A choral rainbow from Lincoln Cathedral

Lincoln Cathedral will be lit blue again tonight (Thursday) for the Clap for Carers, while its choir have recorded Somewhere Over The Rainbow in tribute to the NHS, carers and key workers.

The performance features more than half of the cathedral choristers as well as the lay vicars and choral scholars who make up the Cathedral Choir.

Mark Wilde is a lay vicar in the Cathedral Choir and has coordinated the project.

“As a choir we are used to coming together every day of the week to practice and to sing in the cathedral, we spend a lot of time together and that is something that we have all really

Lincoln Cathedral lit up for NHS and key workers on Thursday nights.

missed during the lockdown,” he said.

“This project has given us the opportunity to join together and sing the same song even though we can’t be in the same space, and it is nice to have that sense of unity again.

“Importantly it is also a way that we can pay our own small tribute to all those working on the front line and remind them how much they are valued and hopefully bring a smile to their faces at the same time.”

All of the individual parts were recorded at home then returned to Mark to be edited into a single song; a task that he admits has been quite a challenge.

“I have some editing experience, but I have never done anything like this before; there has been a lot of time spent looking at YouTube tutorials.

“The choristers, choral scholars and lay vicars have all done an outstanding job. It is much more difficult for them when they are not together in the same room; they don’t have the usual references for timing that they would have when they are standing together. But the final recording sounds amazing and that’s testament to their skill.”

The Very Rev Christine Wilson, Dean of Lincoln said that the sound of the Cathedral Choir was central to life and worship at the cathedral and it was comforting and uplifting to hear them sing together again.

“In Christianity, the rainbow is a symbol of God’s grace and the promise of hope for the future, and it is apt therefore, that it has come to be a symbol shared by many people during this crisis.

“The theme of hope and optimism in the song Somewhere over the Rainbow is also very relevant at the moment. It reminds us that although times may be difficult, with people struggling in many different ways, there will be a time when the lockdown is over. Until then we give thanks for the hard work and dedication of all those working in the NHS, as carers, and in all essential front line roles.

“I hope that when people listen to this wonderful recording by our talented choir, that it brings peace into their day, a moment of joy and the assurance of hope for the future.”

The video will be released on all of the cathedral’s social media channels and website at 4pm today (Thursday, April 30), to coincide with the weekly Clap for Carers events that take place nationally every Thursday at 8pm. You can visit their Youtube channel here. Lincoln Cathedral will also continue to be lit blue as a sign of thanks to all those working on the front line and a reminder to help protect the NHS by staying at home.