I recorded those two Easter hymns and our Director of Music stitched all the recordings together – a laborious task because they were large files with video – to enhance the webcast service on Easter Sunday. It was judged a success so we have repeated the exercise by recording our own line of Peter Nardone’s Mass of St Cedd (pronounced with ‘s’ not ‘ch’), one of the congregational settings we use.
Singing along to a backing track is a test of one’s sense of rhythm, and after a shaky start I am getting more practised at it. A further challenge is that the accompaniment has been recorded by a (distinguished) organist who doesn’t play for us normally, and who has his own interpretation of tempi which differ subtly from what I’m used to. Even in a straightforward congregational Mass setting there is quite a bit of latitude in this area.
As a bit of assistance there were also versions of the backing track with a video of our Musical Director conducting. The technology I’ve used is: for recording, an iPad on a music stand (so I can stand up and a little distance away from it); for playing the backing track, my phone attached to some headphones. But I found I ignored the video of the conductor as an unnecessary distraction – it was a bit like someone signing an event – except for changes of tempo. Perhaps this was because I knew that he too was following the tempo of the organist rather than setting it.
The results can be followed on the Sunday services on the Christ Church Bath YouTube channel.