They could never perform Arvo Pärt's "Kanon Pokajanen".

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arvo_Pärt
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanon_Pokajanen
Here's the beginning - http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QkVRo3Wt9HM

Yes but they have been a truly world-class public relations tool- It just makes people feel good
If you ran a cult, you'd have a choir too LOL

How do you know they could not perform it?

To put it simply, it's too dynamic. Part one of the piece alone requires vocal chops across the entire ensemble that MoTab just doesn't have. There is no doubt that there is talent in MoTab - and I'm sure that a chamber ensemble with "the best of their best" could perform it quite well - but the entire choir? Not a chance.

For one, their balance is horrible. When you listen to MoTab, the biggest thing that sticks out at you is the way the female singers completely over-power the sound of the male singers. As others have mentioned, the male singers can never really make up their mind how they need to sing - sometimes they sound brilliant, and then all of the sudden it sounds like they are just shouting the lyrics.

This also isn't MoTab type literature. When was the last time you heard them sing ANYTHING that wasn't a hymn - or, at very least, written like a hymn (one style throughout the whole piece)?

Add in the fact that everything MoTab performs immediately becomes campy and sterile, and you have the perfect reason why there is no way they could EVER perform a piece like the one posted.

The problem I have with the MoTab is they sound muffled. It is a standard problem with large choirs. I much prefer chamber choirs with 15-30 members. Watching them perform African songs is pretty hilarious! Those a designed to have a lot of movement, sometimes even choreographed. The MoTab is so stiff,

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My issue with them is that they completely "Mormon" everything up. They can take a hymn that is meant to sound bold and triumphant and make it sound bland, cheesy, and (to use a word I hate) "reverent." I've noticed they tend to do this most with "traditional" Christian hymns like "A Mighty Fortress is Our God," most of the traditional Christmas hymns, and "The Maple Leaf Forever" (not a hymn, but a tune I hold dear).

Their sound never really changes, either. Their balance is awful - you always hear the female singers completely over-singing the male singers (especially the lower-register singers). If you can't master the basic principles of sound balance that your average mediocre high school choir can manage, you lose the right to call yourself "world class."

I agree. My TBM FIL adores them, but I've commented to him that every small college choir I've ever heard sounds FAR better. Unless they're singing quietly or singing a song I know very well, I can't understand a single word that MoTab sings.

Mormon Tab. Quality? Perhaps.
Boring? Yes.

So, at best, boring quality. There are lots of other quality choirs who aren't boring.

And since it's the holiday season, Andre Rieu, Radio City Music Hall, "Halleluja":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76RrdwElnTU

(This was posted here last year.)

OMG what's with the frantic tempo? A tiny bit slower, please.
Also, strange singing faces on some of the women.

Bodices too tight?

I don't like their sound at all. They don't blend well. The men are especially bad. They often sound like they are yelling and have no legato. The women can sometimes sound good but sometimes they get screechy and as other posters have said there are just to many of them. I think the direction they receive might be partially to blame. The combined BYU choirs are almost as large and I have enjoyed their performances at some of the general conferences much more than anything the MoTab has ever done. I think Ronald Staheli is an absolute genius and Rosalind Hall is also a very good musician. They get a very good sound out of their choirs and the music is expressive and moving.

+1,000. Nailed it.

One of the best choirs I was in was with a BYU choir. Plus it was fun. Really I do miss that-- only thing I do miss.

"They often sound like they are yelling and have no legato. The women can sometimes sound good but sometimes they get screechy and as other posters have said there are just to many of them. I think the direction they receive might be partially to blame."

I agree. Sometimes the men sound absolutely wonderful. And, then, for no reason, they begin to yell. Staccato. It's very loud and abrasive. I've noticed this occurs when the conductor is waving about wildly. The ladies can be mesmerizing until they drift into an other worldly screech that makes my spine ripple. Again, I can trace this back to the conductor's gestures.

But, between the yelling and the screeching are some of the most serene moments. I find myself alternatively lulled into a mesmerized spiritual state and hurled into a hellish chaos.

Haven't listened to them in a few years now. In my TBM days I didn't like that practically EVERY song they would sing was arranged by the same guy (Was it wilberg?) and the instrumental introductions always sounded the same. I mean, shake things up a little! Variety is the spice of life, and there's no reason not to have a little variety when it comes to interpreting an endless supply of music.

Agree. Even as a true believer, I thought the MoTab was good, maybe even very good, but great? - No.

There is something stiff and self-concious about their style of singing. They know they are responsible for being a "credit" to the TSCC, and so the come from a place of "how am I being percieved" rather than authenticity.

MoTab is an ear-stabbin' yawnfest.

It's like everything else associated with the morg - controlled and mind numbing boredom.

I asked my husband, who is a professional musician, and he shrugged and said, "They're ok." When pressed he said, "They're not my favorite aesthetic."

Whatever one's opinion, they travel the world (or some of it!) and have been filling houses for dozens of years.
It's just one type of choir.
It's not the choir so much as it's the music that reaches people.
As a musician, I like some of the things they do, and others? Not so much.

The recordings often don't include the entire choir, and the full choir doesn't typically travel either. I watched a special on a particular choir trip a few years back. They were performing outdoors. They had a fake choir that wasn't really singing outside, and a choir of 50 or so mic'd in a tent nearby. The 50 sounded far better than the full choir.

Motab is booooring. All their songs sound the same. I've heard small acapella groups that are 100 times better.

Tonite I play a gig at the local Tavern.

I will prolly be screeching and hollering my way thru the eve.



My guitar chops are average.


But, I get paid and can't figure out why...

I'd have to agree that they're good, not great, but very boring. They just project a blandness that is found thought TSCC. We all knows TSCC is about conformity so maybe that's what they're aiming for?

I also think that the MoTab choir is pretty boring, as it shows the conformity TSCC expects, even when it comes to the arts. There are better choirs out there that have more variety in their performances in my opinion. I still think that one of the best choral concerts I've attended was at a local Methodist church that was designed with acoustics in mind, and it was a performance of Handel's complete Messiah. There's more to the Messiah than the chorus the MoTab choir performs.

I caught their touring show this summer, and what I saw was world class. They had the entire program memorized; the arrangements they performed were world class; director, Mack Wilberg, is well known and respected outside of Mormon circles and his arrangements are published by a major publisher, and so on.

Some of it was a little campy, but the audience loved it - you can't say they don't know their audience. Or maybe it just wasn't a world class audience?!? All of the camp was very well executed.

MoTab is 300 voice choir which is commonly referred to as a symphonic sized choir. If they're not world class, what symphonic choir is? I don't if I can even name another symphonic sized choir.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/14/2013 11:11PM by mrtranquility.

does anyone know if the members pay dues or membership fees to belong? This is standard in many choirs.

topping.been working all day and still curious. 300 members x $50 a month adds up.

I know a couple of current members and several former members. I'm pretty confident that they don't pay dues...it's their calling for life...or 25 years. They spend their own money to get to practices, weekly Music & the Spoken Word performances, plus other special events...it's a significant committment. A good amount of money is spent on the choir, but I think it's covered by CD sales.

"Campy" is definitely the word. If you like that kind of thing, then you'll find they're one of the best out there.

If, on the other hand, you like the cleaner sound of a smaller ensemble, and you live in the SLC area, I'd suggest checking out the Utah Chamber Artists. I went to their Christmas concert a couple years ago and it was great. Even as a then-TBM, I liked it better than the MoTab concert I saw the following week. They are not affiliated with TSCC, but they do sing a mix of sacred and secular music, mostly of the baroque/classical varieties.

A motab member/neighbor sang at my dad's funeral. We all thought he'd be great, motab being the exclusive club it is and all. I'm glad my dad missed it. It was the most nasally, warbly thing... in tune of course, but just awful. Lesson learned. Motab=!Great singer.

Nice throwing in some coding language there :)

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/16/2013 02:50PM by Carrots Tomatoes and Radishes.

I consider the bench-mark of a truly class choir is the ability to perform some of Eric Whitacre's finer work ("Lux Arumque," "Sleep," "When David Heard," etc). I have no shame in admitting that the BYU choirs are truly top-notch performers - much more so than MoTab. I've seen the word "campy" used in this thread...that seems about right. If I to listen to a choir that can truly dazzle me with talent and challenging literature, I'll go with the BYU Choirs, Eric Whitacre Singers, Tollis Scholars, etc...if I want to listen to a choir that can cheese up already-cheesy hymns, I'll go with MoTab.

They remind me of General Conference -- very, very "appropriate." Boring. Boring. Boring.

Of course they're not. They're fine at belting out acceptable performances of established choral standards. If you want something else, they're not the group for you.

Culturally, they've been a hit with the general public.

Socially, they've been great PR for TSSC.

Musically, they're a cliche. You want Arvo Pärt, go elsewhere.

It's funny how every video in which the MoTab choir sings, you can almost guarantee there will be pictures of nature.

At least that is what the Choir's web site says:

http://www.mormontabernaclechoir.org/events/visitor-information?lang=eng

Well, my brother is in the tab. They are quite good, but will never be able to be great as they are all a bunch of old people. As my once prolific voice gets older, I notice that it is not even close to what it once was. A youthful voice is so much more powerful, has less vibrato, and more tonally correct.