©2006 by Intellectual Reserve. All
rights reserved.
Once again the Christmas lights
shine brightly on Salt Lake City’s Temple Square. Families flock downtown to stroll
about and delight in the beautiful scene. In the Conference Center, workers are busily constructing a new set for the Mormon Tabernacle
Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square’s Christmas concerts.
Many people look forward to attending
these concerts as part of their annual Christmas tradition.
But in spite of the 21,000-seat capacity of the Conference
Center, tickets are still in high
demand and it is not possible to accommodate everyone who
wants to come.
Fortunately, there is a second
option. In recent years the concerts have been videotaped
and produced for later nationwide broadcast on public television.
(They are also available for purchase on DVD.) This year’s
TV special, “Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and
Orchestra at Temple Square featuring Renée Fleming and Claire
Bloom,” is scheduled to air nationwide on PBS television on
December 20 at 8:00 pm, and December 24 at 9:00 pm (both times
are Eastern; check local listings for the time in your area).
Guests Claire Bloom and Renée Fleming are presented
mementos of their appearance by President Gordon B. Hinckley.
For the Choir and Orchestra to
be featured at prime time on Christmas Eve is remarkable,
and it speaks to the superb quality of the program as well
as the exciting guest stars that join us. PBS is also showing
an encore performance of the 2003 Christmas concert with Frederica
von Stade and Bryn Terfel, which will air on Friday, December 22 (again, check
local listings for exact time).
For those of us who sing in the
Choir, other the Church’s General Conferences there is no
more exciting time to sing on Temple Square. Watching the DVD of last year’s
concert made me anticipate this year’s even more. It also
made me want to share a little bit of the “behind the scenes”
from last year in hopes of encouraging more people to see
it. Translated to “television-speak,” let’s just say that
this is the “must see” event of the Christmas season!
Guest Renée Fleming on the set of the 2005 Christmas
program.
Produced with Care
The programs are produced in
partnership with the University of Utah’s public television station, KUED. Special effort is made to capture
all of the excitement and magic of Christmas in the Conference
Center. Eleven to twelve cameras
— including two “jib cameras” that are mounted on large booms
— and in excess of 100 microphones (including many individual
mics for instruments in the orchestra)
are employed.
All four concerts (including
the Sunday morning performance of Music and the Spoken
Word and following mini-concert) are taped. In addition,
there is a Saturday afternoon taping session minus audience.
This allows for shots that would be a distraction to the live
performances as well as retakes of the most complex and critical
segments. Last year all of this resulted in 55-60 hours of
tape, which were edited down to a 78-minute program. The editing
process took three months, so you can imagine the special
care that has gone into its production.
Guest Star Renée Fleming
Once again, 2005’s guest stars
were world class. Renée Fleming is a two-time
Grammy award winner whose vocal artistry is sought all over
the world on stages and in recordings. Choir Director Craig
Jessop put it this way: “Truly the reigning diva
on the planet right now in the world of sopranos is Renée
Fleming. And she’s accustomed to singing with the Berlin
Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic, the New York Philharmonic,
the Boston Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and yes,
now, the Orchestra at Temple Square!”
Renée Fleming
Speaking about her reaction when
she was first asked to be our guest, Ms. Fleming said, “I
went very quickly back to my memories of seeing the Choir
on television as a child. And the size of the Choir
and the homogenous sound in unison of so many voices made
an incredible impression upon me when I was very young. It
is arguably one of the finest choirs in the world, with a
long tradition of producing annually wonderful shows with
enormous quality. So I was thrilled to be asked to join and
to come here and to experience it firsthand for myself.”
The Choir and Orchestra relished
the opportunity to work so closely with a singer the caliber
of Miss Fleming. We were enchanted by the rich, smooth, and
refined qualities of her voice. But what most impressed us
was the way she made even the most difficult vocal passages
seem effortless.
Imagine, then, our delight when
she said the following about us: “The quality of the music
making is so high. I almost fell down the first time I sang
‘Lo, How a Rose ‘Ere Blooming’ when I heard [that] this choir
of 360 people can sing perfectly in tune and hold pitch for
a very long strophic song.
Renée Fleming with the Choir’s basses.
“I have to tell you, that is
so difficult. I mean, small groups of singers, solo
singers, can’t do that a cappella. That really impressed
me. The quality of the orchestra is also terrific and that
everybody volunteers is obviously unique. Nothing else exists
like this in the world!”
To perform with such a singer
in the prime of her career, and then have her say, “How do
you do it?” in reference to us was an amazing
tribute. And it confirmed that the hard work of Craig Jessop
and Mack Wilberg in helping the Choir reach for ever higher
standards is paying off. Staying on pitch is very difficult
indeed, and we are not always so successful. But it is heartening
to know that we were able to impress such a formidable judge
as Renée Fleming.
Renée Fleming with Choir directors Mack Wilberg and Craig Jessop
Claire Bloom
English actress Claire Bloom
made her first London
stage appearance in 1947 at the age of sixteen. Her first
film role was in 1948, and she was chosen by Charlie Chaplin
in 1952 to appear in his film “Limelight.” This catapulted
her to stardom and it remains one of her most memorable roles.
It is hard to imagine that there
could have been a better complement to Renée Fleming’s divine
singing than Claire Bloom’s heavenly speaking. As Craig
pointed out, listening to her exquisite, finely-cultured English
accent would be pleasure enough were she simply to read pages
from the phone book. But to focus her narrative artistry upon
the story of the Nativity was a perfect match. Her moving
and reverential rendition was certainly one of the highlights
of the evening.
Claire Bloom
In company with others from the
Choir I had an opportunity to talk with Claire. She was frank
in admitting that despite her Jewish heritage, she is not
a believer. “I'm not a religious person,” she said, “so I
find it astonishing that everyone [here] has such commitment
to [their] belief. It seems to give people great happiness
and great contentment. There couldn't be anything wrong with
it, that's for sure. I look at your lovely faces and it hasn't
done you any harm and probably a lot of good. And then there
is such a sense of community or spirit that must be extraordinary.
I never had it because I've moved from place to place including
when I was a child.” But she did add that she finds the story
of the Savior’s birth to be very beautiful.
The author meets with Claire Bloom.
Reflecting upon Claire’s words,
one finds it noteworthy that — whatever their personal level
of belief — our Christmas guests seem to always have something
to say about the special spirit they feel when they are with
us. She commented that she has never met with such warmth
and kindness and generosity.
Our “Anonymous” Guests
But our celebrity guests are
only a small sampling of those whose lives are brightened
by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square. Let me close by relating a personal experience.
Over the past couple of years
I have become acquainted with a Choir fan from Chile named Juan Gajardo.
I met Juan via the Internet. He is an architect by profession.
He is not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, but became acquainted with the Choir when he heard
one of our recordings as a young man. He has loved our music
ever since and has eagerly purchased each new album and DVD
as soon as it became available.
In October of 2005, Juan contacted
me to say that he was making plans to come with his mother
to Salt Lake City for the Christmas concert and to
ask about how to obtain tickets. I helped him get tickets
for both the Thursday preview and Friday evening’s performance.
After their arrival, I met them for dinner before the Friday
concert. They had already attended the preview and were thrilled
about it.
The author meets with Juan Gajardo and his mother.
Communication was difficult.
I do not speak Spanish and Juan’s English is limited, but
it was such a delight for me to spend time with these wonderful
people and realize that they had flown all the way from Chile just to hear us sing.
Before our meal, Juan offered
a blessing upon the food; he gave a beautiful prayer in which
he asked for the Lord’s blessings upon me. During that prayer
that I felt a special bond with Juan and his mother and it
is my fondest memory from the Christmas concerts of 2005.
I think this is because — while
the stellar guests and production values of the concerts are
impressive — the most essential ingredient remains the sharing
of our testimonies that the Savior of mankind is indeed a
reality today as He has been throughout history. It is not
just our love for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, but our belief
in Jesus Christ, that made us feel close that day.
I hope that all who read this
article will watch the PBS broadcast and encourage family
and friends to do so as well. Because whether it be world-class
opera star Renée Fleming, acclaimed actress Claire Bloom,
or architect Juan Gajardo from Chile,
that which brings the most joy to members of the Mormon Tabernacle
Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square is to know that — in
touching hearts with our singing and playing — we are bringing
them closer to our Heavenly Father.
And the more hearts that are
given that opportunity, the better!
