I think I know what choirs are for.
Well, choirs are for everyone. But specifically, a choir should be about creating a deep connection and a single intentional throughline among all the singers, and then sharing that as clearly as possible with an audience. It’s when the audience receives the message the choir is offering that a circle is completed. That’s what choirs are for.
As Alice Parker writes in The Anatomy of Melody,
The circle begins
when a song is sung–
newly created or recreated.The circle is complete
when the creator, performer, and listener
are made one through the song.The circle is interrupted
when one or more of the links
is imperfect.Can you complete the circle each time you sing?
The Anatomy of Melody by Alice Parker, Ch. 20
What are virtual choirs for?
Of course, we can’t complete the circle when we are separate, can we?
Well, not in the way Alice describes. And that’s the main limitation of a Virtual Choir. It’s weak broth when compared to the perfect meal of a choir completing the circle in person.
And yet, it’s a vital part of our 2020 music-making. Because even with weak broth we are nourished. We can find an outlet for our lovely art, we can make connection through song, and we can share that with a waiting world.
Honestly, the listener is the component that gets the least attention, to my mind, in a Virtual Choir. We try to create the best product we can, but a good virtual choir video to me feels like a video of a dress rehearsal: without an audience, but sung passionately and rewarding to each of the singers.
I do not seek to make my life making Virtual Choirs. But until I share song with an actual choir and an actual audience, this substitute serves to at least allow singers to connect with the song.
The Rockford Choirs premiered two virtual choirs tonight, including this performance by nearly 120 singers of my recent piece, Towards a Brighter Future. I feel a connection to the singers, and love that we were able to put this into the world.