วีดีโอ

This performance never fails to thrill me!

I Lo e you ALL!

Great director and the pianist amazing; Beethoven would be pleased. His playing was soooo clear and precise with an out of this world ring (only two others, on youtube, I've heard play this piece as well). I can only dream of playing it so beautifully!!!

You and your pianist make a great combination; totally in sync. Thank you for sharing your beautiful music. By the way, loved the Beethoven's Hallelujah From The Mount of Olives' presentation. Your pianist killed it and directing was great. :)

Bernard Herrmann, a good friend of Thompson, would have crawled up the wall, screaming 'too slow, too slow', on hearing this performance. This inspired work should be performed 'con fortza' [with force]. It's supposed to be uplifting, not a funeral dirge as performed here.

Now sing. It's raining men. Lol.

The video should have allowed the sign interpreter to be displayed, perhaps in a cameo, even in the close-up shots. Look at the grace of the gestures meant for those who can't hear as can you and I. ('Reminds me of a video I recently viewed, from Germany, of a performance of several of Bach's works, with signing to represent both the instrumental and vocal parts. It made me think about those works in a new light.)

yummy

Thanks for that. I just can't link the making of different tones with the vibrations of the vocal cords.

Love that piece! I performed it with a choir decades ago and still remember my part!

Fantastic Jonathan - Ross Perot right there in the middle!

I sang the SATB arrangement of this stirring work in high school; it was one of my favorites in our repertoire. Twenty-one seconds in, and I'm ZOOMING back in memory 40+ years, and lip syncing along with the video. Who knew lyrics could stay buried in one's brain for so long, and be instantly recalled without effort of will? As a Dallasite, I'm especially proud of the Turtle Creek Chorale. Thanks for uploading this.

Nice to see Kansas lady, Mezzo Soprano Joyce Didonato and Ross Perot there too! Just think, maybe if he had bought Collins Radio back then?

wonderfull

Oh my goodness! I just noticed that's Frederica von Stade singing with them! Wow! One more reason to love her.

Simply beautiful.

Wow!

Well done. I believe that music, in some form, can save us all. Keep working on this as it gives us a place to belong, and a place to FEEL.

i've sung the SATB, tempo way too slow

Season's greetings to all members of the fabulous Dallas Street Choir . Wishing you all peace and happiness in the new year. Andy and Annie, Melbourne.

I like the slower tempo here. The Reference Recording is quite difficult to understand without the lyrics. The words are just as important as the music here, and it's very difficult to get the words over without taking extra time for diction and phrasing (and making everyone "T" and "P" and "S" at the same time).

Thank you Jonathan.

A very nice and beautiful tribute.

That's cool!

This is great, they ought to get together and get a promoter and start recording...

Thank you for this

Jslasher1, thanks for your comment. Yes, it's VERY slow compared to what we often hear today, but a lot of research went into this performance and the choice of all tempi. In fact, the tempo we took is the one Thompson took at the premier performance when he conducted from the piano. I had to delve into the CBS radio archives as well as the Boston Symphony Orchestra archives to learn all this. Did you know that the opening rhythm mimicks the words, "Thomas Jefferson"? Thompson made a big deal about that in his own performance, so I chose, in this performance, do be unconventional and recreate to some extent the original idea. It's easy to fall into the trappings of what we always hear done today based sometimes on an editor's markings!

Wrong tempi. Did the conductor follow the score>? I think not.

The truth is that homosexuality and gay marriage are wrong. God is the authority. Such has been previously acknowledged, by law, that we are a nation which “Trusts In God”. A just, righteous, and loving God cannot and will not let “wrong (homosexuality)” go on forever, especially when a nation condones wrong. People make their own choices, but also know that God is not mocked. Please read it for yourself, and follow what is truly right, and don’t be deceived into believing what is wrong…Romans 1:26-27; 1 COR 6:9-11; Leviticus 18:22.

It really does get better -- we're all standing tall because of so much!

So grateful to get a chance to perform this in St.Cloud MN April 27th, 2014. Hoping for a great turnout!!! ....The God who gave us Life gave us liberty! LOVE IT!

How big was your chapter that you could perform such a piece? My chapter of Sinfonia is no where near close to the size needed to cover this!

is the song shining star playing in the background?! i love that song

I sang the "Dona Nobis Pacem" with my school choir. Hearing it in this context makes me even prouder to have sung it. Keep up the amazing work by proving IT GETS BETTER!!

forgot to add that I found (and wear often) a t-shirt with the inscription "I Was Born Gay. Were You Born Hateful?". get many thumbs up from people reading the tee which tells me IT DOES GET BETTER!!!

I can remember how happy and optimistic I was as a kid - before life stole my innocence. took many years before I finally accepted who, what, and how the man I was meant to become was not defined by words, actions, or beliefs of anyone else. and that God didn't hate me. two things I have learned on my journey (so far) - it's not always about the family one is born into but rather the family we choose to make for ourselves. finally, that God doesn't hate WHO we love but HOW we love. peace.

I sand this great work sometime in the mid '80s. Cheryl Spell, a music director in the D.C area, gathered men from the Capital Baptist Chorale- of which she was the soprano soloist - The First baptist Church of Wheaton, MD and other male choristers for a performance at that Wheaton Church. Great experience. The work, the rehearsals, camraderie of all those men, and the performance itself. Terrific!

AIDS gets better?

WOW, How awsome!

this is beyond beautiful!

@nycbruce11 You reminded me of the GALA convention in Minneapolis. I was also there (and a member of the MSP host committee) I remember standing in very middle of Orchestra Hall and being surrounded by all that wonderful sound. And singing and crying at the same time. Thanks for the memory.

You guys are awesome! I miss you guys! Rich Dweck

As a 64 yr. old gay man, I can attest that it DOES get better!

I conducted this magnificent work with my fraternity choir, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, forty-five years ago at TCU and had gained my insight from Ronald Shirey who lived and loved music and had gained his introspection from the greatest choral conductors in the United States as well as from Bev Henson at TCU. The tempo and dynamics are perfect! This is only one movement from a much larger work. Bravo to all the wonderful musicians who created this video/audio presentation.

Beautiful singing, but this piece is supposed to be a joyful shout of American defiance-- not a dirge! This conductor needs to rethink his approach to performing it. Yeah, there were a lot of musicians, but I heard a MUCH more heartfelt and THRILLING performance 25 years ago with 1200 (!) combined voices at a GALA convention in Minneapolis. I STILL get chills...and that SHOULD be the impact of this magnificent work.

@nepistepa Are you okay? Put differently, have you any idea what is wrong with yourself? What I SAID was that not every straight person is hateful toward us. Next time, try reading for comprehension, if you can. Saying, "The problem has been caused by heterosexuals in the first place..." is attacking an entire group for something when the truth is that not every person in that group is the same.

Joel Burns is a murderer. The blood of these kids is one his hands.

Such a poignant message. Well told. Thanks.

@nepistepa Let's not put all the blame in one place, please. We are sometimes troubled by problems of self-hatred and fear amongst our own people. Much love and support are shown by straight people to their GLBTQLMNOP* loved ones. They defend us. They donate time and money. They march with us, even as strangers, because they know what's right, and how a person should be treated. So please, let's also not try to score anti-hetero points? *I just mean to include everyone who wants in! ;-)

This is a wonderful video, the choice of music and the chorale is exceptional. I also loved the testimony, particularly of the 70 year old. We grew up about the same time and we Remember when we had so few voices of support in our lives. We have lived to see that it Does Get Better!