Holiday enjoyment can be enhanced by Church products
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The song says "there's no place like home for the holidays." And in an LDS home, the Yuletide atmosphere is apt to be enhanced by any of an assortment of Church-produced items from "Mr. Krueger's Christmas" to the latest Mormon Tabernacle Choir DVD or CD.
Here, in no particular order and not necessarily exhaustive, is a list of products with a Christmas theme. All may be purchased at Church Distribution Centers or obtained online with free shipping at the new website, www.store.lds.org.
"Mr. Krueger's Christmas." Having established in the public mind an iconic association with Christmas via his starring role in "It's a Wonderful Life" (1946), actor James Stewart renewed that association in 1980 with this half-hour film the Church produced for a television broadcast that year and in which he co-starred with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. He played a lonely apartment-building janitor who dreams at Christmastime of conducting the choir and of being present at the birth of and speaking to the Christ Child. The 25th anniversary DVD, mailed in 2005 to Church magazine subscribers, is available from the Distribution Center and includes as bonus features "The Restoration"; "The Nativity," a five-minute portrayal of the birth of the Savior; and a selection of Christmas carols performed by the choir.
"Stories of Christmas" is a compilation on DVD that includes "Nora's Christmas Gift," a 1989 follow-up to "Mr Krueger's Christmas." In this film, veteran stage and screen actress Celeste Holm appears with the Tabernacle Choir. She portrays an elderly widow who faces blindness and hearing problems at Christmastime but overcomes the resulting depression through attendance at the choir's Christmas concert. "Mr.Krueger's Christmas" is on this compilation as well, along with "The Nativity" and "The Story of the Other Wise Man," an animated dramatization of Henry Van Dyke's beloved fictional tale about one of the wise men from the East who misses the opportunity to see the Christ Child because compassionate service to others delays him en route.
"The Testaments of One Fold and One Shepherd" is a release on DVD of the giant-screen movie that played for several years at the Legacy Theater in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake City. Though most of the action takes place among the Nephites and includes a dramatic scene of the resurrected Savior's visit to them, it includes scenes from Christ's mortal life in the Holy Land, including His birth in Bethlehem.
"Joy to the World," is a DVD featuring the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square that presents the birth, life and ministry of Jesus through scripture and reenactments as well as music. Four added features are "The Birth of a Modern-day Prophet," "His Gift of Love," "Another Witness of Christ," and "All Prophets Testify."
Handel's "Messiah" is a two-disc audio CD of this oratorio performed by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir under the direction of British conductor Sir David Wilcock and accompanied by the NightPro Symphony. Released in 1996, this is the choir's latest recording of the great work by Handel that has come to be so closely associated with the Christmas and Easter seasons.
"Savior of the World: His Birth and Resurrection" is the soundtrack recording on CD from the musical drama staged every year at the Conference Center Theater in Salt Lake City. The recording features the Orchestra at Temple Square.
Christmas concerts presented by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Orchestra at Temple Square over the past several years with a stellar assortment of guest artists are available on DVD as well as corresponding audio recordings on CD. DVDs include "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" (2009, featuring Natalie Cole with narration by David McCullough), "Ring Christmas Bells" (2008, featuring Brian Stokes Mitchell with narration by Edward K. Herrmann); and "Rejoice and Be Merry" (2007, featuring the King's Singers). Concerts from earlier years on DVD feature the talents of Audra McDonald, Peter Graves, Frederica von Stade, Bryn Terfel, Renee Fleming, Claire Bloom, Sissel, and Walter Cronkite.
"The Wonder of Christmas" is a 2006 compilation on CD of selections from the Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square in Christmas concerts and features guest artists Renee Fleming, Angela Lansbury, Audra McDonald, Frederica von Stade and Bryn Terfel.
"Sing, Choirs of Angels!" is a 2004 release on CD by the choir and orchestra that offers 14 selections from past Christmas concerts.
Tabernacle Choir CDs from the "Legacy Series," include a couple of Christmas albums, "This Is Christmas" and "Noel." Like other albums in the Legacy Series, these are earlier releases recorded in the days before the choir had its own label and before the founding of the Orchestra at Temple Square.
"A Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas" is a 2001 CD release on the Telarc label, made before the choir began releasing products under its own label.
"Christmas Collection" is a packaged set of three Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square CDs comprising "Spirit of the Season" (with Sissel), "Rejoice and Be Merry" (with the King's Singers) and "The Wonder of Christmas" (with various artists).
