4 December 2015
The Calvary Baptist Choir appeared at our Canyon View Stake Center at 7:00p for a Christmas Concert.
I learned so much from them about how an amateur choir can operate spectacularly.
The director played the piano. The choir watched him for cues and sang mostly in unison. Those who could sing a part added them where appropriate. The choir had been taught by rote. There were no sheet music parts anywhere, even for the pianist. The continued format was soloist with punctuating, and background choir and choir in unison. Occasionally, it would involve the congregation. I am very impressed with how effective that is. I was amazed at the response of the Spirit. There was a wonderful outpouring of love and gratitude. That tells me that the Lord approved.
The experience tonight with the
Calvary Baptist Choir had me thinking all evening about how we might use this format all over the world for Ward Choirs—especially where trained singers are not available. Everyone singing the melody in unison by rote is plenty good enough. What matters is the devoted condition of the singers’ hearts.
(See D&C 25:12).
5 December 2015
I have been thinking most of the night about the Calvary Baptist Choir’s concert.
Latter-day Saints are afraid to rely on their hearts. The Baptists showed us how to do it last night.
I wonder if it is possible to work on this for the blessing of the Saints? It would require a decent pianist and singers who are willing to memorize a unison line, then to abandon all self-consciousness and sing from the heart.
We could publish a variety of simple pieces (not necessarily familiar hymns) in a single book which are taught to the choir by rote and performed from memory.
This might be the solution for devotional singing in South America, Africa, etc. where music is prized so deeply, but where music literacy is less abundant.
8 December 2015
We are planning to discontinue the ChoralClub after the end of this month. Club membership has dwindled to below the number required for bulk mailing by the U.S. Postal service. We are also finding that only very few members actually order from the monthly packet.
A choral piece for the final packet, “He Loves Us That Much” by Michael F. Moody and Kristen Allred was delivered from the printer yesterday. I found two pieces in our warehouse which have never been released. Both are already recorded: #01370 “The Lord Inspires His Prophets” by A. Laurence Lyon from the Oratorio Visions of Light and Truth, and #01590 I Am Truly Blessed by Rob Millett. This will make up our final ChoralClub release.
The club has been in existence for more than thirty years. Growth in technology has made it more effective now to communicate with our market electronically. We can deliver full color literature around the world in seconds with links to recordings—even videos.
It is a new day!
