Planning a carol service but have no accompaniment? Well, help is at hand. All you have to do is download it!
A selection of backing tracks for some of our best-loved carols has been posted on the St Davids diocese’s website courtesy of the West Wales Area, Royal School of Church Music.
Twenty-two carols are available for free download in four different versions – a musical backing track, a choral accompaniment or you can access a vocal score or a words booklet which can be printed off and given to a choir or congregation to sing. Background notes on each carol are also available.
The man behind the plan, The Rev. Jonathan Copus, has been delighted with the response. “Many small rural churches either don’t have an organ or an organist or any other means of providing a tune for people to sing to,” he said. “We have been genuinely surprised by the number of people visiting the site and downloading the tracks.”
And it doesn’t only apply to church services. “There’s no reason why people shouldn’t download the tracks on to a CD or MP3 player and take them down to the pub for a seasonal sing-song,” Jonathan added.
