22 June 2021
Home
Become a Friend
The pandemic has produced many casualties, but music and musicians have been particularly badly affected – firstly because audiences cannot gather, and secondly because many freelance musicians fall through the net of the government’s various support schemes.
Singing, in particular, is still problematic, mainly because the data suggests that the physical distancing between singers needs to be eight metres – meaning that large groups are out of the question. Choirs may be one of the last things that are allowed to get back to normal.
The amateur choir to which I belong was about to celebrate its 50th birthday in the 2020/2021 session, commencing with a performance of Mozart’s Great Mass in C minor on 21 and 22 March last year. But the writing was already on the wall and the concerts had to be cancelled.
Early in April, one of my fellow choristers sent round an email which interested me. It suggested that those of us missing singing might like to consider an online choir called the Self-Isolation Choir. This was founded by a man called Mark Strachan, in Dorset, who was missing singing himself. He had contacted a musician and choral conductor in Bristol, called Ben England, and they agreed that using YouTube, they could offer online rehearsals to choral singers.
Mark originally thought that he might get 40 or 50 people interested – in the UK – but the choir, now known as SIC really took off, and attracted members from all over the world. There are now thousands of people involved in many different countries.
The first work the choir tackled was Handel’s Messiah and rehearsals were held at 5pm GMT. Real enthusiasts in Australia were staying up until 2am to participate, whilst those in California who joined in had just had their breakfast. Also, because the rehearsals are on YouTube, they are available to watch at a later time if that is more convenient, and can be viewed multiple times for extra practice.
In addition to having a rehearsal for all voice parts, as face-to-face choirs do, Ben held a one-hour rehearsal each week for each voice part separately, to help with the ‘note-bashing’. Professional singers and musicians were recruited to record practice tracks, and accompaniment, and once the whole work had been rehearsed, singers were invited to record parts or all of the work, on their mobile phones. These recordings were mixed together by very talented sound engineers, and the result was an online ‘performance’ of all the combined voices, with an orchestra, on 31 May.
It is true to say that all those of us who took part listened to the performance with a mixture of amazement and profound emotion. Was that really all of us singing in our spare rooms – across the world – into our phones?
Since then, the choir has gone from strength to strength, rehearsing and recording a huge variety of works from ABBA to Verdi’s Requiem. There are now so many courses ongoing that several other choir masters and mistresses have been recruited because Ben England could not physically do them all. The choir has also produced two CDs, Messiah and Mendelssohn’s Elijah – which was rehearsed in the autumn of last year.
One major difference of SIC is the ability to use the chat function throughout rehearsals to communicate with fellow choir members. Quite different from face-to-face choirs, where chatting is definitely frowned upon during rehearsals. Ben and Mark actively encourage the chat as they feel it helps to promote the sense of community that has grown up amongst the members. Speaking personally, I find the chat a bit distracting, but I admit it is fun to see that I am singing with Susanna from Finland, Michael in Singapore, Vinaya in Bangalore, Lise in Chicago, as well as Pat in Fife, and Rosie in South Wales, to mention but a few.
A lovely thing that happened to me was that my partner secretly emailed Ben to tell him that my birthday this year fell on one of the days we were rehearsing. Ben kindly asked everyone to sing Happy Birthday to me, and whilst he and my partner were the only ones I could actually hear, it was really uplifting to know that several hundred people in so many places were singing for me.
Ben England was recognised for his commitment to choral singing during the pandemic, with the award of the British Empire Medal in the New Year’s Honours List. The choir is also most honoured that Marina Mahler, granddaughter of the composer, has agreed to be a President.
Tentative plans have been made to hold a big gathering somewhere in England when the easing of restrictions allows. It will be huge fun to see some of the people that I have sung with, and to meet Ben, who is a wonderful and inspirational conductor, and whose enthusiasm is always infectious.
I hope, however, that a return to normality will not be the end of SIC. It has shown that singing remotely can still be satisfying and enjoyable, and I could see that it might have an appeal to various categories of people. Not everyone is confident enough of their own ability to join a choir and some would be terrified of an audition. Others might want to join a choir but find that work or family obligations make it difficult to commit to going to rehearsals on the same night every week. Yet others who live in remote areas might find it is the only way they can participate in group singing. Finally, those whose health or advancing age might prevent them from continuing to sing in a choir could still participate online.
The health benefits of singing, especially in a group, are well-known: reducing stress, improving posture and breathing, providing a sense of well-being. For me and my partner, during the pandemic, SIC has truly been a godsend, and a quick look at the comments on the SIC website will show that we are not alone in this regard.
COMMENTARY
Gerry Hassan
We’re living in an age of multiple revolutions
DESPATCH
Keith Aitken
Could Macron become Biden’s
European bestie?
CARTOONS
Bob Smith
Yes sir, we can boogie…
NOTEBOOK
Gillean Somerville-Arjat
Dilemmas of book owning and browsing
PHILOSOPHY
Robin Downie
A two-strand analysis of ‘relationships’
FILM
Tom Chidwick
Can Bond get with the times?
MEDIA
Hamish Mackay
All change at The Shetland Times, advertising problems at GB News, and more
DICTIONARY
Word of the month
What does tulyie mean?
MUSIC
Lin Macmillan
With a song in my heart
TECHNOLOGY
David Stewart
Can love be bot?
LIFE
Maxwell MacLeod
The peerless beauty of Iona
LONGER READ
Bill Paterson
When did the Dream become a nightmare?
CAFE 1
SR Forum
Corrie-fisted and proud
CAFE 2
SR Forum
Why is Brodick not a town?
To access previous editions of SR,
click on the links below
16 JUNE 2021
9 JUNE 2021
2 JUNE 2021
26 MAY 2021
19 MAY 2021
12 MAY 2021
5 MAY 2021
To access previous editions of SR,
click on the links below
16 JUNE 2021
9 JUNE 2021
2 JUNE 2021
26 MAY 2021
19 MAY 2021
12 MAY 2021
5 MAY 2021
To access previous editions of SR,
click on the links below
16 JUNE 2021
9 JUNE 2021
2 JUNE 2021
26 MAY 2021
19 MAY 2021
12 MAY 2021
5 MAY 2021
To access previous editions of SR,
click on the links below
16 JUNE 2021
9 JUNE 2021
2 JUNE 2021
26 MAY 2021
19 MAY 2021
12 MAY 2021
5 MAY 2021
Scotland’s weekly current affairs magazine
Editorial
Editor
Islay McLeod
Founder
SR was established
in 1995
by Kenneth Roy
Prestwick International Airport,
Liberator House, Room 216,
Prestwick KA9 2PT
01292 478510
admin@scottishreview.net
Prestwick International Airport,
Liberator House, Room 216,
Prestwick KA9 2PT
01292 478510
admin@scottishreview.net
Become a Friend of SR
Subscribe to SR
About Us
Become a Friend of SR
Subscribe to SR
About Us
The Scottish Review is published weekly by the Institute of Contemporary Scotland (ICS)
The Scottish Review is published weekly by the Institute of Contemporary Scotland (ICS)