Some have said that Christendom doesn't need new music. What it needs are fresher ways of appreciating the music it already has.
But you couldn't find many of those souls on Temple Square Friday night for the Church Music Contest Concert. For the winners of the competition, writing new material is the best way to appreciate Christendom and honor the old music.The Pleasantview First Ward Primary Chorus, the Ogden LDS Institute Chorale and Ogden LDS Institute Evening Chorus did the honors of performing the 20 or so award winners. In all, it was not so much an evening to expand musical horizons as a night to reaffirm traditions. With all the pieces well-wrought and full of spiritual sweetness, in fact, reviewing the concert wasn't a question of judging levels of virtuosity so much as choosing favorites.
And the packed house was treated to an impressive variety of devotional music to choose from.
Several old hands came to the fore, of course. Clive Romney, who has performed and produced hundreds of religious numbers over the years, gave us "With Healing in His Wings," a fluid and inventive piece of Mormon popular music. And Janice Kapp Perry was present in "It Was an April Day" (text by Rodney Turner). Perry's trademark ability to write melodies pegged to honest emotion was on full display there.
Several other numbers seemed to stand out as well. I was especially fond of Pamela J. Johnson's hymn, "Jesus Holy Savior Tender." The melody found some nice middle ground between American folk tunes and a classic Anglican hymn. The common practice period harmonies and choral style make it a candidate for widespread use.
And the children's songs all seemed to capture the LDS lilt that was first put there in "I Am a Child of God." The rolling accompaniment, the three-four meters and stepping stone melodies set them all squarely in the LDS grain.
I was also moved by the winning hymn texts that were read - especially Wendy Udy's "As Soft and Gentle as a Whisper." And "Now Is Your Season" by Kristi Sherwood and Kathleen Wood Holyoak promises to be a song we'll be hearing at missionary farewells for years.
There were many more nice moments, of course (a complete list of winners follows). And though many of the numbers will quietly fall into disuse, enough strong, vibrant anthems were presented to affirm that LDS music is alive and well, with a full stable of popular composers and lyricists.
Children's Songs: "Sing Thanks and Be Glad!" (Nita Dale Milner); "Because the Lord Loves Me" (Carol Flock); "I Like to Listen to the Prophet" (Ruth B. Gatrell); "Father, I Thank Thee" (Tamara S. Hann and Ann Kapp Andersen); "I Lived in Heaven" (arr. by Katherine D. Knecht, written by Jannen Jacobs Brady).
Hymns, Texts, Arrangements and Anthems: "Jesus Holy Savior Tender" (Pamela J. Johnson); "The Priesthood Power" (Daniel Lyman Carter); "Feast Upon the Word (text by Patricia D. Bush); "With Healing in His Wings" (Clive J. Romney); "It Was an April Day" (Rodney Turner and Janice Kapp Perry); "As Soft and Gentle As a Whisper" (text by Wendy Udy); " 'Twas a Night Like No Other Night" (Martin J. Petersen Jr.); "We Will Serve the Lord" (text by Winifred Rae Rose Cameron); "Make Us One" (Sally DeFord).
Songs and Other Works: "Now Is Your Season" (Kristi Sherwood and Kathleen Wood Holyoak); "Experiment Upon the Word" (Annette W. Dickman); "I Stand All Amazed" (piano arr. by Brent Jorgensen); "The Soul Would Have No Rainbows" (Clive M. Killpack); "Establish a House of Prayer" (Melba C. Perry, arr. by Brian R. Jensen); "The Seed Will Grow" (Gloria Vance and Roceil Low).