Historically, many churches have shown the grandeur of God by assembling massive churches. The LDS Church, however - with its pageants, choirs and festivals - assembles massive groups of people.
And with 200-plus members, the BYU Men's Chorus is typically Mormon. It's just not a typical chorus.In fact, scuttlebutt puts this group second to the Tabernacle Choir in the state. And Tuesday's concert will do little to discourage such scuttlebutt.
Opening with their theme, Grieg's "Brothers, Sing On!," director Mack Wilberg's band of merry men offered a full evening of robust, rousing numbers, broken up with some nifty embellishments.
Having two women (Kristi Frei and Kristalyn Thornock) solo on Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Pie Jesu" was a nice touch. As was the addition of a chant as a tip-of-the-cap to the country's fresh interest in such music. And in a piece about loading the ark "two by two," having twin brothers Jeremy and Justin Whittaker share solo duties was a stroke of ingenuity.
Highlights were many (The Israeli folk song "El Yivneh Hagalil" and Peter Warlock's "Twelve Oxen" being just two.)
Criticisms are few. Still, at the risk of sounding stuffy, I find little to cheer in the trend of powerful, inspirational singers going pop. The cheesy aftertaste of Placido Domingo doing a Top 40 tune stays with me for days. I had the same reaction to a couple of the novelty numbers here. "Stay Tuned!" a medley of television theme songs ranging from "The Jetsons" to "The Brady Bunch" was entertaining enough; but any points scored in crowd pleasing and variety were lost in the unfortunate feeling of diminishment. I prefer men's joy to boys' glee.
After intermission, however, the chorus returned with its most moving material, a good deal of it from the new CD, "Shout With Glory."
It was wonderful, and the instrumentalists were superb throughout. I must disagree with the student who called the Nigerian carol "Betelehemu" the group's signature piece, however. With its hand-jive and drums, the song may be the most requested, but for me the signature of this chorus is its "Redeemer of Israel." Arranged by Wilberg, the piece features the stately brass of "Battle Hymn of the Republic," the multicolored verses of Jay Welch's "Come, Come, Ye Saints" and the high, inverted tenor harmonies of the classic Mormon men's number, "I Need Thee Every Hour." It is a glorious and heartfelt piece of arranging, sung in grand tones by young men with spirits as regal as Timpanogos. Stand up for the "Hallelujah" Chorus, if you will. I stand on this one.
The one regret was the man behind such magic never stepped to the mike. Like coach LaVell Edwards, Mack Wilberg has put together a WAC champ here. And like Edwards, next year he'll lose his starters and begin again with a bunch of wet-behind-the-ears kids. It is the curse of being a coach or a choral director.
It's also the reason they sign on.