I think the first image could be interpreted to mean what the photographer intended. Like @SarahLeePhoto said, it could also be seen as distracting. I agree though, that it is a nice photo. I like the leading lines drawing the attention of the viewer to the main subject: the harpists.
On taking a closer look though, it looks like the camera wasn’t focused correctly: see the attached 100% crop. To me it looks like the camera automatically selected the focus points, and focused on the back wall of the church instead of the harpists. Another possibility is that it was simply too dark for the camera to focus properly. Looking at the Exif data, considering the shutter speed of 1/6 seconds, you did well to get as sharp of a picture as you did! Of course it always helps to have a good camera and lens, as I can see you have! A Nikon D610 is quite a good camera from what I’ve heard!
But really, my favorite picture is the second one! I have seen very few long exposure “zooms” that I liked, but I do like this one. The subject is still easily recognizable, but it’s a different image from your “usual” picture of a church. Did you use a tripod for that shot? Part of the problem with most pictures like this is that the radiating lines are “jiggly” from camera movement while you zoom. But this photo looks pretty good in that regard.
