THE SECULARIZATION OF THE REPERTOIRE OF THE MORMON TABERNACLE CHOIR, 1949-1992 Mark David Porcaro A dissertation submitted to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Music (Musicology) Chapel Hill 2006 Approved by Advisor: Thomas Warburton Reader: Severine Neff Reader: Philip Vandermeer Reader: Laurie Maffly-Kipp Reader: Jocelyn Neal © 2006 Mark David Porcaro ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT MARK PORCARO: The Secularization of the Repertoire of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, 1949-1992 (Under the direction of Thomas Warburton) In 1997 in the New Yorker, Sidney Harris published a cartoon depicting the “Ethel Mormon Tabernacle Choir” singing “There’s NO business like SHOW business...” Besides the obvious play on the names of Ethel Merman and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, the cartoon, in an odd way, is a true-to-life commentary on the image of the Salt Lake Mormon Tabernacle Choir (MTC) in the mid-1990s; at this time the Choir was seen as an entertainment ensemble, not just a church choir. This leads us to the central question of this dissertation, what changes took place in the latter part of the twentieth century to secularize the repertoire of the primary choir for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS)? In the 1860s, when the MTC began, its sole purpose was to perform for various church meetings, in particular for General Conference of the LDS church which was held in the Tabernacle at Temple Square in Salt Lake City. From the beginning of the twentieth century and escalating during the late 1950s to the early 1960s, the Choir’s role changed from an in-house choir for the LDS church to a choir that also fulfilled a cultural and entertainment function, not only for the LDS church but also for the American public at large. The primary demarcation for this change is seen through the Choir’s repertoire. Several major periods represent the change: (1) J. Spencer Cornwall’s tenure (1935-1957) in which there was a creation of a core repertoire of mostly sacred works, (2) The increasing iii secularization of the Choir’s repertoire during Columbia Records’ recording contract with Richard P. Condie (1957-1974), and (3) The period under Jerold Ottley’s direction (1974- 1999) in which there was a struggle to control the recording repertoire—which eventually led to the separation of the repertoire by Jerold Ottley into secular albums dictated by Columbia and sacred albums of Ottley’s choice—which lasted until the end of the relationship between Columbia and the MTC. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank all without whom I could not have finished this project: First, to my wife, Rachel, for her untiring support of me and my career goals; to my advisor, Thomas Warburton, for supporting me every step of the way and being a great role model; to my committee members, Severine Neff, Phil Vandermeer, Jocelyn Neal and Laurie Maffly-Kipp for their helpful suggestions and dedication to this project; to Jerold Ottley for making himself available for interviews and answering any questions I had about the choir; to Marlene Foulger, MTC Historian, Ron Watt, Clinton D. Christensen and the LDS Church History and Archives staff, and the Harold B. Lee Library staff at Brigham Young University, especially David Day, Music Librarian, for their assistance in helping me find and gain access to material without which this dissertation would not have been possible; to my mother-in-law, Diane Bastian, and the LDS Service Missionaries at the Church Music Dept. for being my eyes in Salt Lake City, 2000 miles away from Chapel Hill, and for finding things that I did not have time or ability to find when I was able to be there; to the Walter R. Davis Library Interlibrary Loan Services staff at UNC for helping me get all of the books, films, and music I needed here in Chapel Hill; to Russell Josephson for providing me with information on MTC recordings that I did not have access to; to Robb Cundick, Tom Thaves, Ray Bishop, James Deaville, and Deseret Book’s Product Director for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Jana Erickson, for answering questions and pointing out information that I did not otherwise know; to my father-in-law, Larry Bastian, for answering some of my questions and being a great support; to my parents, Robert and Jean Porcaro, for raising me v in a good and loving home where there was “music all around”; lastly, to my children, Peter and Lily, for the beautiful music that they bring to my home and for that yet to come. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................ix LIST OF TABLES.....................................................................................................................x Chapter INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................1 1 “WE’LL MAKE THE AIR WITH MUSIC RING": THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MODERN MORMON TABERNACLE CHOIR........................................ 10 2 “FROM THE CROSSROADS OF THE WEST”: DEVELOPING A CORE REPERTOIRE; THE MORMON TABERNACLE CHOIR AND THE RADIO.......24 3 “MINE EYES HAVE SEEN THE GLORY”: SECULARIZATION OF THE REPERTOIRE—RECORDINGS, 1949-1974............................................................65 4 “LIKE A BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER”: WRESTLING WITH THE REPERTOIRE—RECORDINGS II, 1975-1992.......................................................138 5 CONCLUSION......................................................................................................... 163 APPENDICES .......................................................................................................................176 A ZIONS MUSICAL SOCIETY MINUTES ..........................................................177 B 1911 NEW YORK TOUR PROGRAM FOR THE MORMON TABERNACLE CHOIR......................................................................................180 C ANTHOLOGY CONTENTS...............................................................................182 D CORNWALL CORE REPERTOIRE..................................................................197 E CORNWALL CORE REPERTOIRE GENRES AND LOCATIONS IN ANTHOLOGIES.................................................................................................225 vii F ORIGINAL MORMON TABERNACLE CHOIR COMMERCIAL RECORDINGS 1949-1992..................................................................................240 G MISCELLANEOUS CORRESPONDENCE ......................................................294 H JEROLD OTTLEY INTERVIEW.......................................................................306 I UNITED STATES CONGRESSIONAL RECORD 23 MAY 1985 ...................314 REFERENCES ......................................................................................................................316 viii FIGURES Figure 2.1 Deseret News, 11 Jul 1929, section 2. .............................................................................. 26 2.2 Comparison of Cornwall’s Core Repertoire Contained in Various Anthologies ............. 48 2.3 Cornwall’s Core Repertoire Compared by Genre............................................................. 50 2.4 Peter C. Lutkin, “The Lord Bless You and Keep You,” mm. 1-4. ................................... 58 2.5 Sir Arthur Sullivan, “Turn Thy Face from My Sins,” mm. 1-11...................................... 59 3.1 William Steffe, “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” arranged by Peter J. Wilhousky, mm. 1-18. ........................................................................................................................ 86 3.2 Leroy Robertson, “The Lord’s Prayer” from Book of Mormon Oratorio, mm. 1-5. .......................................................................................................................... 87 3.3 “All Is Well,” Southern Harmony, no. 306..................................................................... 119 3.4 “Come, Come, Ye Saints,” Psalmody of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (1889), no. 327. .................................................................................................. 121 3.5 Francis Jackson, “Blow Ye the Trumpet in Zion,” mm. 1-7. ......................................... 132 3.6 Jean Berger, “The Eyes of All Wait upon Thee,” mm. 1-10. ......................................... 135 ix TABLES Table 2.1 Network Broadcasts January 1927: Concert Music Category ........................................ 31 2.2 Network Broadcasts January 1929: Concert Music Category ........................................ 32 2.3 Network Broadcasts January 1930: Concert Music Category ........................................ 33 2.4 Deseret Anthems vol. 1: Six Anthems from the publications of Novello & Company and published by the L.D.S. Church Music Committee ................................................. 42 2.5 Latter-day Saint Hymns, 1927 and Hymns: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1950—LDS and Non-LDS Hymns ..................................................................... 51 3.1 RCA Victor Albums and Singles Recorded by Robert Shaw: 1945-1955 ..................... 70 3.2 Capitol Records Albums Recorded by Roger Wagner: 1951-1961................................ 72 3.3 Compositions Repeated at least Twice in 1949 MTC Broadcasts.................................. 79 3.4 Songs of the North and South: 1861-1865.....................................................................