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Merry Christmas, Darling

At Christmas time, I am always reminded of the time I made a music video with Karen Carpenter.  She was so good to work with!  I’ll always have such great memories with her!  Ha ha! 

Actually, with this song, I have just always loved Karen Carpenter’s smooth voice.  It is so clear and pure, and easy to listen to.  I always wanted to sing a duet with her.  So, I wrote the harmony part to this song, and made a recording along with her original track and laid them together.  I thought it turned out nicely!

Then, I thought it would be fun to mix a video to it as well.  So I found the original video and merged some other scenes with myself as well.  It actually works out nicely since the song is about longing to be with the other person at Christmas, but having to remain far apart.  It was a lot of fun to put together!  What a talented singer Karen Carpenter was!

Jo Ann Castle

Ragtime Queen

Jo Ann Castle was so fun to watch, especially in her frequent appearances on the Lawrence Welk show.  She had such a fun and bouncy personality when she played, and it looked like she had so much fun all the time!  As her fingers flew all over the piano, she would look at the audience and give a smile and a wink, and she just made it look so easy.  So many people today may have never heard of her, but what an amazing talent !

This video was a performance on the Lawrence Welk show, at Christmas time.  What a cool paint job on that piano!  And, the decorations make it look like real icicles and snow all over.  If you watch when she first starts the strong ragtime section, there are snowflakes on the piano hammers that fly off!  Look at those hammers move!  Too bad they don’t have shows like this today!  Enjoy!

We Pray to Thee, Our Heavenly Father

I had the awesome experience of singing this hymn in the Idaho Falls, Idaho temple, at the rededication of the temple on June 4, 2017.  It was written by President Russell M. Nelson, before he was sustained as the President of the church.  It was such a spiritual experience for me, and what a peaceful and reflective hymn.  The melody is simple.  The words are simple and beautiful.  Every time I hear it, I remember that experience I had in the temple, and the love that I felt for all of Heavenly Father’s children.  The arrangement in this video, sung in General Conference is performed beautifully.

The Promise of Living

One of my favorite songs ever written is “The Promise of Living,” written by Aaron Copland.  Aaron Copland was one of the greatest composers of the 20th Century.  I feel that this piece encapsulates the old American Spirit, with a reverence for God, and gratitude for his blessings.  It is a perfect Thanksgiving piece, which emphasizes the law of the harvest.  I imagine those who lived long ago, who relied completely on the harvest each year for their sustenance and support.  They worked hard, but still knew their dependence on God for their livelihood.  We have that situation still today, but I believe many of us don’t see and recognize it as much.  It’s so simple to just go to the grocery store.  So many of the necessities of life seem to be a given.  These things just “appear.”  I love the section towards the end when the lyrics say “Oh let us be joyful, oh let us be grateful, to the Lord for his blessings!”  The music is more intense and exciting and you can just feel the spiritual nature of life.  Here is a beautiful video made to the recording of this piece…  Enjoy!

This is such a touching piece of music. The music is set to the writings of Charles Dickens, and Lee Dengler creates an exquisite musical composition to just touch the soul with this piece. For me, it really promotes introspection into life and reminds me what is most important. I loved putting this together. In this video, I have done the piano part, as well as all of the vocal parts. I hope you will enjoy the song as much as I do!