Mormon music

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Music has had a long history in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, from the days in Kirtland, Nauvoo, and the settlement of the West, to the present day. In the early days of the Church, stripped-down Latter-Day Saint folk music, which could be sung without accompaniment due to the lack of instruments in Utah, was popular. In the 19th century, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir was created and began touring, while musicians began writing devotional and praise music with a Latter-Day Saint influence, paralleling the success of Christian Contemporary Music. Several organizations have existed and do exist to promote these artists, such as Deseret Book and the now-defunct Faith-centered Music Association. Starting in the late 20th century and to the present day, Latter-Day Saints have been increasingly involved in modern popular music in America and elsewhere in the World.

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Mormon folk music

Mormon folk music constituted some of the earliest European-American music in the boundaries of modern Utah. These songs, simple and easy to remember, were usually sung without accompaniment because of the scarcity of musical instruments in territorial Utah. Although they often employed the same tunes as folk music elsewhere, Mormon folk music is distinctively Utahn. The songs often include unique pioneer-era Latter-Day Saint culture references to crossing the plains, LDS ecclesiastical leaders, and LDS religious convictions. Hymns and other folk music were used to lift the spirits of all the saints along their treacherous journey known as the Mormon Trail. They are still used as praises or prayers to their Heavenly Father as well as a way to welcome comfort, peace and guidance from the Holy Ghost whom they try to keep as a constant companion.[ citation needed ]

Mormon Tabernacle Choir

Since 1847, the Latter-day Saint influence in Utah music is manifest in the state's most famous musical institution: The Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Named after the Salt Lake Tabernacle on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, the 300-member choir is world-famous. The LDS Church supports the choir both for prestige and as a proselytizing tool for spreading familiarity of the church but also to provide music at their biannual general conference. The choir performs at least weekly at the Tabernacle for a radio program called "Music and the Spoken Word" which is the longest-running national radio program in the US. The choir has released numerous albums since it first recorded in 1910.

Beginning in the 1960s, gospel music gained some success, and Latter-Day Saints played an integral role in the development of Christian Contemporary Music (CCM) into the 1970s. The Latter-Day Saint concept album The Plan , by The Osmonds, was arguably the first explicitly Latter-Day Saint music recording to break into mainstream popularity in the rock era, with two tracks from the album reaching the U.S. top 40. Since then, Michael McLean from Heber, Utah and Kenneth Cope in Salt Lake City have become relatively popular among mostly-older Latter-day Saints for their religiously charged easy listening music. Music for LDS worship services is generally traditional with minimal accompaniment with piano or organ, so these musicians perform in venues other than in LDS worship services. In the 2010 and 2011, respectively, Jenny Oaks Baker and Hillary Weeks became popular contemporary Latter-Day Saint-themed inspirational recording artists. [1]

Since 2005, the Nashville Tribute Band has produced country music with an LDS theme. [2]

Especially For Youth albums

Each year various artist from LDS Music are featured on an annual album called Especially for Youth (EFY), that is produced for a summer youth camp sponsored by Brigham Young University but are held at many universities across the United States. [3] Several producers bid for the album on a 2-year cycle. The producer for the album is usually decided by EFY executive J.D. Hucks, a senior administrator for the Church Educational System's Youth & Family Programs.

From 1998–Present the EFY album producer roll has been bouncing back and forth between the production duo Tyler Castleton & Staci Peters and their competitor Jim Funk & Barry Gibbons, making it difficult for independent artist and producers to participate with the album production.

The EFY album has received criticism over the last decade for being "out of touch" with its targeted audience of youth ages 14–18. [4]

Opponents of this idea find that though the albums might be youth-orientated and were created to be given to youth at EFY camp, they were also intended to be wonderful and uplifting - appropriate for any age. Many Saints enjoy the peaceful music with a modern twist in their homes daily as a way of inviting the Holy Ghost and making the day feel more reverent. Also, Deseret Book has written on their website that "Perhaps no other collection of albums has sold better to the youth over the last decade than the EFY albums released every summer." [5] The EFY albums in the last 18 years are:

Faith-centered Music Association

For a time, the Faith-centered Music Association rewarded excellence in music with the Pearl Awards given in a number of different categories. [6]

Over its final few years the FCMA, which was run by senior management at Deseret Book, had been viewed as a way to "pat themselves on the back." [7] Many if not all projects that were nominated and receive awards, are published by Deseret Book.[ citation needed ]

In 2010, the FCMA decided to take an indefinite hiatus from workshops and the Pearl Awards. In a letter to the general public, the FCMA stated that it had grown too large of an organization and tried to accommodate too many recommendations and criticisms to continue. [7]

There are numerous artists active in the secular music world who are LDS, but do not write devotional or praise-style music. Prominent examples include Donny Osmond, Neon Trees, Dan Reynolds and Wayne Sermon of Imagine Dragons, Lindsey Stirling, Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker of Low, Brandon Flowers of The Killers, Gladys Knight, David Archuleta, Dallon Weekes of Panic! at the Disco, Dan Truman of Diamond Rio, Fictionist, SheDaisy, KASKADE, The Piano Guys, Amy Whitcomb, Jennifer Thomas (pianist), Dinah Jane Hansen of Fifth Harmony and many past and present members of The Aquabats. There have been efforts to expand the umbrella of "Mormon Music" to encompass all Latter-day Saints who write or perform music, reflecting an increasing frustration with institutions like Deseret Book that confine their musical offerings to a very narrow view of what Mormon Music is. [8] In particular, the blog Linescratchers has interviewed and compiled a list of many artists who fit this description. [9]

Partial list of major label LDS artists

Individuals
Groups

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tabernacle Choir</span> American choir based in Salt Lake City

TheTabernacle Choir at Temple Square, formerly known as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, is an American choir, acting as part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It has performed in the Salt Lake Tabernacle for over 100 years. The Tabernacle houses an organ, consisting of 11,623 pipes, which usually accompanies the choir.

Music of Utah has long been influenced culturally by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The local music scene thrives. The musical history of Utah, and much of its current distinctiveness, is owed to artists from a variety of beliefs.

Mormon folk music is primarily composed of folk music which was sung by Mormon pioneers in present-day Utah from the mid-19th century through the early 20th century. A notable historical component of Utah music, the popularity of Mormon folk music declined along with traditional music nationally after the advent of music recording. However, the popularity of uniquely Mormon folk music had already begun its decline before the end of the 19th century. Mormon folk songs generally showcase pioneer-era Mormon unity and communal values.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deseret Book Company</span> American publishing company

Deseret Book is an American publishing company headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, that also operates a chain of bookstores throughout the western United States. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation (DMC), the holding company for business firms owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Deseret Book is a for-profit corporation registered in Utah. Deseret Book publishes under four imprints with media ranging from works explaining LDS theology and doctrine, LDS-related fiction, electronic resources, and sound recordings such as The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square albums.

<i>Music & the Spoken Word</i> American radio and television program

Music & the Spoken Word is a religious radio and television series. Broadcast weekly from the Salt Lake Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, Utah, the program primarily features performances of music by Tabernacle Choir (Choir)—often accompanied by the Salt Lake Tabernacle organ and the Orchestra at Temple Square. The program also includes spiritual messages and passages related to a specific episode's theme, presented by Lloyd D. Newell.

Saints Unified Voices is a Grammy Award-winning American gospel music choir based in the Las Vegas Valley of Southern Nevada. The Saints Unified Voices Foundation, the governing organization of the choir, is directed by a board of directors, which includes Gladys Knight. The choir is affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jenny Oaks Baker</span> American violinist

Jenny Oaks Baker is an American violinist. She has been nominated for a Grammy Award, and is a former member of the National Symphony Orchestra. Baker has released eighteen studio albums, several of which have ranked high on the Billboard charts.

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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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Manwaring</span>

George Manwaring was a hymnwriter of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Some of his works have become favorite LDS hymns and are found in the 1985 LDS Church hymnal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evan Stephens</span>

Evan Stephens was a Latter-day Saint composer and hymn writer. He was also the director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir for 26 years (1890–1916).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. Spencer Cornwall</span> Conductor of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir

Joseph Spencer Cornwall was a conductor of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in the mid-20th century.

The Mormon Youth Symphony and Chorus (MYSC) was an official musical organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1969 to 1999, composed of young musicians aged 18 to 33. In its 30-year history, MYSC was credited with many television specials, numerous recordings, concerts, and several major tours throughout the United States. The group was disbanded during the 1999 reorganization of the Tabernacle Choir and resulting creation of the Orchestra at Temple Square. The choral arm of the group provided music for the church's annual and semi-annual general conferences, usually during the Saturday morning sessions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ebenezer Beesley</span>

Ebenezer Beesley was a Latter-day Saint hymn writer and composer. The music for twelve of the hymns in the 1985 English-language hymnal of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were written by him.

Susan Evans McCloud is an American novelist, author, poet, hymnwriter, and member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas C. Griggs</span> English-born American hymnwriter

Thomas Cott Griggs was an English-born Latter-day Saint director and hymnwriter. He was the composer of the music to "Gently Raise the Sacred Strain", which has been used by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir for over three-quarters of a century as the opening number in the Music and the Spoken Word broadcasts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Boyé</span> British actor and singer (born 1970)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Provo City Center Temple</span> Latter-day Saint temple in Provo, Utah, United States

The Provo City Center Temple is a temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the same site as the former Provo Tabernacle in Provo, Utah. Completed in 2016, the temple utilizes much of the external shell of the tabernacle, all that remained of the original building after a fire in December 2010.

The Portland Choir & Orchestra is a non-profit musical organization that consists of 120 volunteer singers and 45 musicians from the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area. Many members travel up to 100 miles to participate in rehearsals and performances.

References

  1. ↑ Jessen, Wade (November 4, 2011), "Hilary Weeks First Mormon to Reach Christian Albums Top 10", Billboard
  2. ↑ Loftus, Hikari (16 August 2010). "Nashville Tribute Band salutes missionaries". Deseret News .
  3. ↑ "BYU Division of Continuing Education". Ce.byu.edu. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
  4. ↑ "Orson Scott Card and LDS Music". Mormon Matters. 2008-12-19. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
  5. ↑ Various (2010-07-17). "The Best of EFY". DeseretBook.com. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
  6. ↑ "Faith Centered Music Association". www.pearlawards.org. Archived from the original on February 14, 2009.
  7. 1 2 "FCMA calls it quits". May 4, 2010. Retrieved July 2, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Q&A with Arthur from Linescratchers | A Motley Vision". Motleyvision.org. 6 October 2009. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
  9. ↑ "Staff @ Linescratchers". Linescratchers.com. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
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