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The Mormons made me cry.
Jul. 3rd, 2007 07:46 amLast night I went to a performance by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir at the FedEx Forum. I went with the Captain and GT, which turns out to be a very good thing, because GT's hospital has a box, so we got to watch the performance in comfort rather than crammed into those teeny tiny seats that populate the rest of the place.
I expected it to be good, because - y'know - Mormon Tabernacle Choir. I did not expect to open the program and burst into tears.
Bastards put Bogoroditse devo in the program.
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alliath will really get why this is significant without an explanation, so the short version is that our wonderful director in college performed Rachmaninoff's All-Night Vigil twice with the Mastersingers Chorale. It is one of my favorite pieces. Bogoroditse is the part of All-Night Vigil that he also had the Singers perform, EVERY YEAR. It is intrinsically linked in my mind with our director, and I miss him terribly.
The MTC - as one can imagine - performed it really really well. I could tell this even through my bawling, which I tried to do as quietly as possible. And they snuck right into it, too, out of a little improvisational organ riff following Sanctus from the Mozart Requiem. So one moment they were singing Mozart, and the next they were picking up the starting pitch for Rachmaninoff without even pausing for applause. It was, literally, breathtaking.
They also performed Betelehemu, a Nigerian folk song that has to be heard to really be appreciated. I fell in love with way back at Georgia All-State. The men's choir performed it then, so it was exciting to hear a mixed chorus arrangement. They did not quite pull it off, I must admit: Personally I would have left out the attempts at spontaneous tribal-type shouting and cheering in mid-song, which did not have the same effect coming from three hundred Mormons as it would have from, say, three hundred Nigerians. Nonetheless, it was awesome.
(Side note: Does one actually have to be a Mormon to be part of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir? The name implies as much, but I don't actually know. One did not actually have to attend Rhodes College to be part of the Rhodes Mastersingers Chorale, so I suppose it's possible that this is not a requirement.)
The entire concert was amazingly well done. Again, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, but even expecting to hear a great choir, I was blown away. ♥ I am also reminded that I need to get my butt back in a chorus again, because I miss it tremendously.
It was definitely worth getting up this morning at 4:45 to drive home in time for work. I had a nice drive too, with a rainbow to keep me company. Fortunately the rainbow was due south from my location, so I could watch it without having a wreck, although the concept of "The Oxford at the end of the rainbow" is a little disturbing. (Can I opt for the pot of gold instead, please?)
UPDATE: Found a decent YouTube recording of the last bit of Betelehemu. The sound quality's not great, but it gives you a good idea of how awesome the piece is when you see it live.
I expected it to be good, because - y'know - Mormon Tabernacle Choir. I did not expect to open the program and burst into tears.
Bastards put Bogoroditse devo in the program.
Only
alliath will really get why this is significant without an explanation, so the short version is that our wonderful director in college performed Rachmaninoff's All-Night Vigil twice with the Mastersingers Chorale. It is one of my favorite pieces. Bogoroditse is the part of All-Night Vigil that he also had the Singers perform, EVERY YEAR. It is intrinsically linked in my mind with our director, and I miss him terribly.The MTC - as one can imagine - performed it really really well. I could tell this even through my bawling, which I tried to do as quietly as possible. And they snuck right into it, too, out of a little improvisational organ riff following Sanctus from the Mozart Requiem. So one moment they were singing Mozart, and the next they were picking up the starting pitch for Rachmaninoff without even pausing for applause. It was, literally, breathtaking.
They also performed Betelehemu, a Nigerian folk song that has to be heard to really be appreciated. I fell in love with way back at Georgia All-State. The men's choir performed it then, so it was exciting to hear a mixed chorus arrangement. They did not quite pull it off, I must admit: Personally I would have left out the attempts at spontaneous tribal-type shouting and cheering in mid-song, which did not have the same effect coming from three hundred Mormons as it would have from, say, three hundred Nigerians. Nonetheless, it was awesome.
(Side note: Does one actually have to be a Mormon to be part of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir? The name implies as much, but I don't actually know. One did not actually have to attend Rhodes College to be part of the Rhodes Mastersingers Chorale, so I suppose it's possible that this is not a requirement.)
The entire concert was amazingly well done. Again, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, but even expecting to hear a great choir, I was blown away. ♥ I am also reminded that I need to get my butt back in a chorus again, because I miss it tremendously.
It was definitely worth getting up this morning at 4:45 to drive home in time for work. I had a nice drive too, with a rainbow to keep me company. Fortunately the rainbow was due south from my location, so I could watch it without having a wreck, although the concept of "The Oxford at the end of the rainbow" is a little disturbing. (Can I opt for the pot of gold instead, please?)
UPDATE: Found a decent YouTube recording of the last bit of Betelehemu. The sound quality's not great, but it gives you a good idea of how awesome the piece is when you see it live.
