A recording of the BBC Radio 4 live broadcast of their flagship programme Sunday Worship for the Solemnity Christ the King, National Youth Sunday and the Jubilee of Choirs is still available for the next 28 days on BBC Sounds via this link.
Here’s a glimpse behind the scenes on the morning of the live programme …!
(Photographs taken by Sammie Rose)
BBC Sound Recordists Mike and Helen had spent Saturday morning rigging equipment at St Joseph’s Church in Bradford (later de-rigging microphones so as to be safe for the Vigil Mass). So when BBC Producer and Production Co-ordinator Carmel and Helen arrived, everything was ready for a full afternoon of rehearsing both speech and music, and timing the programme.
Sunday 23 November, the day of the live broadcast, dawned cold, dark and rainy in Bradford!
The choirs and speech contributors arrived at 6.45am, for a 7am rehearsal and a welcome from Carmel, the BBC’s producer.
As the Feast Day is also National Youth Sunday, Fr Marc Pitson, our new Youth Chaplain, was presenting the programme.
The choirs’ voices were ‘warmed-up’ by Music Directors Adam Whitmore …
…and Craig Perkinton …
… and organist Benjamin Newlove ‘warmed-up’ by ‘wrapping up’ in the cold church to ensure his hands were in a fit state to accompany the choral pieces, which included sacred music and hymns for the Feast Day and the Holy Year of Jubilee, including Vaughan-Williams’ Let All the World in Every Corner Sing and Martin Baker’s Christus Vincit, and the hymn Crown Him with Many Crowns.
There is always a slightly anxious wait during the 8 o’clock news, in case of a breaking story for which the listener would expect us to pray – and which would necessitate some speedy re-writing of the opening link and additions to the prayers of intercession …!
… but thankfully no catastrophic events had taken place overnight, so at ten past eight, the red light indicated we were ‘live on air’!
Fr Marc has already received plaudits for the programme, and as ever, the Bradford Catholic Youth Choir sang superbly, with Adam Whitmore and Craig Perkinton alternating between conducting the main Youth Choir and also the Juniors who joined in with the hymns and the Responsorial Psalm – as did all the other contributors, Choir Chaperones and families in the ‘congregation’!
Bradford’s St Bede’s and St Joseph’s Catholic College students were particularly well represented in the broadcast!
Choir members read from the propers of the day and led the Prayers of Intercession, and there were reflections on young saints who provide role-models for young people’s leadership from Becca, a member of The Twelve (the Bishop’s Leadership Group for Young Catholics) … and from Kirsten, a Cathedral Chorister, who also spoke eloquently about worshipping Christ the King in song.
Live programmes must run exactly to time, so just 38’00” later, the broadcast ended with a Blessing from Fr Marc, the hymn Hail, Redeemer, King Divine – and, appropriately enough, with a ‘Flourish for an Occasion’: the name of the organ voluntary composed by William Harris!
Final photographs were taken to commemorate the occasion of some excellent broadcasting debuts…
… and then everyone could relax; go to Holy Mass; and then home to ‘listen again’!
Well done to our superb choirs, conductors and accompanist; to Fr Marc, and all speech contributors; to Jeff Hirst and our hosts at St Joseph’s Church in Bradford – and to the great team at BBC Radio 4!
Recent Comments