Disappointed

One problem of having church services streamed is that one can go and listen back on YouTube. Yesterday the anthem was "I will sing with the spirit" by Rutter which has an accompaniment with a busy (quaver) right hand part. I could tell that my quavers were slightly 'keen' and I occasionally got a tiny amount ahead of the choir. Not enough to make a nonsense of the music but enough for me to notice.

On the day I had thought that it was the choir which was getting behind. I still think that they were taking too long to breath and not starting the next phrase quickly enough. Also, when I was a young chorister, we were all told - in one anthem, I forget which, - that the organ had quavers and we must be aware of this when the choir had sustained chords or the flow of the quavers woukd be impeded.

It is all to do with listening and rehearsing. Sadly, the choir only has a quick practice before the servcie when there is a lot of chatter.

Streaming

I have played at a couple of churches where the service is streamed live. It then stays on YouTube for as long as the church leaves it there. I have been lucky in that I have not made any mistakes or bloopers which I would wish were not recorded: it may only be a matter of time!

I do find that knowing that the service is being broadcast gives the occasion a different feel. I suppose one does concentrate a little harder if you know the music is being recorded for posterity.

Unfortunately, the last 2 services at one church (one of which I played for) had no sound on YouTube (due to a technical issue) so you can see people singing but not hear them. The hymn words were displayed so those watching live could participate to an extent.

All this has come about because of Covid. Many Family History Societies are having Zoom meetings these days which means that people who live far away can attend and the speaker can also live further away than might be the case if they were engaged to do a live meeting. There are also no hall fees to pay so it's a win-win.

Will we even need church buildings in the future?