Hi everyone.  Hope you are all well and continue to stay that way during this global health crisis we are facing.  But in addition to protecting your physical wellness, what are you doing to stay mentally healthy today?

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

I know we are in a serious situation, but I need a break from the gloom, doom and bullying by way of hoarding. Music has always been my refuge and watching those beautiful Italians singing to each other from their balconies reaffirmed my belief that music is the answer. So until the old normal returns, I am going to share a song I listen to that helps me escape the current state of things, if only for a few minutes each day. And if this helps anyone else, even better.

Happy Easter to all who are celebrating.  You may be spending the day in a much different way than in years past, but you can commemorate this holiday again with family and friends once we get past our safe at home status.  For a special way to observe Easter this year, tune into the online concert Andrea Bocelli is giving in Milan today at 1PM EST.  It is being advertised as a solo performance promoting “a message of love, healing and hope to Italy and the world.”  Once again, music is the answer.

In honor of his upcoming show and in celebration of Easter, the song I chose today is one of Bocelli’s duets.  He and Celine Dion each recorded solo versions of this song in 1998 for the film “Quest For Camelot”.  The two singers then performed it together in 1999 at the Oscars and again in 2000 at the Grammy Awards.  The rest, as they say, was history.  The version I am sharing today is from Bocelli’s Central Park concert in 2011.  In my opinion, it is an exquisite duet by two of the world’s best singers with an absolutely gorgeous arrangement.  Their voices fit together so perfectly, and their impassioned interpretations of the lyrics in both English and Italian just add to the stunning sound they create together.  And the lyrics could not be more fitting for this holiday and the state of  where we are:

“Lead us to a place
Guide us with your grace
Give us faith so we’ll be safe“.

Andrea Bocelli & Celine Dion at his Central Park Concert in NYC 2011

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Celine Dion & Andrea Bocelli:  “The Prayer” (1998, written by David Foster, Carole Bayer Sager, Alberto Testa and Tony Renis).

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing what I love and how I am coping with you.

Stay well.