This year’s Watchnight Service is called ‘Christmas Celebration’ and will be transmitted on BBC Scotland on Christmas Eve 2019. It is a music-based programme interspersed with relevant readings and links. This year we are recording in Perth at St John’s Kirk. Half of the music items will be performance based from the local Jambouree choir, Chanson Chamber Choir and Paul Mealor’s Caritas Choir; the other half will be carols sung by the congregation.
The congregation will be made up of people who regularly worship at St John’s Kirk together with members of congregations from surrounding churches, as well as singers from local Perthshire based choirs and schools and anyone else who wants to join in the fun and festive celebrations.
The aim is to absolutely fill the church with people, both non singers and singers, young and old, who want to be part of this programme for Christmas Eve. We’d like to invite you to join with St John’s Kirk’s congregation and help us fill the church. If you sing in a choir, we would also like to invite SATB singers to sit in their appropriate ‘parts’ to augment the singing and give us the necessary variation – harmony, descants, men only, women only etc.
The recording will take place on Saturday 23rd November from 7pm – 10pm in St John’s Kirk, St John’s Place, Perth. As in previous years this is a free of charge – ticketed event. Please ask those who wish to attend to put their name and a contact telephone number on the sign-up sheetso that we know exactly how many people have committed to come and we avoid overfilling the church or, the embarrassing situation of having empty seats.
The carols are: Once in royal David’s city, See amid the winter’s snow, Hark! the herald angels sing, Child in the manger, As with gladness men of old, and, O come, all ye faithful. The carols will be accompanied by organist Howard Duthie and Alba Brass whose arrangements are always uplifting.
There will be a rehearsal on the Saturday afternoon between 2pm – 5pm at St Matthew’s Church Main Hall, Tay Street with the programme conductor Susan Hamilton and organist Howard Duthie. Attendance at the rehearsal is welcomed but NOT compulsory.
If you have any queries, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
All good wishes,
Susan Burgess
Assistant Producer, Tern Television Productions, 73, Crown Street, Aberdeen AB11 6EX
Telephone: 01224 252 306