Let the Season In, the
Mormon Tabernacle Choir's festive 2014 release, offers familiar Christmas music in lush arrangements that fans of the choir and casual classical listeners will enjoy. Featuring operatic soprano
Deborah Voigt in several of the carols, and actor John Rhys-Davies as the narrator of the nativity story from the Gospel of Luke, the concert recording has the ebullience and buoyant spirits associated with the season, and the lively audience response shows that the performance was a crowd-pleaser. The 360-voice choir and large orchestra was conducted by
Mack Wilberg and Ryan Murphy, whose arrangements give the standards some fresh ideas. Also included with the traditional holiday fare are performances of
Bach's Magnificat,
Rimsky-Korsakov's Polonaise from Christmas Eve, and Procession of the Nobles from Mlada, as well as
Tchaikovsky's Dance of the Tumblers from The Snow Maiden, so there is a mix of classical and popular music that has considerable appeal. Recorded in Temple Square and produced by the
Mormon Tabernacle Choir's own label, the reproduction is adequate for a live recording, though the sound is conventional stereo with fairly shallow dimensions for such a large group. ~ Blair Sanderson