0:00:02 > 0:00:04In Songs Of Praise, we always try and have a mix of young and old,
0:00:04 > 0:00:08male and female. Today, we're breaking the rules.
0:00:12 > 0:00:16We've the boys of the National Youth Choirs of Scotland to sing for us.
0:00:16 > 0:00:20Plus, a royal wedding and Military Wives Choir composer Paul Mealor
0:00:20 > 0:00:23reveals what inspires his music.
0:00:32 > 0:00:34The National Youth Choirs of Scotland are made up of
0:00:34 > 0:00:39girls and boys between the ages of ten and early 20s.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42They meet in different places across Scotland for training
0:00:42 > 0:00:45and rehearsals but they come together for performances
0:00:45 > 0:00:48which are held all over Britain, Europe and America.
0:00:50 > 0:00:54Winning international recognition is exciting.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57Many of them have gone on to have careers in music.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00And the boys are here in Dunblane Cathedral
0:01:00 > 0:01:02which is pretty well in the middle of Scotland
0:01:02 > 0:01:04and so a convenient gathering place.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09We'll have some small choirs a bit later on
0:01:09 > 0:01:13but we start with a full congregation of boys of all ages
0:01:13 > 0:01:18singing with gusto that well-known hymn, Praise To The Lord.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03CHOIR SINGS
0:03:03 > 0:03:08Artistic director Christopher Bell was keen to showcase
0:03:08 > 0:03:13the distinctive choral sound produced by young men in our hymns.
0:03:13 > 0:03:15We were able to see the mixed voices
0:03:15 > 0:03:17rehearsing for the Edinburgh Festival.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23When I began to talk about this particular Songs Of Praise,
0:03:23 > 0:03:28I did have a vision for filling Dunblane Cathedral with boys' voices.
0:03:28 > 0:03:33# Hostias et preces, tibi... #
0:03:33 > 0:03:36So either trebles or some changing voices
0:03:36 > 0:03:39or some really quite settled baritones and basses
0:03:39 > 0:03:41from the National Youth Choir itself.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44# ..luadis offerimus
0:03:44 > 0:03:47# Tu suscipe... #
0:03:47 > 0:03:50Getting boys to sing is, traditionally, for choir directors,
0:03:50 > 0:03:53the big challenge, the big task.
0:03:53 > 0:03:55# Do-do-do-do-do. #
0:03:55 > 0:03:56And two and go.
0:03:56 > 0:03:58# Do-do-do-do-do. #
0:03:58 > 0:04:02OK, go up A natural, F#, G#, A natural
0:04:02 > 0:04:08Apparently, it's not cool to sing anyway in school but for boys,
0:04:08 > 0:04:10getting boys to sing, they're not really interested.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12Actually, they ARE quite interested
0:04:12 > 0:04:15and they need to be motivated in a slightly different way.
0:04:15 > 0:04:21# Hostias, et preces... #
0:04:21 > 0:04:24There's a B. Here we go once again.
0:04:24 > 0:04:32# Laudis offerimus... #
0:04:32 > 0:04:34I was told many years ago that when boys and girls
0:04:34 > 0:04:37rehearse together, the boys kind of get disenchanted
0:04:37 > 0:04:40a little bit and the girls seem to be a bit better at it.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46Boys like to sing about different things.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49And they sing in quite an honest way in a very direct way.
0:04:49 > 0:04:55# Hosanna in excelsis...#
0:04:55 > 0:04:59They love starting in the junior core, that's the white shirts,
0:04:59 > 0:05:02moving through the blue shirts, that's the National Boys Choir
0:05:02 > 0:05:05but their eye is on the black shirts.
0:05:05 > 0:05:09And those guys are the ones with changed voices because, psychologically,
0:05:09 > 0:05:13there comes a point when a boy decides it's time to grow up.
0:05:13 > 0:05:14A boy wants to be a man.
0:05:14 > 0:05:16He wants to be like a father, he wants to be like an uncle,
0:05:16 > 0:05:18he wants to be like an older brother.
0:05:18 > 0:05:19One and go.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22CHOIR SINGS BADLY
0:05:22 > 0:05:24OK, I'll give you two seconds to look at that piece.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26I shouldn't have to sing it all for you.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29I can remember when my voice changed. It was a cataclysmic thing.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32I'm standing in the Cathedral Choir, I'm singing a hymn,
0:05:32 > 0:05:34we're rehearsing on Sunday morning before we were getting ready
0:05:34 > 0:05:36to actually do the service.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40And I started to sing and the voice just cracked.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43And I remember the choirmaster turning to the head chorister
0:05:43 > 0:05:47and saying, "I think Christopher's time with us is at an end."
0:05:47 > 0:05:51And that's a very bewildering time for a boy because...
0:05:51 > 0:05:53if you've invested any time in your voice,
0:05:53 > 0:05:56if you really like singing, and I really loved singing as a treble,
0:05:56 > 0:05:59I loved being in the cathedral and being part of the whole service
0:05:59 > 0:06:02and the music and the general ritual and the worship
0:06:02 > 0:06:03and all that sort of thing.
0:06:03 > 0:06:05- BOYS:- # Quam olim Abrahae
0:06:05 > 0:06:07- GIRLS:- # Quam olim Abrahae
0:06:07 > 0:06:09# Quam promisisti
0:06:09 > 0:06:13# Quam olim Abrahae promisisti
0:06:13 > 0:06:14# Et semini
0:06:14 > 0:06:15# Et semini
0:06:15 > 0:06:17# Semini, semini
0:06:17 > 0:06:24# Ejus. #
0:06:24 > 0:06:27It's been a great thrill to stand in the cathedral
0:06:27 > 0:06:31and listen to the fine organ and the wonderful singing of these boys.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33And I hope people across the country,
0:06:33 > 0:06:36when they're listening to Songs Of Praise today,
0:06:36 > 0:06:39will really enjoy this very magnificent sound.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41It's a unique sound.
0:06:41 > 0:06:45It kind of reminds me a little bit of yesteryear,
0:06:45 > 0:06:49some of those old-fashioned films where you hear boys singing
0:06:49 > 0:06:53songs in chapels, in rugby school, and that sort of thing.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56It's a very unique sound. I really hope people enjoy it.
0:06:56 > 0:06:57We've worked hard.
0:06:57 > 0:07:01And I've been extremely happy today to listen to the results.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02I think singing, especially in the choir,
0:10:02 > 0:10:04it's all about building your confidence.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07It's a great way of getting to know people. It's amazing,
0:10:07 > 0:10:10being part of a national group of people from all over Scotland.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13I enjoyed singing so I gave it a shot and got involved with Christopher,
0:10:13 > 0:10:18who is just from thereon in helped inspire me and motivate me
0:10:18 > 0:10:20to do music. And went up through the ranks
0:10:20 > 0:10:23of the National Boys Choir into the full choir
0:10:23 > 0:10:25and now I'm hoping, thanks to Christopher,
0:10:25 > 0:10:28to possibly pursue music as a professional career in the future.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31When he sees the altar, his eyes are going to go, "Oh, goodness me."
0:10:31 > 0:10:34He's by far the best conductor I've ever worked with, you know.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37- He knows exactly what he wants. - Is that charming?
0:10:37 > 0:10:39If it's not, don't put it on the television.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42He can pick out a wrong note in a room of 300.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45It's absolutely... It's really, really amazing.
0:10:45 > 0:10:49Now from the younger boys, John Newton's well loved hymn.
0:13:16 > 0:13:20The ever popular Amazing Grace. Different every time you hear it.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24The full choirs are now going to sing a gentle Scottish hymn
0:13:24 > 0:13:27written by John Bell and Graham Maule,
0:13:27 > 0:13:30set to the lovely lullaby tune, Dream Angus.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39For the last 10 years, Paul Mealor has been teaching
0:16:39 > 0:16:43music in the ancient Kings College campus of Aberdeen University.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49Last year, 2 billion people heard his music when the Duke
0:16:49 > 0:16:52and Duchess of Cambridge chose his Ubi Caritas for their wedding.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08Well, welcome, everybody, to the composition forum this week...
0:17:08 > 0:17:12As Professor of Composition in Aberdeen, Paul is nurturing
0:17:12 > 0:17:16the next generation of composers and musicians.
0:17:18 > 0:17:23Well, I tend to write primarily vocal and choral music,
0:17:23 > 0:17:25so it's to tend to start with the words.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28Once I have got the words sorted out, whether I am writing them myself,
0:17:28 > 0:17:32or whether I am setting a particular poem or ancient text,
0:17:32 > 0:17:35then I meditate upon those words, strolling along the sea,
0:17:35 > 0:17:38or in the beautiful countryside around here.
0:17:40 > 0:17:44Then I sit down to write the melody and the harmony.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47And generally, that comes out of the words itself, so,
0:17:47 > 0:17:50it takes quite a lot of meditation, and a lot of thought about them.
0:17:50 > 0:17:54Once I have found out what the poet or the writer is trying to
0:17:54 > 0:17:56get across, generally, for me,
0:17:56 > 0:18:00the melody seems to magically come out of that meditation.
0:18:00 > 0:18:02But of course it's not magic because you what you are
0:18:02 > 0:18:04really doing is forging a link
0:18:04 > 0:18:07in a long tradition of composition.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10Well, that's right, I studied and ever since I was a choirboy
0:18:10 > 0:18:13I have been singing the great music of the church.
0:18:13 > 0:18:17And, for me, my own music comes quite naturally from that,
0:18:17 > 0:18:19because I feel a connection to the great composers
0:18:19 > 0:18:24of the first Tudor period, you know, people like Thomas Tallis
0:18:24 > 0:18:27and Orlando Gibbons, right the way through to composers like John Rutter...
0:18:27 > 0:18:30There is a history of these people writing music for practical use,
0:18:30 > 0:18:33but also celebrating their faith,
0:18:33 > 0:18:36and for me those things seem perfectly natural
0:18:36 > 0:18:38and I feel part of that line.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44What's it like for you when a composition becomes popular,
0:18:44 > 0:18:47as it did with Military Wives?
0:18:47 > 0:18:49Is it OK to be popular as a classical composer?
0:18:53 > 0:18:56Well, some people think not,
0:18:56 > 0:18:58it's a very good question.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01Of course, I never wrote that piece in a sense for it to be popular,
0:19:01 > 0:19:04it was written to give a group of women a voice.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06MUSIC: "Wherever You Are" by Military Wives
0:19:13 > 0:19:17And of course, they wrote the words for that, and I wanted to create
0:19:17 > 0:19:19a piece of music that could be sung by a group of people
0:19:19 > 0:19:21that had never sung before
0:19:21 > 0:19:23and it was only after they sung it so beautifully
0:19:23 > 0:19:24that it became popular,
0:19:24 > 0:19:27so it was never intended to be popular,
0:19:27 > 0:19:30it was an intention to be a tool to give a group of people a voice.
0:19:30 > 0:19:32# Light up the darkness
0:19:32 > 0:19:34# My prince of peace
0:19:37 > 0:19:39# May the stars shine all around you
0:19:39 > 0:19:42# May your courage never cease. #
0:19:44 > 0:19:47As a composer, we want to touch people,
0:19:47 > 0:19:50and give them something beautiful in their lives.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53There are too many terrible things in the world,
0:19:53 > 0:19:55and to be known as somebody who created something that has
0:19:55 > 0:19:57brought at least, for a few moments,
0:19:57 > 0:20:00some beauty into somebody's life, I think is a great thing.
0:20:00 > 0:20:02And here's Paul's new song,
0:20:02 > 0:20:04written especially for the National Youth
0:20:04 > 0:20:06Boys Choir, and Songs of Praise.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14# I am the gentle light
0:20:14 > 0:20:17# The stars at night
0:20:17 > 0:20:20# The morning bright
0:20:24 > 0:20:27# I am the still small voice
0:20:27 > 0:20:31# The living choice
0:20:31 > 0:20:35# The hearts rejoice
0:20:35 > 0:20:40# And if you follow me
0:20:40 > 0:20:48# I'll be with you for all eternity
0:20:48 > 0:20:52# I will hold onto you
0:20:52 > 0:20:57# My love will set you free
0:21:01 > 0:21:05# I am forever love
0:21:05 > 0:21:08# Light from above
0:21:08 > 0:21:12# A peaceful dove
0:21:14 > 0:21:17# I am your loving friend
0:21:17 > 0:21:18# Your heart I tend
0:21:20 > 0:21:23# Until the end
0:21:24 > 0:21:28# And if you follow me
0:21:28 > 0:21:33# I'll be with you for all eternity
0:21:36 > 0:21:40# I will hold onto you
0:21:40 > 0:21:46# My love will set you free
0:21:50 > 0:21:54# I am forever
0:21:54 > 0:21:59# My love will set you free. #
0:22:24 > 0:22:27I often walk along the beach in Aberdeen harbour,
0:22:27 > 0:22:29and I quite often walk along here,
0:22:29 > 0:22:31in the mornings, getting inspiration for pieces.
0:22:31 > 0:22:36But my, kind of, inspiration with water goes back right the way to
0:22:36 > 0:22:38when I was a child, when I was nine years old.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45I fell into a river in Din Lligwy, which is in North Wales,
0:22:45 > 0:22:48and I couldn't swim at the time, I still can't swim, and, I just felt as
0:22:48 > 0:22:51I was falling under the water that, this was it,
0:22:51 > 0:22:54that I was about to die.
0:22:54 > 0:22:56An almost warmth came over me,
0:22:56 > 0:23:00a great sense of peace which I had never experienced before and when
0:23:00 > 0:23:04I came out of the water, I was helped out,
0:23:04 > 0:23:07I sought out, what that was,
0:23:07 > 0:23:10what is this great mystery, what is that great feeling that I had?
0:23:10 > 0:23:12- Even at the age of nine?- Yeah.
0:23:12 > 0:23:16I knew that my life was finite at that point, and I wanted to
0:23:16 > 0:23:20find out what this great power was that had comforted me.
0:23:20 > 0:23:21And what happened?
0:23:21 > 0:23:24Well, I went, I sought out the church, and I became a choirboy,
0:23:24 > 0:23:28and I started singing, and I then found in that music of the composers
0:23:28 > 0:23:31like Tallis and Gibbons and Tomkins,
0:23:31 > 0:23:33I found something in those words.
0:23:33 > 0:23:38How do you find having a faith in the 21st-century?
0:23:38 > 0:23:41It can be difficult, and I remember when I suddenly
0:23:41 > 0:23:45realised that the there was this extra force, and I knew it was God...
0:23:45 > 0:23:46You knew it was God.
0:23:46 > 0:23:48How did you know it was God?
0:23:48 > 0:23:50I just knew, it's one of those things.
0:23:50 > 0:23:52You can believe something, and you can know something.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55I just, almost immediately from coming out of that water,
0:23:55 > 0:23:57almost as if that water was a baptism for me,
0:23:57 > 0:24:00I knew that this was the truth.
0:24:00 > 0:24:02But it's not easy being a Christian.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05It's not easy saying to somebody, "This is what I believe."
0:24:05 > 0:24:08So I have tried to find a way of getting my beliefs
0:24:08 > 0:24:10across without hitting people over the head with them.
0:24:10 > 0:24:14And that experience at nine is still valid for you,
0:24:14 > 0:24:18I mean, we outgrow quite a lot of our childhood experiences, don't we?
0:24:18 > 0:24:20That's right, but I think there are some things, like love,
0:24:20 > 0:24:23the first time you really understand what that is,
0:24:23 > 0:24:25you never forget it.
0:24:25 > 0:24:27And it is the same with this experience,
0:24:27 > 0:24:30because it was so profound, because it was so important to me
0:24:30 > 0:24:33I relive it all the time, and this is something that I try to
0:24:33 > 0:24:35capture in my music,
0:24:35 > 0:24:37I try to capture this sense of warmth,
0:24:37 > 0:24:39this sense of peace.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50Tell me about Ubi Caritas.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53What struck me was the tremendous intimacy that you brought to
0:24:53 > 0:24:57that piece, while at the same time giving it such universality.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00That is really what it is to be a composer,
0:25:00 > 0:25:04I suppose, of sacred music, is to try to find something that's
0:25:04 > 0:25:07immediately personal, but also can touch everybody.
0:25:07 > 0:25:15# Ubi Caritas et amor. #
0:25:20 > 0:25:22In that piece I had those wonderful words,
0:25:22 > 0:25:23written in the fourth century,
0:25:23 > 0:25:25in Latin - Ubi Caritas et amor.
0:25:25 > 0:25:27"Where there is charity and love, God is there."
0:25:27 > 0:25:30In other words, God is the face of love.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33You can't go wrong, when you've got words like that.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36Once you understand them, and try to figure out a simple harmony,
0:25:36 > 0:25:40a simple piece of music that will just enforce them,
0:25:40 > 0:25:41it's a timeless process that's gone on
0:25:41 > 0:25:46since before I was born, during my life, and will continue afterwards.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49I have been lucky enough, God has given grace for me
0:25:49 > 0:25:52to be able to be part of this song that's going on,
0:25:52 > 0:25:55and has been going on, as we were in the chapel earlier.
0:25:55 > 0:25:59People have been singing in there for hundreds of years.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02Now, I have added my voice to that, others will come, afterwards
0:26:02 > 0:26:04and add theirs,
0:26:04 > 0:26:06and I just feel proud and humbled and privileged
0:26:06 > 0:26:07to be part of that great song.
0:29:58 > 0:30:00'Loving father,
0:30:00 > 0:30:02'we thank you for the gift of music.
0:30:02 > 0:30:04'For its power to move us, uplift us
0:30:04 > 0:30:06'and fill our hearts with your love.
0:30:06 > 0:30:10'We thank you for the joy of singing,
0:30:10 > 0:30:12'the companionship, support
0:30:12 > 0:30:15'and friendship that being in a choir gives us.
0:30:15 > 0:30:16'And through the power of music,
0:30:16 > 0:30:21'let us all join together in singing a song of unending praise.'
0:30:21 > 0:30:26# O Sanctissima
0:30:30 > 0:30:34# O Piissima
0:30:37 > 0:30:42# O Dulcis Virgo Maria
0:30:51 > 0:30:56# O Sanctissima
0:30:58 > 0:31:02# O Piissima
0:31:05 > 0:31:09# O Dulcis Virgo Maria. #
0:31:20 > 0:31:23And so to our final hymn,
0:31:23 > 0:31:25from The National Youth Boys Choirs of Scotland.
0:33:22 > 0:33:25Next week, a special performance from the Military Wives,
0:33:25 > 0:33:28as Pam introduces poetry and music for Advent,
0:33:28 > 0:33:33with guests Sheila Hancock, and Sir Derek Jacobi,
0:33:33 > 0:33:36and seasonal hymns from St Albans Church in Bristol.
0:33:51 > 0:33:54Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd