Search - Jerold Ottley, Mormon Tabernacle Choir :: Songs from America's Heartland

Songs from America's Heartland is a feast for choral music lovers or singers. While there is some pop-schlock ("What a Wonderful World," "Bridge Over Troubled Water"), the Mormon Tabernacle Choir also performs some classic arrangements of old American songs. John Rutter (yes, a Brit) is well represented with the opening and closing rousers "When the Saints Go Marching In" and "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" as well as his folk-song set, which includes the a cappella hoedown "Sourwood Mountain," the gorgeous "Black Sheep," and the bouncy, get-up-and-dance "Down by the Riverside." Also represented are James Erb's luscious eight-part a cappella "Shenandoah" and Mack Wilberg's fiendishly difficult "Cindy" for 10-part chorus, four-hand piano, and lots of percussion. The 300 voices of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir perform with conviction and beauty, and Jerold Ottley conducts, accompanied by piano, organ, and full orchestra. --David Horiuchi