VOCES8 Sing Caledonia with Stay At Home Choir
Scottish ballad sung by a worldwide virtual choir proves home is where the heart is
A collaboration between a cappella ensemble VOCES8 and the award-winning virtual choir, the ‘Stay At Home Choir’ has involved more than 4000 singers from nearly 80 different countries across the world in a massive online music project.
Caledonia will premiere on YouTube on Saturday 6th February at 18:30GMT
Singers took part in masterclasses with VOCES8 and could then record their individual lines onto their smartphones, submitting them to become part of this global performance of Dougie MacLean's heart-warming folk ballad Caledonia, which takes its name from the Latin name for Scotland.
This version was arranged by VOCES8 tenor, Blake Morgan: “The concept of ‘going home’ seems an ironic one to be singing about during this strange era (especially for a ‘Stay at Home’ Choir), but if there’s anything we’ve learned from spending countless hours in lockdown baking banana bread, attending Zoom meetings, and getting really familiar with Deliveroo, it’s that ‘home’ is a lot bigger than the roof and walls that have housed our pandemic months or provided the backdrops to our virtual choir videos — ‘home’ can be a feeling, a person, a memory, a fragrance, a place we once knew, or maybe something we’re still searching for. This video performance we’ve made with the thousands of singers from SAHC represents a slightly different slice of that concept from each of us, weaving together a collective image of ‘home’ that I think is especially moving in these times.”
Young singers training on VOCES8's Scholarship Programme in the UK and the US also took part, bringing together talented young professionals from across the globe to 'perform together’ virtually.
Sheet Music for 'Caledonia' - Dougie MacLean arr. Blake Morgan and be downloaded here:
The Stay At Home Choir is an online music-making platform founded by Tori Longdon and Jamie Wright. They produce virtual choirs which have allowed more than 22,000 amateur singers from around the world to meet and collaborate with their favourite artists over the internet.
Recent projects have included collaborations with The Swingles, John Rutter, Sir Karl Jenkins and conductor Marin Alsop and the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra. Their growing community is open for anyone to join, with new projects announced regularly: www.stayathomechoir.com
VOCES8, is an a cappella octet from the United Kingdom. Touring globally, the group performs an extensive repertory both in its a cappella concerts and in collaborations with leading orchestras, conductors and soloists. Versatility and a celebration of diverse musical expression are central to the ensemble’s performance and education ethos. In 2020, the VOCES8 Foundation launched a new online music festival, ‘LIVE From London’. www.voces8.com
Caledonia will premiere on YouTube on Saturday 6th February at 18:30GMT