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A Merry Little Christmas (2018)

In December 2017, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Orchestra at Temple Square, and Bells on Temple Square joined with Broadway star Sutton Foster and world-renowned English actor Hugh Bonneville to celebrate both the joyful and peaceable moments of Christmas. With singers, instrumentalists, and dancers drawn from the local community, and festive flourishes from the Gabriel Trumpet Ensemble throughout the program, these concerts were a visual and musical spectacle, thrilling the combined capacity audience of over 60,000 in the Conference Center at Temple Square.

  • Language English
  • Media Types CD, DVD, MP3

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  1. TracksTrack TitleTrack Time
  2. 1 Joy To The World 2:45
    Music By
    Lowell Mason
    Lyrics By
    Isaac Watts
    Arrangement By
    Mack Wilberg
  3. 2 Just Once A Year 4:34
    Music By
    Mack Wilberg
    Lyrics By
    David Warner
    Arrangement By
    Monte Belknap
  4. 3 It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year 3:25
    Music By
    Eddie Pola, George Wyle
    Lyrics By
    Eddie Pola, George Wyle
    Arrangement By
    Sam Cardon
  5. 4 Christmas Time Is Here, From 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' 2:37
    Music By
    Vince Guaraldi
    Lyrics By
    Lee Mendelson
    Arrangement By
    Sam Cardon
  6. 5 Unfold, Ye Portals, From 'The Redemption' 3:14
    Music By
    Charles Gounod
    Lyrics By
    English Trans. Rev. John Troutbeck
  7. 6 Sing! 5:23
    Music By
    Charles-Marie Widor
    Lyrics By
    David Willcocks, Based on Toccata From Organ Symphony No. 5
    Arrangement By
    David Willcocks, Based on Toccata From Organ Symphony No. 5
  8. 7 Sunshine On My Shoulders 4:21
    Music By
    John Denver, Richard Kniss, Michael Taylor
    Lyrics By
    John Denver, Richard Kniss, Michael Taylor
    Arrangement By
    Michael Rafter
  9. 8 Pure Imagination, From Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory 4:09
    Music By
    Leslie Bricusse, Anthony Newley
    Lyrics By
    Leslie Bricusse, Anthony Newley
    Arrangement By
    Michael Davis
  10. 9 Sleigh Ride 2:49
    Music By
    Leroy Anderson
  11. 10 Snow! 2:29
    Music By
    Irving Berlin
    Lyrics By
    Irving Berlin
  12. 11 Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas 1:46
    Music By
    Hugh Martin
    Lyrics By
    Ralph Blane
  13. 12 Happy Holiday! / It's The Holiday Season 2:25
    Music By
    Irving Berlin, Kay Thompson
    Lyrics By
    Irving Berlin, Kay Thompson
  14. 13 I Saw Three Ships 2:59
    Music By
    English Carol
    Arrangement By
    Richard Elliott, Matt Nickle
  15. 14 It Is Well With My Soul 16:23
    Music By
    Mack Wilberg
    Lyrics By
    David Warner
  16. 15 Silent Night 4:04
    Music By
    Franz Grüber
    Lyrics By
    Joseph Mohr, Trans. John F. Young
    Arrangement By
    Mack Wilberg
  17. 16 Luke 2: The Christmas Story 2:19
    Music By
    Mack Wilberg
  18. 17 Angels From The Realms Of Glory 4:40
    Music By
    French Carol
    Lyrics By
    James Montgomery
    Arrangement By
    Mack Wilberg

Description

In December 2017, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Orchestra at Temple Square, and Bells on Temple Square joined with Broadway star Sutton Foster and world-renowned English actor Hugh Bonneville to celebrate both the joyful and peaceable moments of Christmas. With singers, instrumentalists, and dancers drawn from the local community, and festive flourishes from the Gabriel Trumpet Ensemble throughout the program, these concerts were a visual and musical spectacle, thrilling the combined capacity audience of over 60,000 in the Conference Center at Temple Square.

This live recording from the concert opens at full speed, the Choir, Orchestra, and herald trumpets joining in a spectacular arrangement of “Joy to the World,” followed up with grand-scaled presentations of music by Gounod and Widor that capture the exuberant cheer of Christmas. Richard Elliott’s trademark organ solo, augmented with three percussionists from the Orchestra at Temple Square, brings down the house with a dynamic, dramatic interpretation of “I Saw Three Ships.”

And there are also the moments of serene reflection and heartfelt hope. Sutton Foster’s poignant delivery of “Sunshine on My Shoulders,” dedicated to her late mother, adds a Christmas twist to this popular classic, and the tender nostalgia of her “Christmas Time Is Here” evokes memories of simpler traditions from past years. At the concert’s heart is Hugh Bonneville’s narration of the story of the Spafford family from Chicago, who turned devastating grief at Christmastime into a family tradition of devotion, faith, and quiet service to humanity. Mack Wilberg’s arrangement of “Silent Night”—an especially tranquil and touching interlude of quiet wonder—introduces the traditional biblical account of the Nativity.

With other beloved songs, choruses, and orchestral works, and the Choir’s traditional finale, “Angels from the Realms of Glory,” this inspiring concert reminds us that Christmas is a time to both celebrate and ponder, to rejoice and be still, as we consider the ultimate gift of hope and redemption that the Christmas season represents.