Choirs on webcasts

[DracoM]

Must be money.

American churches see it as a major way to extend the congregation and eventually get them to donate, even if distant.

It amazes me that we never hear of businesses in some of the big cathedral cities etc getting together to see their fine choirs are a source of inspiration AND revenue for the benefit of whole city and community as well as the cathedral - as many American foundations do, and thus go ahead and fund webcasting. Maybe DoMs are chary? Maybe D&C?

Puzzling?

[Keraulophone]

AFAIK, there was a 'facebook-cast' of CE from Lincoln, using mics in the choirstalls, in which the choir was heard up-close and the words of the clergy were inaudible. What it made clear was that specialist equipment is necessary to achieve a satisfactory balance within a large acoustic.

Truro does indeed have such equipment: two tiny microphones are lowered electronically from recesses in the ceiling of the quire (which once held gasoliers). At the flick of a couple of switches, a service can be recorded onto a USB stick. The only problem arises when the choir are singing in procession, or elsewhere in the building, eg introits are often sung in the south aisle.

For reasons known only to themselves, the Dept. of Worship and Music has not embarked on the weekly webcast of (a) choral service(s), as many had hoped and expected, not least some of those involved in raising the funds for the recording equipment. Instead, there have so far been recordings of 'special' services, such as the visit of the Archbishop of Canterbury in Nov 2013, the Festival of 9L&Cs (1880 and modern versions), a Duruflé Requiem, etc. It's not easy to find these from the Cathedral website, which is badly in need of an overhaul, but ten services are available on the TC SoundCloud page: https://soundcloud.com/truro-cathedral/sets

Although there is reasonable concern that everything webcast for public consumption should be of the highest possible standard, the singing/playing in a live webcast is never going to be as perfect as in a CD recorded over 4x3-hour sessions. IMHO, a visitor to Truro would find that the day-to-day standard of music-making is consistently high, whether the mics are on or off, therefore well worth webcasting on a regular basis.

[DracoM]

Beneath Keraulophone's excellent posting lies a stratum of what feels to me like restless bewilderment.

Other foundations eg St J's Cantab, NCO, St T NYC webcast ALL or almost all choral services warts and all, and yes, indeed, they do have off days, but very few. The overall standard is exceptionally high, and it also gives the choir a pretty revealing and clear cut ongoing sense of those standards. It offers aspirations. VERY useful. Kids particularly can get very productively accustomed to monitoring their own output. They can match a DoM's comments / instructions /admonitions / praises etc against real results, not subjective notions and vague memories. Like cricketers watching videos of themselves and thus learning how to correct mistakes / refining techniques.

And we haven't yet touched on what many might sense was the RESPONSIBILITY of a foundation to offer potential web-based congregations spiritual energy through their services / music. Erm, dare I say it, activate their mission, getting OUT to reach to further but unseen congregations? What about that? Fr Mead at St T NYC in EVERY webcast from the pulpit etc includes / welcomes those listening via the webcast. I know from having been there that St T now thinks of itself as having a very real global congregation. And it is the music / choir etc that does more to extend that congregation.

So if the kit is there, it would seem a bit baffling on so many different levels and certainly counter-productive not to use it.

The more I think about it, the more baffled I become over why, if with kit, no / little use thereof?

[Keraulophone]

And we haven't yet touched on what many might sense was the RESPONSIBILITY of a foundation to offer potential web-based congregations spiritual energy through their services / music. Erm, dare I say it, activate their mission, getting OUT to reach to further but unseen congregations?

Having counted the multitude of hits on Truro's first trial webcast, this was, of course, one of the foremost reasons given by those proposing the project to those funding it. As the choir almost always outnumbers weekday congregations, sometimes by 5 to 1, and, as you say DM the kit is there, the case for enlarging the Cathedral's misson in this way would seem to be unanswerable.

[DracoM]

Do the D&C explain the policy?
Maybe this is not the place to discuss that.

[Gabriel Jackson]

Trinity Wall Street www.trinitywallstreet.org webcast absolutely everything - services, sermons, their very many concerts - in video as well as audio, and everything remains on their website for a year afterwards.