_{By Mike Romero}

Today, Millennial Choirs & Orchestras (MCO) released a sprawling, nearly 6-minute video performance of the Latter-day Saint Christmas classic “Far, Far Away On Judea’s Plains.” It was arranged by Brandon Stewart and features every choir in the Millennial network. MCO has over 5,000 participants across 6 states: Utah, Arizona, California, Idaho, Texas, and Missouri.

The song was originally composed by Scottish-born Latter-day Saint composer John Menzies Macfarlane in 1869. Macfarlane composed it for a Christmas program in St. George, where it was debuted by his choir there. “Far, Far Away On Judea’s Plains” is one of the few works of Mormon music to be accepted into the broader Christian Christmas repertoire.

As an aside for lovers of both history and cutesy romance: Macfarlane named the song’s melody “Chatterley.” He fell in love with Ann Chatterley when he was 19 and was married to her for 40 years before he died at age 58.

True to Macfarlane’s heritage, MCO’s rendition includes bagpipes and fiddle during the climax of the piece. A sound recording of this arrangement was included on the 2020 MCO Christmas album Star of Wonder.

MCO’s Utah chapter is based in Utah Valley. The organization is world renowned. They’ve performed at the esteemed National Conference of the American Choral Directors Association in Dallas, Texas; at Carnegie Hall in New York City; and sold out the Salt Lake Tabernacle six nights in a row in 2017. Three of their albums have debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Classical charts: Millennial Song, Amazing Grace, and Messiah in America.

Make sure to follow Millennial Choirs & Orchestras on Instagram. You can watch their performance of “Far, Far Away On Judea’s Plains” below. Merry Christmas!