Linlithgow is a small historic town roughly 20 miles west of Edinburgh. It has been the home of a royal residence since the 12th century; today the remains of Linlithgow Palace, birth place of Mary Queen of Scots, dominate the town.
Rather unusually, the town’s Rugby Club has its own Male Voice Choir, now approaching its 20th anniversary. It is an active community-based choir with a growing reputation. Our weekly rehearsals are a blend of hard work and a social element – often a visit to the local pub – and we have 4 – 6 concerts a year, raising money for children’s hospices in Scotland.
The Covid-19 pandemic saw many of the older members of the choir start to self-isolate at home; shortly afterwards – in line with restrictions – all rehearsals and concerts were cancelled indefinitely.
To ensure we all keep in touch the various voice sections now meet weekly online. However, Zoom, Skype etc do not allow us to sing together. So the Baritones – always willing to try something different – devised an experiment to encourage us all to continue singing at home. Rod Aird, our section leader, arranged a lovely song called “Caledonia” for us. And, as other Choirs have done, the nine members of the section sang and recorded the parts on our phones at home. These were then mixed together for a recording we could share with family and friends. And we discovered they loved it…
We were encouraged to share the recording more widely and it was posted it on the Choir’s Facebook page as an unlisted item on YouTube. You can find a link to the illustrated version below.
Inspired by this, the whole choir has been practising “together”, using the same rather basic technology, to unite us as a choir and as friends. Keep an eye on the Choir’s FaceBook page for the results…
–Martyn Wade, Linlithgow, Scotland