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| 2010 Concert (Temple Square) |
But I love love LOVE the Mormon Tabernacle Choir!!!!!!! Not only because of their spiritual and inspirational work, don't get me wrong, I appreciate that. But their music is just amazing. You don't get a choral sound like that anywhere else. You don't get a single group that produces work that is haunting and beautiful but also fun and exciting along with the religious stuff. Especially with the orchestra and the organ and musical geniuses like Mack Wilberg and Ryan Murphy arranging and conducting. Like all my favorite music, Tab Choir feeds into my daydreams. Especially at Christmas. And their concerts? Always amazing. And their Christmas concerts, the musical numbers and dancers and processions are astounding.
These are just a few of my favorite Christmas pieces from the Tab Choir, but I've selected them because they're Christmas songs I wouldn't have been exposed to therwise (and some of them, yes, I listen to year-round through headphones because I can't live without them). The nice thing about the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's Christmas programs is they always have a balance of repritoire pieces with carols that don't get as much recognition.
Joseph Dearest, Joseph Mine
Every Christmas, I have a theme carol that I listen to more often or try to learn on the violin or both. 'Joseph Dearest, Joseph Mine' is the theme carol for this year. I decided that months ago. I chose it as kind of a wish to find safety and rest, since that is what the melody and what I can make out of the lyrics make me feel.
Ring Those Christmas Bells
This is a fun one from the Choir's 2013 Christmas concert. Out of the four live concerts I have been to, the 2013 one is by far my favorite. The entire concert was just so much FUN, but if you could capture the spirit of that performance in one song this is it. This carol by itself I have never heard anywhere else. The choir and orchestra perform this piece with a lot of energy and enthusiasm that really gets me into the Christmas spirit. It's one of the few Christmas songs I've heard them sing that even mentions Santa Claus!
I should probably mention this now--I'm sorry this post isn't very organized. I don't have a lot of superstitions about the man in the red suit. But one of the few I do have is that the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Orchestra at Temple Square are some of his favorite helpers.
Wexford Carol
One of the first girls I ever visit taught introduced me to this carol, telling me it was her favorite. It's easy to see why because it's beautiful. The version I listen to the most is a male soloist singing it in Spirit of the Season with the Choir doing vocals. The Tabernacle Choir uses a similar arrangement for the music video that they put out for the holidays this year.
Ding Dong! Merrily on High
If you wonder where my childhood Christmas fantasies came from, it's from hearing the Tabernacle Choir sing this carol in one of the medleys on te 90s album This Is Christmas. The single was featured in their concert album Rejoice and be Merry but for some strange reason not featured on the performance DVD and I have yet to find a video of them actually performing it. Bottom line, 'Ding Dong! Merrily on High' is my absolute favorite Christmas carol.
Carol to the King
This number was the processional for the Tabernacle Choir's Christmas concert with Audra McDonald and it was featured in the concert Rejoice and Be Merry. My uncle who had joined the Tabernacle Choir sent the CD to my grandma Cole the year I was living with her in Arizona and I spent most of November and December listening to it. It was getting 'Carol to the King' stuck in my head as a college freshman that made me beg my other grandma to buy the CD for Christmas. This video is REALLY POOR quality but the performance is still amazing.
Sussex Carol
For Rejoice and Be Merry! this carol is set to a stirring arrangement with the full Choir and Orchestra and Bells, and features the Tab Choir's repeat guest artists The King's Singers. My favorite lines are these: "Then why should men on earth be so sad/Since our Redeemer made us glad?" The Atonement of Christ enables us to overcome the world, and because of it we have the potential to recieve Eternal Life. This carol is a reminder to not only be grateful for those gifts but to find happiness in them. It doesn't do any good to be sad because of all the gloom in the world. We have a lot of reasons to be happy. I think that is one of the most important things that the Tabernacle Choir expresses in its music. This video is from a performance that the King's Singers did more recently with the Choir and the arrangement is slightly different.
The Cat and the Mouse Carol
My first Christmas Concert with the Tabernacle Choir was in 2010 with David Archuleta. Now, the thing you should know about me is, I didn't listen to a lot of pop music or watch a lot of mainstream TV shows, so I didn't really have a good idea of who David Archuleta was when he was announced as the concert guest. After the announcement came, I went and looked him up on YouTube and watched the music video for Crush. I was blown away. But I was blown away even more when I saw Archuleta with the Tabernacle Choir. He is an impressive classical singer and also his Spanish is perfecto. After making his entry with 'Joy to the World," he introduced 'The Cat and Mouse Carol," a song which prior to this concert even he hadn't heard before. But the simple story it tells is entertaining to someone who likes stories about talking animals, and the melody is enchanting.
(Side note: David Archuleta's 'Silent Night is the best arrangement of Silent Night ever IMO.)
Candelight Carol
This was one of my 'theme carols' from last year. Not a sad song but a slow one, one that makes you feel hopeful. Not a loud carol but one that stays quiet.
Every year there's a difference in what kind of Chirstmas stuff I can get around to. Here it's the ninth of December and I've already listened through all of my Tab Choir albums and I only want more. But, playing their stuff on repeat is a pleasure I never have to feel guilty about.
If you want to enjoy the sounds of Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir or watch clips of their amazing performances, you can visit their website or YouTube channel. You can also tune into their 24/7 livestream via the Mormon Channel, the Tab Choir website, or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir App (Yes, there is an app for that, cliche but I had to say it).
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| Self-generated meme. That's a tall order! |
(And yes--I was at the concert where Alfie Boe sang 'Bring Him Home. Surreal. But I was there)
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