A Merry Little Christmas | ||||
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Live album by Mormon Tabernacle Choir featuring Sutton Foster | ||||
Released | October 12, 2018 | |||
Recorded | December 14–16, 2017 | |||
Genre | Christmas | |||
Label | Mormon Tabernacle Choir | |||
Producer | Mack Wilberg, Ryan T. Murphy, Fred Vogler, Bruce Leek | |||
Mormon Tabernacle Choir chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Rolling Stone [1] | (favorable) |
A Merry Little Christmas was recorded during the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's 2017 Christmas shows in the LDS Conference Center, featuring vocalist Sutton Foster and actor Hugh Bonneville. [2] [3] An album and concert DVD was released on October 12, 2018. [4] The recorded concert premiered on PBS on December 17, 2018 and BYUtv on December 20, 2018. [5] [6]
No. | Title | Performer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Joy to the World" | Choir and Orchestra | 2:45 |
2. | "Just Once a Year" | Choir, Sutton Foster, Hugh Bonneville, and Orchestra | 4:34 |
3. | "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" | Choir, Sutton Foster, and Orchestra | 3:25 |
4. | "Christmas Time Is Here, from A Charlie Brown Christmas " | Sutton Foster and Orchestra | 2:37 |
5. | "Unfold, Ye Portals, from The Redemption " | Choir and Orchestra | 3:14 |
6. | "Sing!" | Choir and Orchestra | 5:23 |
7. | "Sunshine on My Shoulders" | Sutton Foster and Orchestra | 4:21 |
8. | "Pure Imagination, from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory " | Choir, Sutton Foster, and Orchestra | 4:09 |
9. | "Sleigh Ride" | Orchestra | 2:49 |
10. | "Snow!" | Choir, Sutton Foster, and Orchestra | 2:29 |
11. | "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" | Choir, Sutton Foster, and Orchestra | 1:46 |
12. | "Happy Holiday! / It's the Holiday Season" | Choir, Sutton Foster, and Orchestra | 2:25 |
13. | "I Saw Three Ships" | Richard Elliott, Matt Nickle, Danny Soulier, Jared Cragun | 2:59 |
14. | "It Is Well with My Soul" | Choir, Hugh Bonneville, and Orchestra | 16:23 |
15. | "Silent Night" | Choir and Orchestra | 4:04 |
16. | "Luke 2: The Christmas Story" | Choir, Hugh Bonneville, and Orchestra | 2:19 |
17. | "Angels from the Realms of Glory" | Choir, Sutton Foster, and Orchestra | 4:40 |
TheTabernacle Choir at Temple Square, formerly known as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, is an American choir affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It has performed in the Salt Lake Tabernacle for over 100 years. Its weekly devotional program, Music & the Spoken Word, is one of the longest-running radio programs in the world, having aired every week since July 15, 1929.
The King's Singers are a British a cappella vocal ensemble founded in 1968. They are named after King's College in Cambridge, England, where the group was formed by six choral scholars. In the United Kingdom, their popularity peaked in the 1970s and early 1980s. Thereafter they began to reach a wider American audience, appearing frequently on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in the United States. In 1987, they were prominently featured as guests on the Emmy Award-winning ABC television special Julie Andrews: The Sound of Christmas.
Sutton Lenore Foster is an American actress. She is known for her work on the Broadway stage, for which she has won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical twice, in 2002 for her role as Millie Dillmount in Thoroughly Modern Millie, and in 2011 for her performance as Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes, a role which she reprised in 2021 for a production in London and for which she received a nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical. Her other Broadway credits include Grease, Little Women, The Drowsy Chaperone, Young Frankenstein, Shrek the Musical, Violet, The Music Man, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and Once Upon a Mattress. On television, Foster played the lead role in the short-lived ABC Family comedy-drama Bunheads from 2012 to 2013. From 2015 to 2021, she starred in the TV Land comedy-drama Younger.
Hugh Richard Bonniwell Williams, known professionally as Hugh Bonneville, is an English actor. He is best known for portraying Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham, in the ITV historical drama series Downton Abbey from 2010 to 2015. His performance on the show earned him a nomination at the Golden Globes and two consecutive Primetime Emmy Award nominations, as well as three Screen Actors Guild Awards. He reprised his role in the feature films Downton Abbey (2019) and Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022). He also appeared in the films Notting Hill (1999), Iris (2001), The Monuments Men (2014), and the Paddington films (2014–present).
Merrill Boyd Jenson is an American composer and arranger who has composed film scores for over thirty films including Emma Smith: My Story, Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration, The Testaments of One Fold and One Shepherd, Legacy, Harry's War, and Windwalker. Many of the films Jenson composed music for were directed by Academy Award-winning director Kieth Merrill. Jenson has also composed several concert productions including a symphony that premiered at Carnegie Hall. Additionally, he has composed music for many television commercials including the acclaimed Homefront ads, music for three outdoor pageants, and several albums. Jenson lives in Provo, Utah with his wife Betsy Lee Jenson.
Laura Ann Osnes is an American actress and singer known for her work on the Broadway stage. She has played starring roles in Grease as Sandy, South Pacific as Nellie Forbush, Anything Goes as Hope Harcourt, and Bonnie and Clyde as Bonnie Parker, for which she received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. She also starred in the title role of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella on Broadway, for which she received a Drama Desk Award and her second Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical.
Alex Boyé is a British-American singer, dancer, and actor. He was named the "2017 Rising Artist of the Year" in a contest sponsored by Pepsi and Hard Rock Cafe.
The Andrea Bocelli & David Foster Christmas Special, is the PBS Great Performances Christmas special of Andrea Bocelli's first ever Holiday album, My Christmas, produced by multiple Grammy Award winner David Foster. Released on December 8, 2009, it is Bocelli's eighth DVD release.
Glad Christmas Tidings was recorded during the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's 2010 Christmas shows in the LDS Conference Center with special guests David Archuleta and Michael York. The album was released on September 6, 2011 along with a concert DVD. The recorded concert was broadcast on PBS during December 2011 to more than 4 million Americans and is the No. 1-rated entertainment program on PBS during the holidays each year, according to PBS CEO Paula Kerger. As of November 2011, the album had sold in excess of 28,000 copies.
Ring Christmas Bells was recorded during the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's 2008 Christmas shows in the LDS Conference Center with special guests Brian Stokes Mitchell and Edward Herrmann. The album was released on August 31, 2009 along with a concert DVD. A recording of the concert aired on PBS in December 2009.
Rejoice and Be Merry!: Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square featuring The King's Singers was recorded during the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's 2007 Christmas shows in the LDS Conference Center with special guests The King's Singers. The album was released on September 30, 2008 and a concert DVD was released on October 21, 2008.
Spirit of the Season was recorded during the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's 2006 Christmas concert "The Spirit of the Season," with special guest Sissel, joined by the Mormon Tabernacle orchestra and bells, conducted by Music Director Craig Jessop. The album was released in 2007 along with a concert DVD and reached No. 1 on the Billboard Classical chart within five weeks of its release and remained there for nine weeks. The album was also nominated for two Grammy Awards, Best Classical Crossover Album and Best Engineered Album - Classical. The recorded concert was also broadcast on PBS stations in December 2007 to more than 4 million Americans.
Once Upon a Christmas was recorded during the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's 2011 Christmas shows in the LDS Conference Center with special guests Jane Seymour and Nathan Gunn. The album was released on September 4, 2012 along with a concert DVD. A book titled Good King Wenceslas illustrated by Omar Rayyan and accompanying DVD featuring Jane Seymour introducing and narrating the story also released in conjunction with the album release. The recorded concert was broadcast on PBS during December 2012 to more than 4 million Americans.
Home for the Holidays was recorded during the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's 2012 Christmas shows in the LDS Conference Center, with special guests English tenor Alfie Boe, former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw, and Retired Col. Gail Halvorsen aka "Candy Bomber". An album and concert DVD were released on October 15, 2013 along with a companion book titled Christmas from Heaven: The Story of the Berlin Candy Bomber. The recorded concert will be broadcast on PBS premiering December 10, 2013. The Salt Lake Tribune said concerning this performance that "this year's edition may have topped them all."
Let The Season In was recorded during the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's 2013 Christmas shows in the LDS Conference Center, with special guests operatic soprano Deborah Voigt and actor John Rhys-Davies. An album and concert DVD were released on October 14, 2014, along with a companion book titled God Bless Us, Every One!: The Story Behind A Christmas Carol. The recorded concert will be broadcast on PBS premiering December 19, 2014.
I Wish You a Merry Christmas is a long-playing vinyl album of Christmas themed songs recorded by Bing Crosby for his own company, Project Records, and issued by Warner Bros. (W-1484) in 1962.
Keep Christmas with You is an album recorded during the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's 2014 Christmas shows in the LDS Conference Center, with special guests actor Santino Fontana and The Muppets from Sesame Street. The album and concert DVD were released on October 16, 2015. The recorded concert premiered on PBS on December 21, 2015.
Hallelujah! was recorded during the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's 2015 Christmas shows in the LDS Conference Center, with special guests Broadway star Laura Osnes, actor Martin Jarvis, and guest soloists from the Metropolitan Opera. An album and concert DVD was released on October 7, 2016. The album will be broadcast on WMHT-FM on December 11, 2016. The recorded concert premiered on PBS on December 19, 2016.
O Come Little Children was recorded during the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's 2016 Christmas shows in the LDS Conference Center, featuring Rolando Villazón. An album and concert DVD was released on October 7, 2017. The recorded concert premiered on PBS on December 15, 2017.
Angels Among Us was recorded during The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square's 2018 Christmas shows in the LDS Conference Center, featuring vocalist Kristin Chenoweth. An album and concert DVD was released on October 12, 2019. The recorded concert was broadcast on PBS and KUED on December 16, 2019 and BYUtv beginning on December 19, 2019.