“I’m currently making a video for Bodleian Library and looking for singers who would be prepared to record and send me a virtual choir clip to be featured in the film about the Polonsky German digitisation project. The film (working title: ‘The Journey of a Manuscript’) will be shown on ‘BODcasts’, the Bodleian Library podcast channel from July 21 and on the project website.”
And here is the background: During lockdown, the library ran a Gregorian chanting workshop called ‘Singing Together Apart’. Hundreds of participants from all around the world learnt to sing along with a simple voice part from a 15th-century manuscript from the Cistercian nunnery of Medingen, in Germany, Bodleian Library MS. Lat. liturg. e. 18. You can watch the workshop here: https://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/singing-together-apart-gregorian-chant-workshop-song-simeon
When the workshop took place, the participants sang along in the privacy of their own homes and their part of the singing was not recorded. For the video, we would love to get a sense of people singing together like a virtual choir. We would be grateful if you would record a short clip on Zoom, singing a line from the workshop which we will then feature in the film.
To take part, please follow these instructions:
Watch the following short video which gives instructions of the line that you need to sing: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1l-lidEmiJeIJ2C4CCbRjSvowT7Jz2K0s/view. The words and music are those on the screenshot above. You may want to practice it a couple of times.
When you’re ready to record the line:
- Open Zoom on your computer or laptop (or a similar recording platform like Teams if you use it).
- Have your laptop at eye level.
- Start a new meeting (on your own).
- In order for everyone to be in sync, please listen to the video clip at the same time as singing the line (with headphones on). The best way of doing this is to play the video clip on your mobile phone.
- Please make sure that your eye line is looking at your laptop or computer (not your phone).
- Hit the record button a short while before you are due to come in.
- A short while after you have finished, click stop recording.
- Hit ‘end meeting’.
- The video clip should be saved on your computer. (To find where it is saved go to the Zoom home page, click on your sign-in icon, Settings/Recording/Open. You may need to follow the instructions that pop up if you hover your mouse over the file name, to convert it to Mp4.
Email or We Transfer this clip to Grace@bouncevideo.co.uk by Sunday 23rd May and please forward this to any singers you know that might be able to take part. Thank you so much for taking part, we will let you know when the video is available to view online!
Grace Gibbons, Founder/Creative Director of Bounce Video (01865 428890, 07799 417598, grace@bouncevideo.co.uk)
