Page 21 - We'll Sing Coverage Book

Paradoxically, there was a renewed interest in singing before the pandemic, with a diverse
range of options for those who had found their voice, whether able to read music or not. A
form of musical expression that requires no expensive instrument, the popularity of singing
was reflected in the birth of new community choruses, joining long-established ones like
Glasgow’s Phoenix Choir and the City of Glasgow Chorus, Edinburgh Royal Choral Union
and the Edinburgh Festival Chorus, and the choirs that sing with the Royal Scottish National
Orchestra and Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

Gregory Batsleer is director of both the RSNO Chorus and the SCO Chorus. Those are his
Scottish hats. South of the Border he directs the venerable Huddersfield Choral Society and
the rather newer Festival Voices, a London-based group of professional singers.

As in much else during this health emergency, advice regarding singing has not always been
the same in Scotland and England, so he has been well-placed to assess the situation for those
who love to sing – and his main concern is that they are not forgotten.

“My understanding of the science is that clearly the virus is spread more readily by aerosol
transmission. If rooms aren’t well-ventilated and air isn’t circulated, then the aerosol effect
produced by our voices has the potential to stay in that room and people are more susceptible
to being infected,” he says.

“That is why there is a nervousness around singing, and brass and wind instrument playing as
well. That’s why gatherings are limited because the more people you have in a room, the
more people could potentially be infected. Those are the facts of it, and why we need to be
cautious.”

However, Batsleer is concerned the need for caution has left the voices of the singers
unheard, and there is a lack of planning for how those who love to sing, and whose mental
health is tied up with doing the thing they love, can start exercising their vocal cords again.

Of course technology has kept people involved to some extent. At the end of October Ayr
Choral Union streamed an ingenious performance of Messiah that used a socially-distanced
small instrumental ensemble and a quartet of young soloists in a studio, under the baton of
chorus-master Andrew McTaggart. He was also conducting the choir members watching
online, and singing in their own homes.

Many other choirs have shifted their rehearsal meetings online, but the possibilities offered
by platforms like Zoom are inevitably a poor substitute for the real thing.

“The SCO and RSNO are very different choirs,” explains Batsleer, “and there are very
different people in them. Their needs are different and their aspirations are different, although
high-level music making is one they have in common.

“We are doing online vocal coaching and there have been some collective evenings where we
have shared music together on Zoom. Thank God for this technology – no-one knew what
Zoom was eight months ago! With the RSNO we were able to put out our Brahms Requiem