Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (Piano Cover by Matt Bovenzi)

Piano cover of Judy Garland's ⁨‪‪"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" (1944), arranged and performed by Matt Bovenzi ___________________________________________ 🎄❄️❤️❤️‍🩹🥹🎹🎶 Nostalgia. What a complex, beautiful emotion. It's joy tinged with sadness, memory mixed with regret, remembrance mixed with longing. This is one of my favorite Christmas songs, and I think it's because it makes me feel nostalgic. A yearning to be home with family, a longing for old times and traditions, but an appreciation for the joys of the present and an understanding of current struggles, with an optimistic nod towards the future. All of these things at once. Interesting fact, and the reason, I think, the song makes us feel all these things: it was written for a film, and it was NOT a Christmas movie! In "Meet Me in St. Louis" (MGM Studios), the Smith family's joys and struggles are chronicled and their lives upended when the father announces a job promotion requiring a move to New York. Here, Judy Garland's character, Esther (17yo), the second oldest of 4 daughters, is singing to her adolescent sister, Tootie (7yo), in an effort to comfort her as they anticipate their move away from their beloved home and town in Missouri. The song occurs around Christmastime; the movie is structured as a series of seasonal vignettes, and this scene takes place in the Winter. [I only discovered this fact about the song a couple years ago, and proceeded to watch the movie - highly recommend!] In Judy Garland's original recording (for the film), you can hear both the joy and the anguish in her voice, a beautiful complement to the instrumentation and lyrics. There is maturity but also innocence. I find it beautiful - and I hope my piano cover conveys the complex beauty of nostalgia. Original song composed by Hugh Martin; lyrics by Ralph Blane (1943; published with release of "Meet Me in St. Louis," 1944) __________________ Keyboard: Yamaha P140 used as MIDI controller for Pianoteq 9 VST's (Steinway Model B - Sombre)