit from the 60’s - I Will Follow Him - and makes it a bit classier. It was written by Franck Pourcel and Paul Mauriat, with English lyrics by Norman Gimbel. Originally recorded by Franck Pourcel as an instrumental in 1961, it was recorded with French lyrics by Petula Clark in 1962, which earned her a gold record. It was the 1963 English version, recorded by Little Peggy March, who was 15 at the time, that the song really earned its wings. It reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on April 27, 1963, as well as #1 in Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, Israel, South Africa, Uruguay and New Zealand, making her the youngest female artist to have a chart-topping single.
Matt Redman is an English Christian worship leader currently based in Brighton. He has won 10 Dove Awards for everything from Worship Song of the Year 2005 (for Blessed Be Your Name) to Songwriter of the Year 2013. His album 10,000 Reasons was released in 2012 and the title track went on to be #1 on the Billboard Christian Songs chart, where it remained for 13 weeks. 10,000 Reasons also won Grammy Awards in 2013 for Best Contemporary Christian Music Song and Best Gospel/Contemporary Christian Music Performance. Today, Matt and his wife, Beth, are members of St. Peter’s Church in Brighton, England and have 5 children.
John Foley is a composer of Catholic liturgical music and a professor of liturgy at St. Louis University, in St. Louis, Missouri, where he founded the Stroble Center for Liturgy, and where he still serves as director. Much of his early music was as a member of a group called the St. Louis Jesuits, which produced several tunes which became classics in the Catholic music world – such as Here I Am, Lord by member Dan Schutte – and Foley’s most well-known composition One Bread, One Body.
Lead Me, Lord is a hymn by English composer and organist Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810-1876). He was the son of composer Samuel Wesley (known as the English Mozart) and grandson of hymn tune giant Charles Wesley. He was organist at Hereford Cathedral, Exeter Cathedral, Winchester Cathedral and Gloucester Cathedral. He composed largely for the Church of England, who still cherishes his name, and was responsible for many hymn tunes that can be found in modern hymnbooks, including Lead Me, Lord and The Church’s One Foundation in ours.