Videos

July 18, 2021 - #4792 Music & the Spoken Word

The Music & the Spoken Word broadcast airs live via TV, radio, and internet stream on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. mountain time. For information on other airtimes, visit “Airing Schedules” at musicandthespokenword.org. 

This encore performance of Music & the Spoken Word has been specially selected for airing while the Choir and Orchestra are practicing social distancing. It contains a new Spoken Word written and delivered by Lloyd Newell.

Music

Conductor: Mack Wilberg
Organist: Brian Mathias
Announcer: Lloyd Newell
With Bells at Temple Square, Leanna Wilmore conducting

“High on the Mountain Top”1,5
Music: Ebenezer Beesley
Lyrics: Joel H. Johnson
Arrangement: Mack Wilberg

“He Shall Feed His Flock”
Music: John Ness Beck
Lyrics: Scripture

“For the Beauty of the Earth”2
Music: John Rutter
Lyrics: Folliott S. Pierpoint

“The King of Love My Shepherd Is” (organ solo)
Music: Irish melody
Arrangement: Brian Mathias

“Allegro” from Concerto in A minor
Music: Antonio Vivaldi/Johan Sebastian Bach
Arrangement: Fred Gramman
Featuring Bells at Temple Square

“Climb Ev’ry Mountain”3,5 from The Sound of Music
Music: Richard Rodgers
Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II
Arrangement: Arthur Harris

“Fill the World with Love”4 from Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Music and Lyrics: Leslie Bricusse
Arrangement: Mack Wilberg

  1. On the CDs Called to Serve and Then Sings My Soul.
  2. On the CD Consider the Lilies and in the CD Set Encore Collection.
  3. On the CD America's Choir.
  4. On the CD Showtime!
  5. In the CD Set Anniversary Collection.

The Spoken Word

Persevere with Hope

If you’ve ever been to a baseball game, you know that something special happens in the middle of the seventh inning. It’s called the seventh-inning stretch. Reportedly, this tradition began way back in 1910, and baseball loves its traditions. So to this day, right before the home team’s half of the inning, all the fans stand up for a minute or two, often singing a song together. After all, they’ve been sitting in those seats for quite a while now, and it’s nice to get a good stretch in before the last two innings of the game.

Recently, the president of a large university pointed to the tradition of the seventh-inning stretch to make a point about our current global pandemic. While we all feel hopeful about the pandemic’s end, he told students, “a lot can happen in the last two innings of a baseball game.” A seventh-inning stretch can be refreshing, he said, but it should “also remind us of the need to continue on—the need to persevere.”1

To borrow another phrase made famous by baseball, it’s not over til it’s over. So when we take time to pause and reflect, to stand and stretch, we also prepare for what’s ahead. This allows us to embrace the future with confidence and hope. 

We don’t know what the future will bring. But we do know this: mixed in with periods of relative peace and calm, there will be inevitable storms and troubles. Those seem to be the basic ingredients of life. The question is not whether your life will be happy or sad, sweet or bitter. Every life has some of both: happy and sad, sweet and bitter—sometimes in the same day or even the same instant. 

So what does a seventh-inning stretch provide? Perspective. By standing up for a moment, you can see a little better. You can reflect on where you’ve been and look ahead at what’s still to come. You may even see some encouraging possibilities on the horizon. 

The team that’s ahead in the seventh inning knows that there’s still some work to do if they want to win. And the team that’s behind knows there’s always a chance until the final out is called. In both situations, the best thing any of us can do is persevere with hope.

  1. Kevin J Worthen, “Persevere in Unity” (Brigham Young University devotional, Jan. 12, 2021), 2, speeches.byu.edu.