I love music. Especially sacred music that washes over my soul. You know the kind...you hear speakers speaking at Church and you aren't really feeling that special inside or you are just living your daily life and along comes a beautiful sound that just grabs you. Not with the speaking voice. With the singing voice. With the music. I love the Hymnal. I love the Hymns. I believe in their power to comfort, to teach, to counsel and also as the answer to questions- when a hymn phrase or even a couple of words pops into my mind on awakening or just out of the blue during the day. It's so special. Don't you feel that way also?
The musicality talent of Janice Kapp Perry has blessed my life. I've done other blogs featuring some of her music. Recently I saw an interview with her that was done last year or maybe even longer ago. People are so interesting and to hear of their journey is fascinating to me. She is nearly 80 years old now. In her younger years she loved sports and was very active. It sounded like her favorite was baseball. She injured herself when she was 40 and her husband persuaded her to drop the sports and find something else to do. That is when she started to get into music. Now the family has a huge company, run by her son, and she continues to write.
She set a couple of goals for herself...to keep things very simple. very easily understood. She also thought it would be wonderful to have the Primary sing one of her songs. A very modest goal. Now of course her music is everywhere the Church is...in Primaries across the globe. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir has sung her songs. She said she was a member of the Choir and when it came time to sing her song, she was so overcome with emotion that she just mouthed the words!
She was very humble while being interviewed and I would love to visit with her. I'm always interested in the thought process of creative people (and that includes all of us because we all have some level of creativity). Anyhow...Sister Parry said it took her 10 years to figure out how to tap into a formula for her creativity. She spends a lot of time thinking and then she does what would be considered mundane or just regular daily living, like vacuuming etc. and then words or music will eventually pop into her mind. She can feel when it's right.
Now this is quite a leap but I'm wondering if Pinterest followers get that same sense of being Spirit- inspired when they hit pay-dirt? Does obsessive Pinteresting deprive one of personal inspiration? I personally love that inner feeling of when all the ducks are lined up, except one, and then suddenly that last idea pops into your mind...or just a completely blank slate that slowly comes to life, or even swiftly, in the recesses of your mind...through that still small voice of feeling. Can one feel that same way by perusing others inspiration/insight? Are the hours spent looking, instead of pondering, for originality just as satisfying? I don't know. Remember...I'm so archaic that I don't even have cell phone and because I'm rather drawn into things that take a lot of time, I've had friends tell me...Don't even get started! So I haven't checked Pinterest out...in a way I feel like the Lone Ranger. On the other hand...soloing is what I'm used to doing and I absolutely love the feeling, that specific feeling, of knowing I've just hit pay-dirt in whatever project is my task at hand. I love the process! It works for me and it's a soul deep feel good experience. And you?
Back to what I really intended to chat about...Music and Sister Perry. She is very deliberate and patient in what she does and works for years on certain projects. Now, I never thought about this before, maybe you have, there are not LDS Hymns specific to the Book of Mormon, in our Hymnal. There are a couple of LDS hymns...Hold to the Rod...Joseph Smiths First Prayer...etc. but not specifics on stories from the Book of Mormon.
She was put in touch with Bonnie Hart Murray- who had written some lyrics about the Book of Mormon and they became a duo. It ended up that a hymnbook was published and the first part has 18 of Sister Parry's well known songs and how they came about. The 2nd half of the book has 28 new songs about the Book of Mormon!! You already knew this? I'm late to the party? I'm not even sure when this book was published.
Realizing that not everyone plays the piano...2 discs are included with piano music! I'm so excited. I ordered my book and can hardly wait to read it. You can order it from Desseret Book or at less cost on Amazon.
She said the publisher used beautiful illustrations. She also said you actually will be singing scripture!! I can hardly wait to get my song book!
(just had a moment of remembering that she has a sister named Ann Kapp Andersen and she lived/lives in Southeast? Alaska. Ann also writes music. I can't remember why but somehow or other, maybe after the Anchorage Woman's Conference, we were in touch and she visited with me about writing lyrics. Sometimes I've made very cowardly choices and talked myself out of things and have proclaimed my inadequacies because of lack of training/education/experience/confidence etc. I would not do that now. I'd go for it. I don't regret, not pursuing this further in a remorseful way, as I had a lot to learn about life and about myself. That decision definitely makes my list of wishing I'd given it a try! I have absorbed and learned from my regret of not at least trying! Sharing this to encourage you to grab every single brass ring that dangles in your face! You go girl!)
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