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By Gregory Taggart, April 30, 2014 9:48 am

For the uninitiated, Alex Boye used to be a member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

Here he is, this time singing “Goin’s Home” with the Choir.

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By Gregory Taggart, June 23, 2013 11:01 pm

Fantasia on Early Latter-day Saint Hymns is one of my favorite choir pieces. Arranged and directed by Mack Wilberg and performed by BYU’s Concert Choir, it tells the story of the Mormon gathering to Zion, or the story of our journey from the pre-existence to life on earth and back to our Father’s presence, or _______ (insert your own interpretation). Unfortunately, I can’t find a YouTube video of the performance, so you’ll have to just listen. Here are the words:

Fantasia on Early Latter-day Saint Hymns (“Yes, My Native Land” “Redeemer of Israel” “The Glorious Day Is Rolling On”)

Yes, my native land I love thee.
All thy scenes I love them well.
Friends, connections happy country!
Can I bid you all farewell?

Can I leave thee, Can I leave thee,
Far in distant lands to dwell?
Can I leave thee, Can I leave thee,
Far in distant lands to dwell?

Holy Scenes of joy and gladness,
Ev’ry fond emotion swell.
Can I banish heartfelt sadness,
While I bid my home farewell?

Can I leave thee, Can I leave thee,
Far in distant lands to dwell?
Can I leave thee, Can I leave thee,
Far in distant lands to dwell?

Bear me on, thou restless ocean:
Let the winds my canvas swell.
Heaves my heart with warm emotion,
While I go far hence to dwell.

Glad I bid thee, Glad I bid thee,
Native land farewell, farewell.
Glad I bid thee, Glad I bid thee,
Native land farewell, farewell.
______
Redeemer of Israel, Our only delight,
Oh whom for a blessing we call,
Our shadow by day and our pillar by night,
Our king, our deliv’rer our all!

How long we have wandered
as strangers in sin,
And Cried in the desert for thee!
Our foes have rejoiced when
our sorrows they’ve seen,
But Israel will shortly be free.
______
The glorious day is rolling on, All glory to the Lord!
When fair as at creation’s dawn the earth will be restored.
A perfect harvest then will crown the renovated soil,
And rich abundance drop around without corroding toil.

For in its own primeval bloom, Will nature smile again:
And blossoms streaming with perfume, Adorn the verdant plain.
The saints will then, with pure delight, Possess the holy land:
And walk with Jesus Christ in white, And in His presence stand.

Then while the pow’rs of darkness rage, With glory in our view,
In Jesus’ strength let us engage, To press to Zion, too.
For Zion will like Eden bloom: And Jesus come to reign,
The saints immortal from the tomb, With angels meet again.
_______
Words by Samuel Francis Smith, William W. Phelps, and Eliza R. Snow. Hymn tunes by Jacques Rousseau, Freeman Lewis, and anonymous. Musical setting by Mack Wilberg. From “All Creatures of Our God and King: Hymns of Faith and Praise,” by the Brigham Young University Concert Choir, Mack Wilberg, Conductor. Tantara Records

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By Gregory Taggart, December 6, 2012 9:43 am

Today would have been Dave Brubeck’s 92nd birthday. Apparently spry right up to the end:

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By Gregory Taggart, December 5, 2012 11:10 am

He was 91. I saw Brubeck perform at least three times, twice in Salt Lake City and once in Chicago. Joe Morello on drums, Eugene Wright on bass, Paul Desmond on sax, and Dave Brubeck on the piano.

Hat tip: Ann Althouse.

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By Gregory Taggart, May 25, 2012 11:15 am

I just finished reading a blog post by Eric Samuelson that may have changed my life for the better. I grew up in the 60s, a particularly great decade for music, what with the Beatles, Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield, Stones, and Cream, and that’s just in the world of rock ‘n roll. Sadly, I’ve held my nose high ever since, especially during the Disco beat of the horrible 70s. Though Disco had a great beat and was easy to dance to, I chose instead to follow the careers of Neil Young and Van Morrison. My musical tastes were and have continued to be stuck on repeat. That’s not to say that I don’t listen to other music. My father exposed me to jazz, a music I love. I can probably name as many jazz artists as I can rock or folk. I also love classical music, including opera. I listen to a lot of Brazilian and French music. But even there I tend to stay stuck in the past.

Just yesterday I was thinking how little I knew about the current music scene–and I felt a sense of pride in that, if you can imagine. Samuelson’s post slapped me awake. In fact, I just created a new Pandora station for Arcade Fire, a group he mentioned. So far I’ve listened to Keep the Car Running and Black Mirror from their album Neon Bible. I don’t know that I find them so interesting as Samuelson does, but at least I know who they are, and frankly, they’re not bad–and I’m not so stodgy anymore.

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By Gregory Taggart, April 2, 2012 9:53 pm

Yesterday was the second and last day of what we Mormons refer to as General Conference, an annual gathering in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City. We also hold a semi-annual General Conference in October. In both cases, the Conference takes place on the first Sunday of the month. The annual General Conference takes place in April because the Church was organized on April 6, 1830.

All that to say this: the last day of General Conference fell on Palm Sunday this year. That’s not a big problem for Mormons because, though we do celebrate Christ’s resurrection on Easter, we don’t really observe Holy Week. I’m wishing we did. We certainly have no theological reason not to. The Bible story of Jesus Christ’s last week resonates with us. So much so, that the Church just published a series of excellent videos commemorating the events of that week. Treat yourself to them. It will be time well-spent.

I’ve decided to observe Holy Week this year. I’m not sure how, so I guess I’ll figure it out as I go. Today, I’ll begin by celebrating Palm Sunday–yesterday, I know. I’ll do that by uploading one of my favorite arrangements of one of my favorite hymns: Redeemer of Israel, arranged by Mac Wilberg. Before I do, I need to tell the story of my first experience with the arrangement.

Wilberg was teaching at BYU at the time, and my sister Megan was a member of his choir, The BYU Singers, BYU’s best choir. It was Sunday, and Megan and the choir were singing in Wilberg’s ward in Provo, so I attended the service with her husband Jon Carling. The choir sang Redeemer of Israel as the closing song for the meeting. Since we often sang the hymn in our sacrament meeting–the principle worship service in the Church–I was listening, but not really paying close attention until suddenly in the last verse Wilberg asked the congregation to join in and at the same moment the women voices in the choir soared to angelic heights. All I remember after that is hearing people sniffling and blowing their noses during the prayer. Like me, they were all sobbing at what they had just heard.

With that out of the way, here’s Redeemer of Israel. Don’t miss the last verse.

Redeemer of Israel
Redeemer of Israel,
Our only delight,
On whom for a blessing we call,
Our shadow by day
And our pillar by night,
Our King, our Deliv’rer, our all!

We know he is coming
To gather his sheep
And lead them to Zion in love,
For why in the valley
Of death should they weep
Or in the lone wilderness rove?

How long we have wandered
As strangers in sin
And cried in the desert for thee!
Our foes have rejoiced
When our sorrows they’ve seen,
But Israel will shortly be free.

As children of Zion,
Good tidings for us.
The tokens already appear.
Fear not, and be just,
For the kingdom is ours.
The hour of redemption is near.

Restore, my dear Savior,
The light of thy face;
Thy soul-cheering comfort impart;
And let the sweet longing
For thy holy place
Bring hope to my desolate heart.

He looks! and ten thousands
Of angels rejoice,
And myriads wait for his word;
He speaks! and eternity,
Filled with his voice,
Re-echoes the praise of the Lord.

Text: William W. Phelps

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By Gregory Taggart, March 25, 2012 9:20 pm

People get ready
There’s a train a-coming
You don’t need no baggage
You just get on board
All you need is faith
To hear the diesels humming
Don’t need no ticket
You just thank the Lord

People get ready
For the train to Jordan
Picking up passengers
From coast to coast
Faith is the key
Open the doors and board them
There’s room for all
Among the loved the most

There ain’t no room
For the hopeless sinner
Who would hurt all mankind just
To save his own
Have pity on those
Whose chances are thinner
Cause there’s no hiding place
From the Kingdom’s throne

So people get ready
For the train a-comin
You don’t need no baggage
You just get on board !
All you need is faith
To hear the diesels humming
Don’t need no ticket
You just thank, you just thank the Lord

Yeah
Ooh

Yeah
Ooh

Im getting ready
Im getting ready
This time I’m ready
This time I’m ready

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By Gregory Taggart, March 11, 2012 12:15 pm

American folk hymn (NETTLETON)
Arrangement by Mack Wilberg
Come, Thou Fount of ev’ry blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above;
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.

Here I raise my Ebenezer,
Hither by Thy help I’m come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wand’ring from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, as a fetter,
Bind my wand’ring heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

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By Gregory Taggart, March 4, 2012 8:05 pm

Found this at Ann Althouse’s. Thought I’d preserve it on my site. My introduction to Eroica came in Rio de Janeiro, when James Thatcher–then a missionary with me, now a studio musician in LA–helped me pick out some good classical music to listen to. Eroica was his first selection for me.

Update: For those unfamiliar with Eroica, here’s the entire first movement, first two chords and all.

Update #2: By the way, I could put all I know about classical music in a small thimble, and there would still be enough room for a big couch.

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By Gregory Taggart, February 26, 2012 7:31 pm

Van Morrison does a great job with religious music. “Higher Ground” is another good example, here played with Cliff Richard:

And here are the lyrics:

Whenever God shines his light on me
Opens up my eyes so I can see
When I look up in the darkest night
I know everything’s going to be alright
In deep confusion, in great despair
When I reach out for him he is there
When I am lonely as I can be
I know that God shines his light on me

Reach out for him, hell be there
With him your troubles you can share
If you live the life you love
You get the blessing from above
He heals the sick and heals the lame
Says you can do it too in Jesus name

He’ll lift you up and turn you around
And put your feet back on higher ground

Reach out for him, hell be there
With him your troubles you can share
You can use his higher power
In every day and any hour
He heals the sick and heals the lame
Says you can do it too in Jesus name

He’ll lift you up and turn you around
And put your feet back on higher ground.