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<\/i> (pronounced with ‘s’ not ‘ch’), one of the congregational settings we use.<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The results can be followed on the Sunday services on the Christ Church Bath YouTube channel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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 … Continue reading