In December 2021, on the ‘Mince Pie Trains’, a small Society band and choir performed Christmas carols in English, Welsh and occasionally German, live from an “Entertainment Coach”. We hope to do something similar again but our experiences showed that it would be good also to have some recorded music to give the performers a break now and then. It might even be possible to turn the recorded music into a CD…
This would be done by the “virtual choir” system. A standard instrumental track is sent out. Individuals record themselves singing along to it and send in the recordings by email. We already have four English carols recorded in full harmony with over twenty singers each, thanks to an East Anglian virtual choir that Mat Peacock (the Society Secretary) is a member of.
However, it would be good to have as much singing as possible by friends of the Railway – not least if they can sing in Welsh or in English with a Welsh accent. So far, the only carol we have attempted to record in Welsh is a male voice choir version of Bethle’m Oedd Yn Cysgu (‘Bethlehem Was Sleeping’) comprising three first tenors, three second tenors and three basses, and all of the above were actually Mat. It would be great to have more contributors to this and other pieces [says Mat: apart from all the other benefits of mass participation, the bass line for that carol was really baritone, which as a tenor I could just about manage, but all of the other arrangements for carols in my possession have proper bass parts which are too low for me].
So, if you can sing in time and in tune to music in English or Welsh, as a soprano, treble, alto, tenor, bass, baritone or otherwise, or if you know someone who can, please email Mat at secretary@bala-lake-railway.co.uk. As well as many sets of rightly familiar words, you might also get to perform the BLR version of Jingle Bells: “Engine’s from Llanberis… Coaches from Warwickshire… The gauge is two foot (-ish)… The tickets aren’t that dear… The Boss is David Jones… The Cat’s named Marian… The Engineering’s done by Rob… The Smoke Effects by Dan. Santa Trains, Santa Trains… And with Mince Pies too…”
