One of America’s longest-standing religion writers has written stirringly of his reaction to last week’s Mormon Tabernacle Choir broadcast rehearsal.
David Crumm, writing in the Detroit Free Press, linked the choir’s performance to the recent Utah mining tragedy.
He wrote:
“As Craig and Sue Wagenschutz of Marysville settled into seats in the vast Mormon convention center in Salt Lake City recently, they heard America's most famous choir rehearsing beloved religious classics, including a stirring rendition of ‘Battle Hymn of the Republic.’
“Then, something strangely familiar arose. First, the sopranos in the 320-voice Mormon Tabernacle Choir sang the phrase, ‘I will lay me down.’ Then, other sections rehearsed the phrase. In the audience, many of the men and women who showed up to catch the rehearsal tilted their heads and whispered to friends.
“Everyone was wondering: Was the venerable choir that's been broadcasting weekly concerts across the United States since 1929, actually performing a Simon and Garfunkel song?”