All Things Bright and Virtual
We invited everyone to join us in singing a selection of some of the most joyous hymns. Of course they are usually sung in a church setting, yet on this course we sang these wonderful hymns together even though apart, with a smile on our faces and a spring in our step.
These are hymns some of us know instinctively - as if they were sewn into our brain when we were born. Short, repetitive and gorgeous melodies make them easy to learn and recall, even for those who aren’t familiar with them. Hymns are so well crafted that even if we have never heard one before, by verse 3 we are well into our stride and by the end we know it backwards.
Here at The Self-Isolation Choir, we wanted to provide a course to make you smile throughout; to inject some fun and to welcome a happier time as spring approaches, hence the course name: ALL THINGS BRIGHT AND VIRTUAL.
Course Director
We are overjoyed to have Ralph Allwood MBE as our Course Director for this course. Ralph adores singing hymns and, being a teacher of music, he has sung them all his life. He has spoken to a few of his friends in the public eye and they seem to agree with him - regardless of religion.
Ralph and Mark Strachan, Founder of The Self-Isolation Choir, have put this course together for everyone to enjoy. The SIC has learned, recorded and performed everything from Messiah, to Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 to Mozart Requiem and, most recently, five of ABBA’s hit songs.
Here is an introduction to the course by Ralph, uncovering more about ALL THINGS BRIGHT AND VIRTUAL
How it worked
The course is now over and approaching 1,000 people took. part. We learnt eight hymns together, each played on the organ of the following great churches:
Guide me, O Thou Great Redeemer from Llandaff Cathedral, Wales
Organist: Stephen Moore
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2. Dear Lord and Father of Mankind from Peterborough Cathedral, England
Organist: Tansy Castledine
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3. Come Down, O Love Divine from Washington National Cathedral, USA
Organist: Tom Sheehan
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4. All My Hope on God is Founded from Belfast Cathedral, Northern Ireland
Organist: Matthew Owens
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5. Love Divine All Loves Excelling (to Blaenwern) from Liverpool Cathedral, England
Organist: Ian Tracey
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6. How Shall I Sing That Majesty from Salisbury Cathedral, England
Organist: John Challenger
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7. Mine Eyes Have Seen The Glory from All Saints Episcopal Church, Fort Worth, Texas, USA
Organist: Clive Driskill-Smith
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8. All Creatures of our God and King from St Paul’s Cathedral, London, England
Organist: Simon Johnson
Each hymn is linked to a cathedral or a great church in England, Northern Ireland, Wales and the USA. The organist of each cathedral played the hymn on their amazing organ, so we can imagine ourselves in each great building as we sing. The Rodolfus Singers sang backing tracks with each organ to help us learn.
What we did
We were taught each hymn in online sessions led by Ralph Allwood with the Rodolfus singers to guide us. We weren’t all experienced singers - everyone was welcome and everyone had a go.
At the end of these short LIVE sessions, we invited people to record their own voice for each hymn. We then combined all voices in the studio to produce our own unique sound.
Finally we invited people back to a LIVE performance of all the hymns with us all singing, with a few very familiar faces introducing each one including: Sir Bryn Terfel, Stephen Fry, Katherine Jenkins OBE, Harry Christophers CBE, John Rutter CBE, Wynne Evans MStJ, Alexander Armstrong, Libby Purves OBE and Ralph Allwood MBE.
Fee and proceeds
The cost of this course was £25 per person and FREE for all those in full time education. Please use the word STUDENT (in capital letters) in the Discount Code box when joining.
All profits from this project will go to four charities:
The Royal School of Church Music
The Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) is an educational charity committed to nurturing, supporting and developing music in worship. Across the UK and across the world through our five international partners, we support thousands of churches and individual members to enable them to make the best of their resources whether a large cathedral or small parish; and we provide courses, events and other training for all ages and stages. We are committed to a bright, sustainable future for church music.
Cathedral Music Trust is a voice for cathedral music, upholding this integral part of the nation’s cultural heritage by campaigning on behalf of cathedral music and musicians, supporting choirs and choristers in need, and encouraging the pursuit of excellence in choral and organ music. Harry Christophers, CBE, founder and conductor of The Sixteen, is our first President.
The Choral Evensong Trust is a unique charity working to locate and promote choral evensong via an easily accessible web-based platform. The website ChoralEvensong.org enables users to search for nearby evensong (and vespers) services listed by date and location. The organisation has identified the importance of raising awareness amongst the wider public of the high quality choral music being performed in the heart of their community, and in some of the UK’s most beautiful but under-used buildings.
The Rodolfus Foundation is a community of people whose lives have been inspired and changed by Choral Singing, Choral Music and great Choral Directors. We engage with a wide-ranging and diverse group of young people aged 8 to 23, offering them opportunities to be part of our community choral training programmes, our bursary-assisted residential choral courses and our renowned Rodolfus Choir. We believe in the power of excellent choral music and musical teamwork to inspire and change lives and our passion is to share this experience with as many young people as possible, with a heart for those on the margins of our society.
Timings (all UK Times)
Tuesday 27th April 18:00 - 19:00. SING THROUGH / DRESS REHEARSAL
Thursday 29th April 19:00 - 20:00. CONCERT PERFORMANCE
