Tabernacle Choir, Orchestra’s concert in Argentina – Church News

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square celebrated 100 years of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in South America with concerts featuring music of hope and faith, and illustrating the history of the Church on the continent.

Music in the 2.5-hour concerts titled “Songs of Hope: A Century of Sharing the Gospel in South America” on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 22 and 23, ranged from popular songs and traditional South American music to hymns that testified of Jesus Christ.

The concert featured Argentina singer-songwriter Soledad Pastorutti leading the audience in a Primary song. The preshow featured singers Maggie Cullen and Dos Mas Uno and recognized countries across South America, including Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay.

The nearly 9,000 audience members each night showed their love and appreciation before the concert and preshow even started as they lined up well before the doors opened and, inside the arena, cheered and waved Argentina flags. They gave the choir, orchestra, guest artists and performers multiple standing ovations and, afterward, many had to be reminded that the Movistar Arena was closing.

Elder Joaquin E. Costa, General Authority Seventy and president of the Church’s South America South Area, welcomed the audience in the Movistar Arena on both Friday, Aug. 22, and Saturday, Aug. 23.

Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles testified at the beginning of the concert of the Savior, Jesus Christ, and the purpose of the Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra.

“This marvelous choir, The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, is dedicated to teaching and testifying of the Savior in a musical setting,” he said.

Elder Cook and his wife, Sister Mary Cook, accompanied President Russell M. Nelson and his wife, Sister Wendy Nelson, when the Nelsons visited Argentina on their South America ministry in August 2019.

“They both love this country and have asked me to extend their love and blessing to you in connection with this Tabernacle Choir tour,” Elder Cook said.

The concert celebrated the 100th anniversary of when Elder Melvin J. Ballard, an early 20th-century Apostle, arrived in Buenos Aires to dedicate all of South America for the preaching of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

“He noted that the growth would start small and likened it to an acorn, but then ultimately blossom, like a mighty oak tree,” said Elder Cook. “The growth of the Church in Argentina and South America in the 100 years since that dedication has been exceptional.”

There are 4.1 million Latter-day Saints currently residing across South America.

The concert on Saturday, Aug. 23, was broadcast on the Tabernacle Choir’s YouTube channel. About 500 watch parties were planned across the continent. During the preshow, the hosts checked in on watch parties from Tierra Del Fuego, Argentina, in the south to the Punto Fico stake in Venezuela to the north. The hosts also checked in on watch parties in several places, including Santiago, Chile; Montevideo, Uruguay; and Asunción, Paraguay.

The concert is expected to be available for on-demand streaming.

Argentina is the fifth stop on the Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra’s multicity, multiyear “Songs of Hope” — “Canciones de Esperanza” in Spanish — tour. There are 387 members of the volunteer choir and orchestra, along with choir leaders and staff. The choir and orchestra performed earlier in the week in a concert at Palacio Libertad in Buenos Aires.

‘Canciones de Esperanza’ concert in Argentina

Hymns of praise, songs from around the world, traditional songs from the United States, songs of the people and hymns of hope were performed under the direction of director Mack Wilberg and associate director Ryan Murphy.

More than 20 narrators, from 9 years old to their 70s, shared throughout the concert, about the Book of Mormon and three different trees: the oak tree Elder Ballard prophesied, the Sacred Grove where Joseph Smith saw the First Vision, and the Book of Mormon prophet Lehi’s vision of the tree of life. They also testified of the Savior and how all are God’s children.

Giant white leaves framed the choir and orchestra set and hung in varying lengths from the ceiling. Behind the choir, a screen showed images associated with each song. The first image was of a giant oak tree.

The concert opened with hymns of praise, “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty” in English and Spanish, and nearly 100 youth dancers in a variety of traditional dress filled the stage and spilled into the aisles. Throughout the concert, dancers would perform or join the narrators on the two satellite stages.

After the choir sang “Hijos del Señor, Venid” (“Come, Ye Children of the Lord”) in Spanish, a trio of alleluias followed. The first was the peaceful “Alleluia,” while many people reverently stood. Then the soaring “Alleluia,” from “Psalm 150,” by Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera, that has seemingly disjointed individual parts that build before coming together to fill the space with music. The audience stood again as the choir and orchestra performed “Hallelujah” from “Messiah” by George Frideric Handel.

The choir performed three songs connected to the Spanish-language cultures. First was “¡Ah, El Novio No Quiere Dinero!” a Sephardic wedding song in Ladino, a Judeo-Spanish language. The second was the orchestra’s performance of the energetic “Mattachins” (“Sword Dance”) of “Capriol Suite” by English composer Peter Warlock.

The third was “Adiós, Nonino,” a tango by Astor Piazzolla, which was arranged by Julián Mansilla from Bahía Blanca, Argentina, who played the bandoneón. Leandro Curaba, principal violinist of the Rosario Symphony, also performed in the song that varies from building to emotional highs to a peaceful resolution. Both Mansilla and Curaba are members of the Church; Curaba is an Area Seventy.

The song was written after Piazzolla received news of his father’s unexpected death, said Walter Rodriguez, a narrator from Uruguay. Piazzolla had been traveling and was away from home.

“Later, he wrote a musical tribute that is more than a lament. It is a celebration of the blessings of life,” said Rodriguez. Adriana Rodriguez added that it was a reminder that people can have hope and see loved ones again because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. During the song, narrators portrayed Piazzolla’s life.

The choir and orchestra performed three songs from the American songbook: the African American spiritual “My God Is So High,” the jazzy “What a Wonderful World” and the hand-clapping folk song “Cindy.”

Singer Alex Melecio, host of the Spanish “Music & the Spoken Word” broadcasts, has sung “Color Esperanza” with the choir and orchestra’s tour stops in Mexico, Florida and Peru, and noted that this spot is the last in Spanish.

“It’s a reminder that having hope isn’t just a matter of wishing. It’s a matter of choosing,” Melecio said before singing “Color Esperanza.” “And for us as Latter-day Saints, we know that our most important choice is to follow our Savior Jesus Christ.”

The audience cheered as guest artist Soledad Pastorutti was introduced, and she sang the soaring “Tren de Cielo” (“Train to Heaven”) with the audience singing along at times.

“One thing that defines us as Latin Americans is our ability to face challenges with hope — hope in our families, in our traditions, in our beautiful countries, and in God. This next song I’m going to sing is all about that part of us,” she said prior to singing “Los Paisajes” (“The Landscapes”).

Then, she invited the audience to sing along with “I Am a Child of God” in Spanish — and they did with many holding up lights on their cellphones.

Pastorutti said the song “Brindis” was one she wrote during a unique time, and it has become “an invitation to hold on to hope … to believe that, in the end, good things will come.”

After she sang “Brindis,” the audience stood, applauded and cheered.

Then the choir sang a medley of two Primary songs for “everyone — those who are young and not so young,” said Gabriel Canteros, a narrator.

“My Heavenly Father Loves Me” and “A Child’s Prayer” featured instrumentalists from Argentina and Paraguay: Edelvais Montani of Argentina on flute, and members of the Lopez family from Paraguay. They are Nelson Lopez on English horn, who is also a choir global participant; and his brothers Aldo López on oboe and Adrián Lopez on bassoon; and Aldo López’s wife, Candy Riveros, on oboe.

Seeds, acorns and trees

The history of the Church in South America was the featured story during the concert — with multiple narrators speaking and portraying the story. It began with 2 Nephi 30:3, 5 with Book of Mormon prophet Nephi writing about the gospel being declared among the people in the latter days. After the organization of the Church, Elder Parley P. Pratt was called on a mission to the descendants of Lehi, the narrators explained. Later, he was called to go to Chile — and planted many seeds.

In 1925, Church President Heber J. Grant, assigned Elder Ballard to go to Buenos Aires to dedicate South America for the preaching of the gospel and he went via steamship with Elder Rulon H. Wells and Elder Rey L. Pratt, both of the Seventy.

Early Christmas Day, Elder Ballard, Elder Wells and Elder Rey Pratt went to a grove of willow trees in Tres de Febrero Park in Buenos Aires and sang a song by Parley P. Pratt — “The Morning Breaks,” which the choir sang in Spanish.

They dedicated South America for the preaching of the gospel and shared many parts of the prayer in the concert. “I do turn the key, unlock and open the door for the preaching of the gospel in all these South American nations,” said Elder Ricardo Battista, an Area Seventy and a narrator, quoting the prayer.

Initially those who came to the meetings were children, and many of them were unruly.

One of those children was 6-year-old Antonino Gianfelice, who asked his parents why they didn’t pray on the food. When his parents asked him where he got that idea, he replied “the gringos.” That led to young Antonino’s father, Donato, seeking out the elders.

Antonino Gianfelice and his family were taught the gospel and joined the Church, and several of the narrators said that they received their patriarchal blessings from him.

On July 4, 1926, Elder Ballard gathered with the elders and a group of German members and prophesied: “The work will go forth slowly for a time just as the oak grows slowly from an acorn. … [And] the day will come when … the South American Mission will be a power in the Church.”

“With Elder Ballard’s dedicatory prayer, Joseph Smith’s testimony of the First Vision echoed across our continent. For a hundred years it has been memorized and shared by thousands of missionaries,” said narrator Fabian Boschiazzo. The narrators led those attending the concert to say together excerpts of Joseph Smith’s First Vision, describing when Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared, and the choir sang “Joseph Smith’s First Prayer” in Spanish.

As they looked to the future, the narrators recited Doctrine and Covenants 4, as missionaries came to stand on the stage — missionaries from the Buenos Aires Argentina North Mission and Buenos Aires Argentina East Mission on Friday and the Buenos Aires Argentina South Mission and the Buenos Aires Argentina West Mission on Saturday. After the choir and orchestra performed “Llamados a Servir” (“Called to Serve”) — many getting emotional — the standing ovation was the longest and loudest of the Friday evening concert.

Introducing “Come, Come, Ye Saints,” Elder Battista said: “May the words of this hymn remind you of your sacred contribution to the work of the Lord. May they also be an invitation to come, to return and to continue in the glorious cause of our Savior, Jesus Christ.”

Sharing the love of God

Pastorutti, Cullen, Melecio and Dos Mas Uno — the latter a trio composed of Marcelo Dellamea, Hugo Dellamea and Ariel Sánchez — came together to sing “Todo Cambia” (“Everything Changes”) with the youth dancers joining in.

“For believers in Jesus Christ, we know that offering our hearts to God means allowing them to be changed — to be made new,” said Olivia Arraya, a narrator. Other narrators added that what endures is love of families, one another and God.

Nine of the choir’s global participants from several South American and Caribbean countries and territories joined for the hymns. The international singers audition to sing with the Tabernacle Choir during the semiannual general conference.

They are: Camila Cardús, Florencia Battista and Joel Villagra, all of Buenos Aires, Argentina; Olivia Araya of Chillán, Chile, and Andrea Betancur of Santiago, Chile; Esteban Ojeda of Coamo, Puerto Rico, and Idaliz Santiago of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico; Nelson López of Capiatá, Paraguay; and Heber Ferraz-Leite, who is from Montevideo, Uruguay, and living in Vienna, Austria.

As the choir and orchestra performed “Let Us All Press On” — in both Spanish and English — it included a video of youth serving. The choir and orchestra also performed “The Spirit of God” in Spanish.

The third tree depicted was an illustration representing Lehi’s vision of the tree of life. Multiple narrators shared how the white fruit represents God’s love for all His children.

“For God so loved the world that He gave his Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life,” quoted Boschiazzo.

The choir and orchestra sang “I Believe in Christ” in English and Spanish, and dancers and narrators brought out and held up illuminated fruit as people in the audience held up lights on their phones.

And the choir concluded with the traditional farewell song: “God Be With You Till We Meet Again.”

The audience gave the choir a standing ovation, clapping and cheering, and some chanting “Argentina.”

‘You feel it’

Liliana Gianfelice is the daughter of Antonino Gianfelice, the young boy who asked his family about blessing the food. She came to the concert with several of her children, their spouses and grandchildren.

She said in Spanish she was so excited to see the story of her father and grandfather portrayed in the concert that she was crying. The story happened as it was portrayed in the concert, with her father wanting to know how to pray, she added. Her grandfather Donato would also read the Bible and could gather his family to read it together.

It was her first time seeing the Tabernacle Choir in person. When asked what she thought, she paused for a moment and said, “You feel it.”

“I never imagined I would be able to listen to the Tabernacle Choir live,” Liliana Gianfelice said. She first heard the choir in the 1980s when she and her family would listen to general conference on cassette tapes. “It’s unbelievable.”

Dress rehearsal at Movistar Arena