Glad Christmas Tidings

Christmas may come but once a year on the calendar but that has not kept audiences from across the world enjoying the Mormon Tabernacle Choir holiday concerts year round. The 2010 special, “Glad Christmas Tidings,” is no exception. Just released, the DVD, Blu-Ray and CD promise listeners and viewers all the joy, tradition, stirring beginnings and glorious tributes to the birth of the Savior. In these live recordings from the concert series, Archuleta, pop music sensation and platinum recording artist, brings his youthful charm and incredible voice to performances which – as always – were sold out. "It's mind-boggling to stand in front of the Choir, and in front of you — and there are a lot of you," he told the audience last December. With the recent releases, the “audience” numbers will become even more staggering. Archuleta is featured in the traditional carols "Joy to the World," "Gesú bambino" and “Silent Night.” The sweet and gentle "Cat and Mouse Carol," which talks of how "love came down to earth" was an audience favorite and will no doubt become one of the favorites from the recordings. The Choir performs “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks,” “Away in a Manger,” majestic choruses by Mozart and Vaughan Williams, and closes with its magnificent “Angels, from the Realms of Glory.” Michael York, famed actor, narrates an account of John Parry, a Welshman, who as both a mason and a musician played an important role in the beginnings of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Richard Elliott performs his own arrangement entitled "A Holiday Hoedown for Organ (“Deck Them Halls”)" which spotlights his amazing hand and footwork.