Last week, our missionary son sent us this beautiful photo of the Gilbert Arizona Temple.  The area where he currently works is very near to the Temple.  How wonderful to have the very symbol of the greatest blessings of the gospel that he is called to share with the people, right there, constantly before their eyes.  Not long ago, I was searching for an idea for a Children's song, when I picked up a copy of the 2010 Temples Issue of the Ensign magazine.  On the back cover was a quote by President Thomas S. Monson.  It said, "How far is heaven?  In the holy temples it's not far at all.  In these sacred places earth and heaven meet and Heavenly Father gives His greatest blessings."

          These words literally jumped off the page in melody.  I was so excited, I had to grab a piece of manuscript paper to write it down.  The first verse was beautifully and perfectly formed, but the song seemed short.  There must be a second verse.  So I picked up the Temples issue again and started scanning the pages for another quote by Pres. Monson.  And, sure enough, there on page 10 was a quote that perfectly fit the melody.  "In their gleaming glory, temples seem to say, 'Come home to heaven, home to family, home to God.'"
          Yes, these words fit perfectly, but the song still seemed a bit short.  During General Conference a few days later, I was sure if I listened intently enough, I would hear the words to create another verse.  And sure enough, one of the brethren was talking about temples.  He said, "In sacred ceremonies, covenants are made. These covenants create eternal families."  Yes!  I did not know I was searching for the body of the message.  But it became clear. That was what had been missing.  It is through sacred covenants that the greatest blessings Heavenly Father has to give his children will be given.
         So, this beautiful song for children about the holy temple, "How Far Is Heaven?"  was now complete.  I had the occasion to present this song to President Monson himself.  He sent a letter of appreciation to say that he is always pleased when the members of the Church create beautiful works that will help bring more people to a knowledge of their Savior.  I am sure that this song can be instrumental in doing just that.
          How far is heaven?  How far is heaven?
          In the holy temples it's not far at all.
          In their gleaming glory, temples seem to say, 
          "Come home to heaven, home to family, home to God."

          Sometimes a silly phrase is timed so well that you just wish that you had been the one who said it.  At choir last night, Mack Wilberg was explaining to the string players why their parts were so boring.  He said, "It's like putting lipstick on a child. It would be a mess!"  So, after the eruption of laughter and giggles by the choir, he explained the reason why he did not add a lot of flourishes and movement in the string parts.  He said, "That would take away from the majesty and integrity of the piece." The arrangement was "High on a Mountain Top" which is one of Mack's most brilliant and majestic pieces.  The big interest in the orchestration is in the organ and brass parts.  He told the string players to "own" those half notes and hang in there until the next piece when they would have plenty to do.

          As I pondered the image of "putting lipstick on a child," I thought about all of the shows I have previewed for my work Children's Theater.  So often the packaged shows come with highly processed pre-recorded or "canned" minus tracks.  In my experience, the children's voices do not sound very good against full symphonic orchestra accompaniments or big brass band backgrounds, especially if they do not have a good sound engineer at the ready to pull off some equalizing magic.  Their little voices just aren't big enough to stand their own ground against the overpowering interest in the minus tracks.  In effect, it is like putting lipstick on a child.  It is unnatural and fake.  Instead of supporting the small voices, the heavily orchestrated backgrounds tend to overwhelm them.  

          Sure, there are some young children who can stand their ground against fully orchestrated accompaniment tracks.  But that is not the norm, and their success is undoubtedly linked to the efforts of a good sound engineer.  Most young children between the ages of 5 to 12 have small light voices and even less training.  To expect them to sing with projection over a full orchestration, even in a group, is ridiculous.  And it is just plain wrong to "train" them to belt louder and louder before their vocal apparatus and range are developed enough to managed the strain.  

          "Putting lipstick on a child."  If you have ever witnessed the aftermath of a toddler applying lipstick to herself, you know the picture I have in my mind.  What a mess!  Not only on her face, but on her hands, her clothes, the counter, the furniture, the walls...  Yeah, heavily orchestrated accompaniment tracks for young children's voices can be an unnatural mess like that!

          

One Person can beat a drum and make enough noise for ten.
One Person can blow a horn, 
And that little bang and that little blare
Can make a hundred people care.
And One Person can hold a torch and light up the sky again.
And one little voice that's squeaking a song can make a million voices strong.
If One Person can beat a drum,
If One Person can blow a horn,
If One Person can hold a torch,
Then One Person can change the world.
 
This wonderful march, "One Person," comes from the pen of Jerry Herman, Broadway composer of such classics as "Hello Dolly" and "Mame."

We in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir have been working to memorize this song for our concert with the Utah Symphony later this week.  Jerry Herman was known for his particularly hummable tunes.  These lyrics are fairly easy to memorize.  They can easily be "pictured."  My sister likes to make up hand choreography to help her memorize lyrics.  These words fit that bill very well.  The words may be fairly easy to memorize, but they are harder to sing because of the fast succession of notes.  The tune is built on a quickly ascending and then descending Major 9th chord -- that is five stacked thirds coming and going!  And gets harder from there!  Not as easy to maneuver!  But it is a fun song to sing and has a neat message.  Ryan Murphy did a bang up job arranging it for out concert!

I overheard some elementary school music teachers in the hallway saying that they loved the message of that song so much, they intended to use it as their theme of this year's chorus concert.  The message is a useful one, I grant you, but I worry about the youngsters being able to sing the extended harmonies with the extended range with anything close to precision.  It could just end up a monotone mess.  The melodic range is well over an octave even if you stay in the key of C Major. 

All I can say is good luck.