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The Mormon Tabernacle Choir invited its old friends the King's Singers over for Pioneer Day this year, treating the crowd in downtown Salt Lake City's LDS Conference Center to an evening of British and American folk tunes. (If Friday's concert seemed less polished than usual, bear in mind that the choir and Orchestra at Temple Square were wrapping up their European tour less than a week ago; one hopes that glitches with the sound and lighting will be ironed out for Saturday's performance.)

As announcer Lloyd Newell pointed out, many of the early Mormon pioneers had British roots. Accordingly, the program was divided into short sets of songs from either side of the pond, starting with the "Hoe-Down" from Aaron Copland's ballet "Rodeo" and ending with selections from "An Atlantic Bridge," a suite that Tabernacle Choir music director Mack Wilberg wrote for an earlier collaboration with the King's Singers. In between were folk songs from each country in the United Kingdom, most of them sung a cappella by the British sextet; a lively performance of Leroy Anderson's "The Rakes of Mallow" by the orchestra; a string of American hymns and spirituals capped by a rousing rendition of "Amazing Grace"; and the delightful tongue-twister "As I Walked Through London City." And, just as no edition of Last Night at the Proms would be complete without "Rule Brittania" and "Jerusalem," so every Tabernacle Choir Pioneer Day concert must include "Come, Come, Ye Saints" and other hymns and songs of the Mormon pioneers.

The evening's highlight, though, was a suite of five Mormon children's songs that Tabernacle Choir associate conductor Ryan Murphy arranged for the King's Singers earlier this year. The six Englishmen gave surprisingly affecting performances of the simple tunes, which ranged from the playful "Popcorn Popping" to the sweet "He Sent His Son."

The program repeats Saturday night; an abbreviated version will be included in the choir's Sunday broadcast of "Music and the Spoken Word." —

Mormon Tabernacle Choir

P The King's Singers are guests on the choir's Pioneer Day concerts.

When • Reviewed Friday, July 22; repeats Saturday, July 23, at 8 p.m.; the sextet also will appear on the choir's broadcast of "Music and the Spoken Word" Sunday, July 24, at 9:30 a.m.

Where • LDS Conference Center, 60 W. North Temple, Salt Lake City

Tickets • Free (standby line at the north gate of Temple Square)

Running time • About 90 minutes; no intermission

On TV, online • Saturday's performance will be streamed live at motab.org/pioneerday (and archived for on-demand viewing at the concert's conclusion) and broadcast live on BYUtv; Sunday's broadcast is carried on KSL-Ch. 5