The performance arts were badly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, especially choirs which have always had an element of fragility about them. The human voice is adversely affected by poor health and virus side effects, as well as from a lack of practice and below par vocal fitness. The immediate and long term future looked bleak when the United Kingdom went into lockdown in March 2020. Scheduled premieres, performances and other opportunities to work with choirs were put on hold.

Faced with a complete cessation of activity for the foreseeable future, composer Graham Keitch decided to work with a small team of professional singers who recorded their individual parts in the safety of their home studios. Smaller professional ensembles (octets) were already commonplace in some relatively affluent London churches and likewise some Catholic churches where the need for a large choir was less important. At various times when lockdown restrictions were eased, choirs were reduced to socially-distanced quartets anyway, so recording with fewer voices was both a practical solution and one that wasn’t so alien after all.

The singers for these recordings live in the USA. They are Alexandra Burch (soprano / alto) and Matthew Curtis (tenor / bass), from Choral Tracks and Carrie (soprano / alto) and Charlie (tenor / bass) Kinnison from Kinnison Choral Co. The former recorded the vocals for the pieces with organ accompaniment and the latter recorded the a cappella works. The Hauptwerk Hereford Cathedral sample set by Lavender Audio was used for the organ tracks.