So my nevermo sister enjoyed the (not)MoTab concert in our town.

I posted a while back that my nevermo sister had been invited as a special guest to a MoTab concert. The invite came from community work she does where the committee head is a (not)Mormon.

DS recently went to the event (despite my upturned nose) and returned and reported that she quite enjoyed it. She said the harmonies were beautiful and music choices enjoyable. Fair enough. Then she said it was a bit homogeneous.

I'm no musical genius but I get what she meant. All one note. Despite a few OK pieces, boring as hell to a lot of folks. A breakout moment now and then would be a welcome addition to their presentation.

It was guilt-inducing as a (so-called) convert for the 'this is boring' thought to creep into my head during SM and other (not)mo gatherings. Same old, same old. Classes were worse. New member class had six lessons, then they started over and did the very same ones, while acting like that wasn't happening. Head-shaking to recall that class attendees went along with it. I was the only murmurer. Who just rinses and repeats? It was bizarre.

I saw the (not)MoTab on TV one Christmas. Yup. Just like their meetings, their magazines, the pablum doctrine they serve, even their Christmas concerts. I used to feel sad for not(Mormons) that they only sang from their (not)Mormon hymnbooks, missing out on a world of great music. Later I came to realize what a perfect metaphor it is for the entire (not)Mormon entity. Homogenized milk. While the world serves up some pretty fine fruit of the vine as well as knowing well the magic of barley. You know, changing it up a little.

DS told me she was surprised to be approached by a 70 who greeted her and chatted a little. I was surprised she knew the (not)Mo lingo. Turns out he actually introduced himself to her as the area 70. I barely know what that is and I was the dupe who presented to the font in my floaty white dress (determined to avoid used pantsuits at any cost) expecting something wonderful to happen.

And we know how that turned out.

I don't think DS is going to be buying a white dress any time soon.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 10/18/2018 04:34PM by Nightingale.

I don't mind listening to the MoTab choir on occasion. They do sound monotone, the longer I've been out of TSCC. They sound about as lively as the codgers delivering the conference talks.

Where's the joy in their music? You can pick the most beautiful song in the world, but without genuine feeling and emotive, you can tell something is amiss.

I couldn't agree more. I never liked them because it was simply a wall of musical tones. It had no life. And their costuming and everything else screamed "I've lost the will to live"

I always enjoy their polka albums.

I always thought "Stairway to Heaven" would have been a food fit for them...

In SLC, the best choral ensemble is the Cathedral of the Madeleine Choir. They’re trained in very exacting European choral traditions. Whether it be a Bach Cantata, or a modern choral piece, this ensemble is world-class. They’ve even preformed for the Pope.

The only issue they face is that after the cathedral building restoration, original horsehair emmeshed in the ceiling plaster was removed. This has led to an undesired reverberation not present in the original structure. The older artisans knew what they were doing.

Perhaps, the finest ecclesiastical performance space in SLC is the Temple Square Assembly Hall. It has a warm—but not too bright—acoustic. And, the organ fits the building perfectly, both visually and acoustically. The Choister’s Boner.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/19/2018 07:27PM by BYU Boner.

Reverberation is very much desired for organ and choral music, and many American halls and churches are severely lacking, so I wouldn't use those as a benchmark; look to Europe instead--those craftsmen knew what they were doing. I never heard the Madeleine before its renovation, but I can imagine it sounded like a typical American room.* I have played and sung there several times in the last 15 years, and the acoustic is ideal for organ and choral music--hard, reflective surfaces with enough decorative elements to diffuse the waves and prevent slap echoes, long reverberation time, and a very even response.

Having strong side and rear reflections is important for human ears to feel enveloped by a room, as they favor 25-30 millisecond delayed reflections. To use an extreme example, the Conference Center is almost completely damped--minimal reflective surfaces and absorptive materials are used throughout. Consequently, everything has to be amplified, not because a choir that size can't fill a space of that volume if the room has adequate reflections, but with no reverberation everything is sucked up, and the room feels quite cold. Contrast that with a room like the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, considered one of the gold standards of concert halls. The walls there are so reflective that if you turn your head just right, it can sound like the orchestra is behind you.

An easy way to "test" a room is to cup your hands over your ears, opened toward whatever surface you're trying to measure. That will filter out the source waves and help isolate the reflected waves, if any. (Bruce Fowkes, ex-Mo organ builder in Tennessee, taught me that trick).

I played the organ reduction of Walton's Te Deum with the Pacific Lutheran University Choir of the West at the Madeleine some years ago--it still sticks in my mind as the most cohesive performance I've ever been involved in, where ensemble, instrument, and room came together to produce something truly beautiful--and the only performance I have ever been involved in that I think was truly worthy of a standing ovation.

*"Like screaming into a pillow," is how the owner of Gothic Records put it once, after an organ recital at Asbury United Methodist Church in Rochester--another of these horsehair-ceiling churches that should be a much better acoustic than it is given the size and shape of the room.

Thanks for your post! I intend to be in the Concertgebow soon (bucket list). The Cathedral is too reverb—the directors are aware of it. The organ sounds magnificent! This cathedral is much smaller than what one would expect for a bishop’s seat. Think of it as a large church with a fabulous choir.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/21/2018 06:42PM by BYU Boner.

During my misspent youth, come the Christmas season, I would get out the family 4-record Columbia Records edition of The Messiah and play the whole thing, four records, turn them over, four more platters.

I thought it was super-duper, all those voices and the magnificent Philadelphia Symphony orchestra, probably 100+ strong!

A few years ago I discovered what is now my favorite version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0ZfXs_3EcE

The choir consists of 35 males, obviously from pre-pubescent to adult, to cover the four parts. That's less than 1/10th the number in the MoTab. And then the orchestra, playing period instruments, has fewer members than the accompanying choir.

Quality AND intimacy!!! (Also the secret to good dating!)

So count me in on the push to heap disdain on the 360 member-strong MoTab choir.

Well, King's College is cheating!

I have four or five versions of the Messiah. This is the one I've liked recently; it feels almost like a chamber production and has a more intimate feel than most.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-QF2DYVOjI

2 (not) MoTab songs I like: Deep River, Columbia Gem of the Ocean.

I might listen to their rendition of Messiah sometime if it's affordable on CD.

The one song from the Tab Choir Formerly Known as Mormon that I ever thought they did well (and honestly still do) is The Battle Hymn of the Republic.

And, to give credit where it's due, the BYU Combined Choirs and Orchestra perform a superb rendition of "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing." (can be found on YouTube)

The problem with MoTab is that the choir is too big. In a good choir, you hear different voices together. In MoTab you just hear one massive hum. No voice ever stands out.

It's like a philharmonic orchestra where everyone plays the same melody on the same instrument.

Tempos too slow (because sluggishness is next to godliness), little dynamic range, arrangements all the same.

The MoTab Choir, as subtle and nuanced as the Red Army Choir.

Actually, the Red Army Choir is quite good. Sorry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jrg0X9H6FGU

somehow, I just can't see the MoTab (excuse me, Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square ... forgive me Russ) pulling this off.

Nuance is a tool of the devil.