Recently been involved with a 4 week workshop where both Welsh National Opera community choirs and Renewal Gospel Choir jointly learned and performed Oh Holy Night.

For the end meeting I was asked to write something about the experience. Hope it gives a flavour of the experience. I will post the link to the finished choir video when its released on Thursday:

A CoviDeo rewind

No rolling your R’s please, less twang and no bridge toll

As Welsh National Opera meets Renewal Choir from Bristol

A virtual hurtle into song sharing fun

As we community choirs begin Covid communion

Bringing all of our skill sets, our genres, our culture

Adjusting mindsets to push through when we falter

A co-visual stockpile, an autumnal acapella

A mash-up of Skype style more Oper-el than Gospel-a

Kim, Jenn, and Kate, leading us on

Praising ‘beautiful singing’, while hearing us, none

‘Can I just say, you’re all sounding wonderful’

As on-line we sway like mute fish in a fishbowl

French professional opera is the opening tutorial

Mouth open we’re mumbling our entante dischordial

While encouraged to ‘Imela’ through Gospel true ways

And find joy in releasing from entangled Franglais

‘La moor reee tan waz or reee belle

La more me try, me tongue do swell

Me brain do make me words fuzzeee

Regard de twerp

Regard de twerp in-fact is me’

Already see?

Welsh and the English confirming the pleasure

Of ditching the French while Skype learning together

Dim evenings transforming to ‘Oh Holy Nights’

Within laptops performing in four-part delight

A choiring new phrasing, expanding to cope

Chords too high, for the canines, too new, for old rope

Until we are told ‘now disappear and retire’

To meld 4 weeks of rehearsals into one virtual choir

This will be, thinks we, a walk in the park

Let’s crack on, get this thing done long before dark

‘Provide 1 audio, 1 video and find 2 mobile phones for ya’

Soon this ‘small walk in the park’ becomes a vocal Snowdonia

Offering distorted recordings of audio rehearsing

Wrong notes, meeting beep beep beep

‘Caution, bin men reversing’

Out-side-in, in-com-plete, so breath-in and redo,

redo and delete

As Heath-Robinson contraptions wish videos into view

One phone facing backwards, duck- tape on a stand

Record, run to your placement, press play with same hand

And jumping jubilation, my Lord it’s complete

A 4-minute depiction of my two left leaning feet

and so

I go again, I go in vain, I go without sleep

My screeching now reaching all the wrong keys

My neighbours re-falling on tender bruised knees

Until out from this body, finally one-take full of ease

Mysteriously emerging to give all sweet release,

into

Uploading recordings that whirl for three days

We-transfer, we very tired, but we celebrate and praise

And give homage to the singers, both professional and true

To Kim, Jenn, and Kate and all of the crew

To Mike and the editors and the IT knob fiddlers

And all the unseen who’ve been helpful contributors

And to all of us:

Knitting our hearts together in fulsome plain sight

A few choirs, two nations voicing one Holy Night

May we now find pleasant soft Presence

and festive new birthing’s

In the gifting of presents

And the shared breath of earthlings

Wishing God’s speed together

Draw near and thus far

Say as One with sheer pleasure

Pob hwyl, cheers en,

see y’gen, Nos da.