Page 25 - We'll Sing Coverage Book

there will be no congregation to swell the singing, no processionals to film. But the greatest
hurdle came 48 hours before filming was due to start, when the 14 male adult singers (all

student scholars) of the 30-member choir were forced to withdraw and self-isolate after two

tested positive for Covid-19.

“It’s devastatingly disappointing for us and for those choir men who have prepared really hard,”
says Stephen Cherry, dean of King’s. At short notice their place has been taken by the revered

six-strong professional ensemble the King’s Singers. The musical director Daniel Hyde, in only

his second Christmas in the job, has rearranged pieces for the reduced numbers. The boy

choristers and King’s Singers, their groups carefully distanced, have only this one afternoon to

rehearse together. Despite that, the prevailing atmosphere — even among these boys aged 9 to
13 — is of professional calm.

To be able to sing chorally at all this Christmas is a privilege. It has been a trying year for
everyone, but a shattering one for professional musicians, and a crushing, isolating experience

for the two million Britons who sing regularly in amateur choirs. Lockdowns, rules of six,

distancing measures plus disputed reports of singing as a super-spreading activity have meant

most choirs have not met since March. Even in schools most singing has been silenced.

“Oh, it’s been grim,” Harry Christophers, founder and conductor of the Sixteen, tells me over

the telephone. John Rutter, composer, conductor and another tireless choral champion, says:

“Christmas, I hope, will be a point of light in the darkness.”

At King’s — as everywhere — much has fallen by the wayside in 2020: children and students

spent a summer term at home; a July tour of China, including concerts in Wuhan, obviously did
not happen. As soon as it became clear, however, that teaching would physically return in the

autumn term, fulfilling the choir’s broadcast commitments became a priority.

The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols is the world’s most famous carol service, with up to

100 million listeners globally. As dean of King’s, Cherry’s primary responsibility is for the

spiritual welfare of his college community, but through that service he feels a connection to a

global congregation.