Just before performing her second selection at the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert, guest artist Laura Osnes told the Thursday night audience that she loves all the trappings of the season, but what she loves most is what is at its heart, “and that is Jesus Christ the Lord.”
Broadway star Osnes and the concert’s five other guest artists agreed Friday morning in a news conference that Christ is definitely the centerpiece of this year’s musical offering from the choir, Orchestra at Temple Square and Bells on Temple Square, perhaps unusually so.
Much of it involves a narration and re-enactment of the origins of Handel’s “Messiah,” focusing on how the composer not only told the message of the Messiah through song but “helped do the Messiah’s work” through benefit concerts that raised funds to help the unfortunate of 18th century London.
“I was raised Christian,” Osnes said at the news conference. “My grandfather was actually a Lutheran pastor, so that’s been a part of my life and my family for a very long time. I’m not Mormon. I have a lot of friends who are Mormon, and a lot of the beliefs coincide, and a lot of them don’t. But that’s not what it’s about for me. I’ve been able to relate to it in my own personal way, and the fact that there is a spiritual element to the concert is undeniable. Hopefully everyone, Mormon or not, can take a beautiful message and an inspiring story from the concert and the songs, the story that’s been told.”
Guest artist Martin Jarvis, whose acting credits span stage, screen, television and radio, spoke of his membership in the Church of England, where he served as an acolyte in his teens, assisting the priest with ritual “which was very interesting and inspiring, although probably it gave me a sense of theatricality as well, because it wasn’t long after that that I wanted to become an actor.”
Jarvis said that people in England, whether Anglican, Catholic or some other faith, when they see the broadcast or DVD recordings of the concert will be inspired “to see what the choir is doing, what Mack Wilberg is doing, what we are all helping to contribute to, and how uplifting it is for all of us.”
Choir president Ron Jarrett said this year’s concert is very purposeful, leading in to the upcoming release of a landmark recording of “The Messiah” by the choir and orchestra, scheduled March 4 of next year in time for Easter.
“So the structure of this year’s program centered on that and gives a warm feeling for the people as they’re here,” Jarrett said.
Wilberg, the choir’s musical director, said the recording has been a two-year project. “And to be able to present this concert at this important Christmas season is just the culmination of all that work that has gone into the making of this recording, and we’re just so honored to have so many distinguished artists with us this month and this season to be able to do this.”
The artists include four New York Metropolitan Opera soloists: Erin Morley, soprano; Tamara Mumford, mezzo-soprano; Ben Bliss, tenor; and Tyler Simpson, bass-baritone.
For Morley, performing with the choir and orchestra is something of a family affair, as her mother plays first violin in the orchestra and her father is a former choir member.
“I’ve grown up listening to the choir for many, many years,” she said. “This is the coolest gig that I could have as a Mormon, and especially to sing in this space.”
Morley has sung in the Salt Lake Tabernacle before, she said, but never before in the 21,000-seat LDS Conference Center.
“The unity that you feel because it’s so open, and you can see everyone and everyone can see you. You feel so connected to humanity, you feel so connected to everyone.”
Bliss, the tenor, added, “In the opera world, there are no microphones, and the Met is close to being the biggest opera house in the world at just under 4,000 seats.” Gazing out from the Conference Center seats, he can thus see the equivalent of five Metropolitan Opera Houses, he said.
Wilberg said every guest artist that has performed in the Conference Center has been overwhelmed at first, but then has said that the hall feels much more intimate than it appears at first.
Bass-baritone Simpson said he has been struck since arriving in Salt Lake City at the generosity he has encountered. “Everyone I’ve met has wanted to give me something whether it was just a favor or the biggest gift basket I’ve ever seen in my life. And I think that’s something so unique and so neat about what the Mormon Church does with the concert, is to be able to give something like this to families that otherwise could never see or experience something like it at all.”
Mezzo-soprano Mumford also commented on the broadness of the audience. “It’s not just people that have come to this concert, but with the PBS broadcast and the DVD and CD release, there are a lot of people that will be able to enjoy this program and this message. I think it’s nice that it is a message that can speak to everyone, that can speak to the spiritual part that is within all of us.”
The final performance of the concert will be Saturday evening. All tickets to the three performances were distributed by lottery, but Jarrett said there is a good chance hopeful attendees can obtain standby seating. “We filled the house with standby (Thursday) night, so I’m sure they’ll get in."
Wilberg noted that viewers of Sunday morning’s “Music and the Spoken Word” broadcast “can get a little piece of it,” as the guest artists will be featured on the program. Also, he said, the concert is recorded for broadcast on PBS television stations and for release next year on DVD and CD, as is customarily done each year.