Video

Wow! This is wonderful! Glad I stumbled upon it!

Nice setting of this hymn! Beautiful!

Brilliant composition and performance 🎉

Beautiful!!!

Beautiful!!!

I want a music video of CJ playing piano outside.

This is epically awesome and just brilliant!! So fun!!

Beautiful CJ!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

How inspiring! Thank you for sharing your gifts! The spirit accompanies your work!

It's a beautiful opera! Good quality and amazing sound

It was wonderful and I loved the opera, You can feel the love, time, effort, and joy in their faces!

Really fun on 2x speed ;)

It's AMAZING! and it remind me of we follow the lord can lead us to succeed the impossible. Love it.

Love the composition stories and this song! And the fact that this so often overlooked epic story is included! I remember recording this one in the studio with all the men -- so powerful! And then specifically you and Chance and Austin singing the high "armies of Heaven" notes by yourselves afterwards... And now Austin is literally one of those "armies of Heaven" angels singing/watching over us <3

This is not only an incredible person I love talking about an incredible work I love! It is also an incredible lesson in composition -- and specifically "scripture song" composition. Love the comment about only using the melody if it is memorable enough to sing through yourself! Brilliant!

One of my personal favorites <3 "...and men are that they might have joy!"

I loved this! The story of Lehi and his family is so relatable. Disagreement, pride, anger, forgiveness, love, loyalty, redemption. Thank you for making this video!

Just beautiful! I loved the use of Ruth's words, "Whither thou goest..." and every reprise of "I will go and do what the Lord commands" especially. My family was blessed by your work, which truly brought this scripture story to life! Thank you for using your God-given gifts to bear your testimony to us all!

I'm not Mormon (although my Dad was), but one needn't be to enjoy this and feel inspired.

I was expecting to love this video -- I was not expecting to ball my eyes out feeling the Spirit so much in such a concentrated 16 min. Thanks CJ ❤😊

I'm excited to watch this again with my Come, Follow Me studies this week! I love the humanizing way this opera deals with doubt and faith and brings a familiar story to life.

Come Follow Me this year is the Book of Mormon. We read 1 Nephi 3 tonight and couldn't stop thinking about these wonderful songs. Thank you for being so faithful to the scriptures.

Adorable!! Also, I love the comment about your teacher grumbling about the distraction. Hahahaha live a little. Lol😂

Gorgeous

That was adorable and I miss the Madsen recital hall.

This must needs be a half time show, or a commencement musical number, this is delightful.

I didn't know "Flight of the Cougar Bee" was something I needed in my life.

Absolutely brilliant and a delight to listen to! Thank you for sharing!

It is useless tu use all couplers and all stops on that organ, you get just a huge wind problems and nothing to the sound!

Why are they all white?

Thanks CJ. This was really peaceful.

You can do so much with just the major scale.

This one was always poignant, and the influence of the cello here was a very good idea.

Very very insightful.

This makes me so happy! The HFAC was my home at BYU in the 80's even though music was my minor and not my major. I was blessed to see my kids perform there, too. Thank you for this happy little trip through these halls I loved so well!

I love this, thank you🖤 This is my favorite scripture(s), and lately it’s been on my mind constantly and I was wishing it was set to music so I could sing it and memorize it. Thank you so much for creating this! And your kiddo sounds adorable, and what a wonderful example you are setting!

It’s not often that the soloist is also the director, but when it is it’s usually CJ Madsen. And what a great way to show people how awesome you are!

Oh CJ, it's so good!!! ❤😭🥢🌳

Oh YAY!!! Can't wait to listen all the way through!!! 😃

I kinda wish I had been in the building to just randomly hear someone belting out a song. haha

Love hearing this insight into the composition of this beautiful work!

I never knew that theory concept of the borrowed chords! So fascinating!

I'm ALSO glad you made so many great connections on your study abroad!

I'm so glad you added the chorus into the middle of the opening number. Thematically, it introduces the "One Fold, One Shepherd" theme right at the outset (it's what the work is named after!). Musically, it shows off the full beauty and power of the chorus. Narratively, that moment has always seemed to me like the spirits of the Nephites speaking from the dust, testifying to the reality of Mormon's words. So powerful!

Once again, amazing work. I know you are super humble and all that, but if you were hoping to get more recognition, don't worry. Keep doing what you are doing, focusing on being an amazing, christlike person first, and a brilliant composer and conductor second. "Fear not to do good, my sons, for whatsoever ye sow, that shall ye also reap; therefore, if ye sow good ye shall also reap good for your reward. Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail." (D&C 6:33-34). Simple things like these videos are wonderful. I always love when composers do this sort of things. I recall Morten Lauridsen's video discussing his beautiful "Dirait-on", and conversations I have had with some of my favorite composers about their works. One of my favorite things about Lauridsen's "Dirait-on" and other songs is that they are simple, but beautiful. That which is simple enough to be performed by anybody can be performed by everybody. Keep doing the good work, and you make a huge difference in the world. I was reading President Kimball's speeches about BYU, and saw that he wrote about fantastic composers like you. That's why I thought to leave a good comment. "Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise. And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls." (Alma 37:6-7). Keep being awesome!!! -Raymond Kelly

Very beautiful :)

Thank you.