For those unaware, Peggy Duquesnel is an accomplished pianist, vocalist, composer and educator with more than 30 years of professional experience, who has released over fifteen albums that have received critical acclaim in the jazz, pop and inspirational markets.

She has performed and recorded with such notables as Henry Mancini, Pat Boone, Dionne Warwick, Alan Broadbent, Jeff Lorber, Jimmy Haslip and Ric Braun. Peggy served as keyboardist for the Anaheim Angels baseball team and the Anaheim Ducks hockey team and for the Paralympics Ice Hockey games in South Korea.

She has also been a featured performer for the Auckland Philharmonic, Disney, Roland, Kawai and many festivals, churches and clubs. She received a Bachelors Degree in Music from CSU Northridge and served as Professor of Jazz Studies at Concordia University.

When the volume of the chaotic world becomes too loud as it did at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Peggy Duquesnel escapes by sitting quietly at her piano. There, she sets her nimble fingers free to dance gracefully atop the keys, inevitably finding their way into her musical comfort zone.

Soothed with soul bared, Duquesnel’s piano emotes a hybrid of classical music and inspirational hymns. These intimate, meditative sessions spawned Piano for My Soul, Duquesnel’s sixteenth album, releasing April 8th, 2022 on her JoySpring Music imprint.

“I recorded a lot of the album during the lockdown and was happy to have the extra time to work in my studio,” she reveals. “Many of the arrangements on Piano for My Soul were inspired by my classical background. They also incorporate my gift of combining a hymn with a classical theme to create a new and moving piece of music.”

“A light bulb or divine inspiration sometimes comes upon me when I’m practicing, and I get new ideas on bringing two different music pieces together,” she adds.

Piano for My Soul is presented in two sections clocking in at a generous 71 minutes of music. The first section consists of piano orchestrations with Alan Broadbent, Billy Martin, Andre Mayeux and the late Steve Hall on works composed by Bach, Chopin and Tchaikovsky blended imaginatively with hymns and songs of faith, including several presented as duets between piano and organist Andre Mayeux (“Cristo Redentor,” “Were You There?” and “Precious Lord Take My Hand”), piano and cellist Melissa Hasin (Bach Prelude in C/“The Lord’s Prayer”), and piano duets featuring Hall (“Holy God We Praise Thy Name”/“Sous le dome epais – Delibes” and “You Are My Hiding Place”/“Swan Lake” – Tchaikovsky). The second section is comprised of solo piano numbers.

Piano Orchestrations:
“Be Still My Soul/Finlandia”
“Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow”/Bach 2-part Invention #13
“A Lullaby”
“It Is Well With My Soul”/Bach 2-part Invention #14
“O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus”/Chopin Waltz Op. 34, No. 2
“Cristo Redentor” (with organist Andre Mayeux)
Chopin Prelude Op. 28, No. 4
“Were You There?” (with organist Andre Mayeux)
“Holy God We Praise Thy Name”/“Sous le dome epais – Delibes” (with pianist Steve Hall)
Bach Prelude in C/ “The Lord’s Prayer” (with cellist Melissa Hasin)
“Precious Lord Take My Hand” (with organist Andre Mayeux)
“You Are My Hiding Place”/“Swan Lake” (Tchaikovsky) (with pianist Steve Hall)
“Take My Life, and Let it Be”

Solo Piano:
“Be Still My Soul/Finlandia”
“Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow”/Bach 2-part Invention #13
“A Lullaby”
“It Is Well With My Soul”/Bach 2-part Invention #14
“O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus”/Chopin Waltz Op. 34, No. 2
Chopin Prelude Op. 28, No. 4
Bach Prelude in C
“Take My Life, and Let It Be”

As noted, the first two thirds of the album are Piano Orchestrations and they open with the ornately sumptuous “Be Still My Soul/Finlandia” and the quietly playful at times, sweepingly alluring at others “Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow”/Bach 2-part Invention #13 and then we get the delicate “A Lullaby”, the gently forthright “It Is Well With My Soul”/Bach 2-part Invention #14, the stirring “O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus”/Chopin Waltz Op. 34, No. 2, and then comes the delicate musings within “Cristo Redentor” (complete with soulful organ) and the elegance of Chopin Prelude Op. 28, No. 4.

Up next on this album, that Duquesnel herself produced and arranged, is another organic piano and organ blend on “Were You There?” which is itself followed by the duo piano work of “Holy God We Praise Thy Name”/“Sous le dome epais – Delibes”, the piano and cello work found on the earnest Bach Prelude in C/ “The Lord’s Prayer”, the twinkling piano and dulcet organ found on “Precious Lord Take My Hand”, this opening segment rounding out on the dolefully playful duo piano work “You Are My Hiding Place”/“Swan Lake” (Tchaikovsky), and the crystalline “Take My Life, and Let it Be”, closing on a collection of eight Solo Piano works (all of which, under a slightly different guise noted above, are now simply piano-based).

“It brings me joy to share this special project of hymns, classics and originals that I produced during the recent pandemic,” Duquesnel reveals. “It was an honor to work with my colleagues Alan Broadbent, Billy Martin, Andre Mayeux and the late Steve Hall to produce these piano orchestrations.”

“It is my desire to share more peace and joy through my musical gifts. Through the inspiration of J. S. Bach signing his works, “Soli Del Gloria,” I hope that the music touches your heart and gives glory to God!”

“Indeed, many of the arrangements on this album were inspired by my classical background,” Duquesnel adds. “They also incorporate my gift of combining a hymn with a classical theme to create a new and moving piece of music.

“I composed “A Lullaby” for our grandson Ryan Hall when he was born in 2020. “Precious Lord Take My Hand” is recorded in memory of my late mother-in-law Helene Malbon. “Cristo Redentor” (translated as “Christ the Redeemer”) is a jazz selection from the Disney Pixar movie, “Soul.”

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