In an exciting new project, the traditional Welsh choir is set to join the vlogger generation and make village hall rehearsals a thing of the past.
Everything nowadays seems to be happening in cyberspace, and it gives all of us who think we’re a bit of a bath-time Pavarotti or Dame Kiri Te Kanawa the chance to give it a blast online by joining Wales’ the first ever virtual choir.
This new virtual choir is part of S4C’s autumn line-up, linked to a new series of the singing-come-rugby series Codi Canu: Cwpan Rygbi’r Byd beginning on 20 September. Five choirs, representing Wales’ rugby-playing regions, will go head-to-head in support of five nations playing in this year’s Rugby World Cup.
S4C’s Codi Canu series originally established the rugby regions’ choirs a few years ago. This year, as well as giving voice to existing choir members, viewers from all over Wales and beyond are being invited to log on to s4c.cymru/codicanu and join the virtual choir.
S4C is the Rugby World Cup’s official broadcaster, and the Codi Canu series will combine the insatiable Welsh passion for both singing and rugby. The programme’s theme will focus on giving a musical stage to some of the international teams playing in the World Cup, with each of the five choirs paired up with a visiting team. Challenges facing the choirs will be to sing national anthems in their team’s native language, perform a repertoire of popular songs from those countries, as well as giving the teams and their travelling fans a genuine taste of home.
The task facing the virtual choir will be to sing the Welsh national anthem, Hen Wald fy Nhadau (Land of my Fathers). Membership of this virtual choir is open to anyone and everyone, be they tone deaf or possessing the voice of an angel. Using technology that can make the worst-ever performance pitch perfect, S4C’s editors will merge clips recorded by viewers on their home devices into a stunning, virtual performance of Hen Wald fy Nhadau. Doing it is easy — all you need to do is log on to s4c.cymru/codicanu, click the Sing for Wales section, follow the guide track for your voice, record and submit!
Alison John is the Codi Canu producer. She said, “We’ve already had a fantastic response to our online choir, and I’m looking forward to receiving hundreds more contributions from people who want to join.
“There’s an open invitation for everyone to record their piece, even if you’re off-key. Our technicians at Codi Canu have the means to make sure every contribution will be polished — and even the most discordant performance will be carried in a wave of impassioned singing!”
Don’t miss your chance to be part of something truly unique. The virtual choir is waiting for you on s4c.cymru/codicanu.