Christmas with the Tabernacle Choir 2023

Whenever I am unable to get a ticket to the Christmas with the Tabernacle Choir concert, I go to the Music and the Spoken Word broadcast the following Sunday because it usually features the guest artists and a portion of the program.  It is actually quite nice because the parking situation is a bit easier on an early Sunday morning than it is in the evening with so many other events going on.  The guest artists this year were Michael Maliakel, who is currently starring as the title role in Aladdin on Broadway, and Lesley Nicol, who is best known for playing Mrs. Patmore on Downton Abbey.  The concert began with choir members in a procession down the aisles to "Sing We Now of Christmas" with the Orchestra at Temple Square and the Gabriel Trumpet Ensemble.  It was beautiful and incredibly dramatic!  Michael Maliakel joined the choir for "Joy to the World" and I really loved his voice and his rendition of this song.  I wasn't very familiar with him but now I will pay attention because he is extremely talented and charismatic!  Next, the choir sang "To The Cradle Run," which I was unfamiliar with but definitely enjoyed, and then Richard Elliott performed "Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella" on the organ with fanfares played by the Gabriel Trumpet Ensemble (this gave me goosebumps because I love this song).  The choir performed another song I was unfamiliar with called "O Little One Sweet" and then Lesley Nicol read the Christmas story from the Bible.  The program concluded with a stirring version of "Angels from the Realms of Glory" by Michael Maliakel and this also gave me goosebumps.  After the broadcast concluded, the audience got to hear another portion of the concert when a story about Victor Hugo's Christmas fetes for the children on the island of Guernsey was told by Lesley Nicol.  A replica of Hautville House, Hugo's home on Guernsey, was featured with performers acting out the story while Nicol narrated (she was delightful).  It was so inspiring and I especially loved the use of Hugo's quote, "To love is to act."  It was a lovely concert and I'm glad I made the effort to get up early (and put on a skirt) to attend!