Choir in Kirtland
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More extensive choir coverage will be included next week.
KIRTLAND, Ohio — The Mormon Tabernacle Choir returned to its musical roots on Sunday, June 24, spending several hours in this historic community where many Latter-day Saint hymns were composed.
In two separate groups, the 300-plus choir members and 60 members of the Orchestra at Temple Square went inside the Kirtland Temple and sang "The Spirit of God Like a Fire Is Burning," the hymn composed for the temple's dedication in 1836. While in the temple, which is owned by the Community of Christ (formerly known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints), the choir also sang "Redeemer of Israel."
The choir visited Kirtland during a tour that began June 21 and will conclude July 3.
In 1836, said Lachlan Mackay, director of historic sites for the Community of Christ, a choir performed from lofts in the four corners of the building's main floor. He said the Prophet Joseph Smith attended a choir rehearsal in the building on March 16, 1836, and recorded in his journal, "At evening, met the quorum of singers in the chapel (which is a reference to the temple). They performed admirably considering the advantages they have had."
To the delight of local Latter-day Saints and some tourists in Kirtland, choir members sang three hymns outdoors, standing on a slope with the John Johnson Inn in the background.
Karl Anderson, an author and historian who has been involved in the development of LDS sites in Kirtland for the past 30 years, said that Kirtland is significant not only to Latter-day Saints but also to others interested in American history.
"Kirtland boasts the only known restoration of an ashery in North America," he said, "an ashery being the first chemical industry from which potash and fertilizer were extracted to make gunpowder, and cleansing agent and other uses. It boasts one of the few water-powered sawmills still in existence.
"Historically, to see the more than 300 members of the most famous choir in the world come back to where it really originated in tiny Kirtland, Ohio, shows the powerful growth of a religious movement. The choir represents the posterity of those who went to the Rocky Mountains in coming back to where our pioneer heritage really began," Brother Anderson said.
"The foundation of the Tabernacle Choir was laid in Kirtland, Ohio," he continued. "It was here that the first Church hymnal was printed. The choir practiced and sang in the Kirtland Temple, and it was here that the signature hymn of the choir, 'Gently Raise the Sacred Strain,' was first heard."
Mr. Mackay commented on two previous visits by the Tabernacle Choir since he has been in Kirtland. "It's always a joy to host the choir," he said. "One of the highlights of my 15 years in Kirtland is singing with them 'The Spirit of God Like a Fire is Burning.'
"While listening, I generally close my eyes for a few moments and imagine that we might be at the dedication in 1836."
The visit to Kirtland came a day after the choir performed two concerts in Chautauqua, N.Y. The open-sided oval Chautauqua Institute Amphitheater, reminiscent of the Salt Lake Tabernacle, is a world renowned performing venue.
With the tour's first two concerts in Toronto on June 22 and the two at Chautauqua on June 23, the choir performed four concerts within 24 hours. The tour continued with a concert at Blossom Music Center near Cleveland, Ohio, on June 25, and at Ravinia near Chicago on June 27, with Francis Cardinal George, archbishop of Chicago, directing the choir in an encore number, which was a Chicago-area variation of "This Land Is Your Land." The choir's itinerary includes performances in Cincinnati, Ohio, on June 29, Nashville, Tenn., on June 30 and Memphis on July 2. The choir is to return to Salt Lake City on July 3.
E-mail: gerry@desnews.com
