Movements of the Heart is the companion songbook to David Lanz’s 2013 solo piano album by the same name. Many people (including me!) say that this is Lanz’s best and most passionate music in years, and the scores for the book were prepared and edited with great care (I edited the book, so I know!). All thirteen tracks from the album are included and are placed in the same order that they appear on the CD. Published by Hal Leonard, the book is in a 9”x12” format, which makes the pages even roomier and easier to read than the 8 1/2” x 11” format that is becoming more common in sheet music books. Most of the songs in this collection are melodic and structured, but a few are much more ambient and free-form - a fascinating combination of pieces.

None of the music is overly difficult to play, but a few pieces have some challenges. Upper-intermediate and early-advanced pianists will have little trouble mastering most of these songs and should be able to spend many hours getting lost in the emotional quality of this music. A few pieces have chords on the left hand that have a reach of a tenth, but it is always okay to roll those chords, remove a note, or play the upper note with the right hand where it’s possible. Dynamics are clearly marked and most of the timing is straightforward and easy to count. In short, it’s a great songbook and now one of my favorites to play out of. The book is available from Lanz’s website, Amazon, and Sheet Music Plus (links are in the sidebar). Very highly recommended!

The song titles, the keys they are in, and the number of pages are below:

Love’s Return - Key of G (1 sharp) - 6 pages
La Luna Dell’ Amante - Key of G minor (2 flats) - 8 pages
On Rainbow Way - Key of Bb (2 flats) - 9 pages
To Touch the Sky - Key of F (1 flat) - 8 pages
Rainlight - Key of F minor (4 flats) - 10 pages
I Hear You In a Song - Key of D (2 sharps) - 4 pages
The Way Home - Key of C (0 sharps or flats) - 7 pages
Movements of the Heart - Key of C minor (3 flats) - 9 pages
White Horse - D minor (2 flats) - 8 pages
In Moonlight - Key of Bb - 6 pages
Midnight Adagio - Key of G minor (2 flats) - 6 pages
Here and Now - Key of G minor - 8 pages
I See You In the Stars - Key of E (4 sharps) - 6 pages