Celebrating 2012 Big Sing Songs of Praise

Welcome to our Songs of Praise Big Sing, celebrating 2012.

I hope you've had a great Christmas, and as the New Year approaches,

we look back over a momentous year for the whole country,

with the Diamond Jubilee and the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

There'll be a feast of hymns to help us reflect,

and joining us will be our Senior School Choir Of The Year,

soprano sensation Laura Wright,

and the amazing Alfie Boe.

And we have Olympic gold medallists, too.

So, sit back and watch it all unfold,

or join in and sing along with this celebration of 2012.

APPLAUSE

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Royal Albert Hall.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Here is the million-dollar question. Are you ready to sing?

ALL: Yes!

Well, you've come to the right place, and so have you.

What a line-up we have for our sing-along.

Our Big Sing Orchestra, conducted by maestro Paul Leddington Wright!

APPLAUSE

Our fabulous choirs behind me, Adventist Vocal Ensemble,

St Michael's Singers and The Brighton Festival Chorus.

APPLAUSE

And to complement them, we have 5,000 voices here in the hall.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Well, our first hymn will really set the mood.

The music comes from the final movement of Beethoven's 9th Symphony,

considered by some to be the greatest piece of music ever written.

It is, of course, Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee.

APPLAUSE

So many voices singing under one roof. Absolutely brilliant.

It's time now for our first star guest.

She's a former Radio Two Young Chorister Of The Year

and enjoyed great success with the group All Angels.

Please put your hands together for the lovely Laura Wright.

APPLAUSE

-Welcome.

-Thank you.

You had a very, very busy year.

Yes. I'm a little bit exhausted, but it was very, very fun.

How many times did you sing for the Queen?

About six or seven, I think.

Deserves a round of applause. Come on, ladies and gentlemen!

-APPLAUSE

-That's in one year!

And what sort of music do you love performing these days?

Exactly what I'm about to sing, in fact.

I feel so lucky to have a wonderful choir behind me

and to sing this kind of music,

especially when we've had such a fantastic year with the Jubilee.

-It's wonderful.

-And this is a song that's associated with the Jubilee.

-Tell us the story behind it.

-Yes, it is.

We decided that it'd be wonderful

to have a very special piece of music written for Her Majesty,

and were approached by the record company,

and I was asked to perform it. And, yeah, it's been a whirlwind.

Brilliant. Well, I can't wait to hear it.

Singing Stronger As One, Laura Wright.

APPLAUSE

# From Echo Bay to Savai'i

# Sullom Voe to Kalahari

# Oceans may part

# But every river must start

# In valley and hill

# We are the people who will

# Oh, oh

# Come now, joining as one

# Heart and a soul

# Shining as gold

# Under one sun

# We're stronger as one

# In the rise and the fall

# Of echoed words in great halls

# Nations may dawn

# But it is we who are born

# All equal and free

# With the power to see

# Oh, oh

# Who, among many, has one

# Heart and a soul

# Shining as gold

# Under one sun

# We're stronger as one

-# Heart and a soul

-Heart and a soul

-# Shining as gold

-Shining as gold

-# Under one sun

-Under one sun

-# We're stronger as one

-We're stronger as one

# Stronger

# As one. #

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Laura Wright, ladies and gentlemen!

The theme of Stronger As One, nations coming together,

was true, of course, for the Olympic and Paralympic Games,

where hundreds of countries gathered to compete.

I'm sure most of us were cheering on Team GB,

and didn't they do well?

ALL: Yes!

APPLAUSE

Well, ladies and gentlemen, our next hymn

is sure to raise some emotional patriotism.

APPLAUSE

That was amazing. You're all in fine voice.

Now, talking of fine voices, our next guests wowed the judges

at the Songs of Praise School Choir Of The Year competition

earlier this year in Salford.

They'd never entered before, so imagine their delight

when they were announced Senior champions.

Please welcome, from Weybridge in Surrey,

the choir from St George's College.

APPLAUSE

# Be Thou my vision

# O Lord of my heart

# Be all else but naught to me,

# Save that Thou art

# Be Thou my best thought

# In the day and the night

# Both waking and sleeping

# Thy presence, my light

# Be Thou my vision

# O Lord of my heart

# Be all else but naught to me,

# Save that Thou art

# Be Thou my best thought

# In the day and the night

# Both waking and sleeping

# Thy presence, my light

-# Be Thou my wisdom

-Be my wisdom

-# Be Thou my true word

-Be my word

-# Be Thou ever with me

-Be with me

-# And I with Thee, Lord

-And I with Thee, Lord

-# Be Thou my great Father

-Be my Father

-# And I Thy true son

-I Thy son

# Be Thou in me dwelling

# And I with Thee one

# Be Thou and Thou only

# The first in my heart

# O sovereign of Heaven

# My treasure Thou art

# Great heart of my heart

# Whatever befall

# Still be now my vision

# Be now my vision

-# Be now my vision

-Be now my vision

# O Ruler of all. #

APPLAUSE

St George's College choir,

with their musical director Tansy Castledine.

Now, in a few minutes,

we'll be meeting some Olympic gold-medal winners, but before that,

it's time for one of the most frequently sung hymns in the land.

It seems rather fitting, in a year when the Olympic flame

has visited so many places all around the UK,

to sing Shine, Jesus Shine.

APPLAUSE

Wonderful singing there. Well done!

Now, the Olympic and Paralympic Games

were compulsive viewing in our house. I don't know about yours.

The amazing opening ceremonies, the rush of medals,

it was a great time to be British or Northern Irish.

Well, I'm delighted to say we have two Olympians here with us today.

Winning the very first gold for Team GB,

please join me in welcoming Helen Glover and Heather Stanning.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Ladies...

What does that feel like?

Oh, phenomenal. Thank you very much.

I feel like we should have come on in slow motion there.

No, it was great. Thank you.

It was just phenomenal, wasn't it? The response?

Yeah. I think that's something we never prepared for.

We always knew that we wanted to win it for ourselves

and for our coach, Robin, but when we crossed the line,

we realised we'd won it for the country

and everyone was behind us and the support has been

the overriding feeling that we're taking away.

And the first gold for Team GB?

That bit's really surreal for us,

cos I think we thought that was going to be someone else,

a much bigger name, and for us, this was our first Olympics,

so, to get the first medal, and the first one for the team,

was incredible.

What goes through your mind during a race like that?

It hurts, a lot,

so a lot of it is just trying to keep the motivation,

keep feeling calm, because we were out ahead from quite early on,

so we wanted to keep ourselves feeling calm, feeling confident,

and trying to block the pain as much as possible, really.

And do you feel at your best when you're on the water?

Yeah, absolutely.

I feel like we've worked so hard for the last couple of years

and it's become what we do and what we do best,

and it's what we've dedicated every single second of our lives to.

Do you sleep with those medals around your neck?

Not any more. LAUGHTER

-It's still beside my pillow.

-Still beside your pillow?

Yeah, it's still by my pillow,

just so I can check every morning that it's still there.

LAUGHTER

You're an inspiration to the nation. It's been unbelievable meeting you.

Thanks so much for coming in.

Ladies and gentlemen, a round of applause for these ladies.

APPLAUSE

Now then, the United States of America

topped the medal table at the London Olympics, and our next hymn,

sometimes referred to as The Battle Hymn Of The Republic,

is extremely popular across the pond.

But there's no reason why we can't sing it too.

So let's get the foot tapping and the heart thumping

with Mine Eyes Have Seen The Glory Of The Coming of The Lord.

APPLAUSE

Wow! That was amazing!

The Diamond Jubilee service at St Paul's Cathedral

must have been particularly important to Her Majesty the Queen

as she remembered her promises and trust in God.

But one of the hymns sung during that service,

we're going to sing now. O Praise Ye The Lord.

APPLAUSE

Now, do you remember the scene

as thousands gathered outside Buckingham Palace

for the Diamond Jubilee concert?

Well, someone who was lucky enough to sing to that throng

is our next guest.

His voice seems to be getting bigger and better,

and his star continues to rise.

Please welcome Alfie Boe.

APPLAUSE

-How are you doing?

-You are a one.

That must have been such an experience for you.

Performing in front of how many people on the Mall?

I think there was 150,000, or something. Yeah.

Were you nervous?

I wasn't until you brought it up, but...

No, it was good. It was great.

It was just a time to focus, a time to get your head together,

and, yeah, just went out and did it.

So, what's next for you?

I'm going to go on a US tour and then I've got a new album out.

Oh, I have a book out as well. My autobiography.

It's a horror story. LAUGHTER

I don't believe it. It's an amazing story.

Thank you very much. It was a good one.

-Looking forward to the States?

-Absolutely, yeah. I love the States.

My wife's American, I've spent a lot of time over there,

I've got a lot of family there,

so, yeah, travelling around the States, it's good to see the country.

-And you're a big fan of Elvis?

-I am, I am.

And that links into the piece of music you going to sing, doesn't it?

HE IMITATES ELVIS

-Was that Elvis, was it?

-That was...

LAUGHTER

I'm a big fan of Elvis.

I've always been a fan of Elvis since being a kid,

and any chance I get to sing one of his tracks and swing my hips a bit,

-I'll do it.

-And what are you going to sing?

I'm going to sing If I Can Dream, which is a very...

It's quite a spiritual song.

Yeah, it's sort of like...aiming for your goals,

-aiming for your dreams, and going for it.

-Fantastic.

-Ladies and gentlemen, Alfie Boe.

-Thank you.

APPLAUSE

# There must be lights burning brighter

# Somewhere

# Got to be birds flying higher

# In a sky more blue

# If I can dream of a better land

# Where all my brothers walk hand in hand

# Tell me why

# Oh, why

# Oh, why can't my dream come true?

# There must be peace and understanding

# Some time

# Strong winds of promise

# That will blow away the doubt and fear

# If I can dream of a warmer sun

# Where hope keeps shining on everyone

# Tell me why

# Oh, why

# Oh, why won't that sun appear?

# We're lost in a cloud

# With too much rain

# We're trapped in a world

# That's troubled with pain

# But as long as a man

# Has the strength to dream

# He can redeem his soul

# And fly

# Deep in my heart

# There's a trembling question

# Still I am sure that the answer's

# Answer's going to come somehow

# Out there in the dark

# There's a beckoning candle

# While I can think

# While I can talk

# While I can stand

# While I can walk

# While I can dream

# Please let my dream

# Come true

# Yeah!

-# Right now

-I can dream, I can talk, I can stand

-# Let it come true right now

-I can dream, let me dream

-# Oh, yeah

-I can think, I can talk

-# Right now

-I can stand, I can walk... #

# Oh, yeah! #

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Thank you!

Alfie Boe, ladies and gentlemen!

And that's almost it from this amazing and special occasion

we call the Big Sing.

As we approach the end of 2012,

a year when the spotlights of the whole world

have shone upon our little bit of it,

what better way to end than with a medley of favourite hymns

from all four corners of the United Kingdom?

Until next time, from all of us on Songs of Praise,

goodbye and Happy New Year.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Next week, for the first Songs of Praise of 2013,

hymns full of hope...

from Liverpool's Hope Street.

I'll meet Shauna Muamba, wife of Premiership footballer Fabrice,

with her story of hope,

and there'll be uplifting music from Philippa Hannah

and the BBC Radio Two Young Choristers Of The Year.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd