The Choir Christmas Final The Choir

Five choirs,

from some of Britain's biggest workplaces,

have sung their hearts out

for a place in this year's Christmas final.

I've spent six months with these choirs and it comes down to this.

Three have made it through.

Global bank Citi,

technically strong...

This is the crotchet.

..finally found their soul in the Gospel semifinal.

# Take the shackles off my feet! #

I think the shackles were taken off your feet. Well done.

Cheshire Fire Service triumphed

with the drama of their operatic performance.

It had real theatre.

And P&O Cross-Channel Ferries have gone from strength

to strength with their rich tones.

That was the best performance of the night.

CHEERING

Now for the grand final.

Gareth is taking them back to the roots of choral music.

Singing in a cathedral at Christmas, sublime.

Performing a world premiere.

I'm hoping they will bring my piece alive.

-I think it's too much pressure.

-Is it?

-Yeah.

They don't sound like they've been rehearsing.

They sound like they've been discussing.

As bankers, we're probably, in that sense, outsiders.

It could be their moment. It should be their moment. What happened?

Because it was perfect last time.

We're on a downer at the moment and I've got to pick them up.

# Ding dong merrily on high. #

I'm singing like I never thought I'd be able to sing.

This has changed my life.

The Workplace Choir Of The Year is...

CHOIRBOY: # Once in royal David's city

# Stood a lowly cattle shed. #

This is where the final is going to be,

at the very heart of singing in this country,

in a cathedral space where only the purest, most beautiful sounds

will do justice to the majesty of the acoustic.

Gareth's come to Ely Cathedral in Cambridgeshire

to inspect the venue for the final of his Workplace Choir contest.

The weight of 1,000 years of singing history

is in every single stone here.

The challenge of getting my choirs to sing and be ready

with an appropriate performance that's going to work in here

at Christmas time, in front of a full crowd,

with choristers, with organ...

is daunting.

After six months of hard work and hard-fought performances,

the three finalists now have only a fortnight

to prepare for their last contest piece.

All that they've been through as choirs is going to come into play in the final.

Everything that they've learnt so far about commitment,

about tone, about singing as one, is going to be so important.

Gareth's en route to Dover to see the first of the finalists

with news of their last musical challenge.

I cannot wait to get into the room and find out what the challenge is.

I think the final song will be a Christmas song.

I want Rocking Around The Christmas Tree.

SHE LAUGHS

The big danger for P&O now is that they've had a huge success

and now they've got to follow it in the final. That's tricky.

Because a choir can easily dip after a performance like that.

Hello!

ALL: Hello!

-Hi! How are you?

-ENTHUSIASTIC RESPONSE

Come on! You're almost smiling!

-So, congratulations!

-CHEERING

There we are! The pressure is so on you. Last effort.

-What's the expression?

-Full steam ahead!

-Full steam ahead!

Aye, aye, Captain!

-OK. Are you excited?

-ALL: Yes!

Me too.

So, you will be singing at Ely Cathedral

as part of a Christmas service. With the boys of the cathedral choir.

You're going to be performing a very special piece of music,

one that has been composed especially for the occasion.

It is a piece of music written by none other than Paul Mealor,

-one of our judges.

-CHEERING

So, you now have the challenge of pleasing Paul Mealor

-with this piece.

-With A Friend Like You.

-With A Friend Like You.

-Paul has never heard it sung. It's all in his head.

-It's getting worse!

ALL EXCLAIM

You got it!

-Here's the rub - every choir will be singing the same piece.

-Oh, good.

So you have pretty much a level playing field. Here it is.

This is Paul Mealor's With A Friend Like You.

"You give me your hand. You are the unlatched door.

"You are the shore land, you are the..."

-Shore?

-"Safe shore."

-LAUGHTER

Could it be any more appropriate for you?

# Then I am strong. #

Tenors, you're together here.

-One, two, three...

-# Then I am strong

# Then I belong

# Can either be just right or wrong

# No song I can't sing

# No joy I can't bring

# No...I can't be

# And still be still me. #

OK, good. This is typical of Paul that you hear it and go,

"This is going to be a doddle."

And then you go, "Actually, that bit's tricky and that's tricky."

You've got to get these ideas bang in your head immediately.

Thank you. Good stuff.

It's really scary to be given something that's never been

performed before by anybody.

It's emotional straightaway.

Christmas. Everyone is together.

Friends don't see each other all the time but...

That's the sort of feel. It's brilliant. Awesome.

With P&O off the mark, Gareth's second choir,

Cheshire Fire And Rescue Service, gathers for news of the final.

A bit of apprehension around what is coming next. What song it will be.

Will it be really difficult? Will it be really technical?

Anybody could win now.

There's only three choirs left so it's anybody's game.

Cheshire Fire Service have surprised me before

with the sound that they get on the day.

And they surprised the judges as well time after time.

And they're likeable.

But I don't think likeable is enough with the kind of technical

challenge they're about to find themselves facing.

Morning!

ALL: Morning!

OK, have a seat.

You're going to be forming a very special piece of music,

one that has been composed especially for the occasion.

It has a rather lovely title and a rather lovely theme.

With A Friend Like You.

Pat's welled up.

One, two, three, four...

THEY SING HARMONIES

# Then I am strong. #

LAUGHTER

Well done. No, that's good. That's proper goose bumps. Well done.

This song is amazing.

Once we've nailed it, it'll be even better.

It feels really special, doesn't it?

Because you know it's been written for the choirs.

Each of the choirs will sing one verse and chorus of the same piece.

But for the first time it's up to the choirs to come up

with their own unique arrangement.

The notes on the page are just the beginning

and Paul will be looking to see how they've opened it up.

Everything they've done before, there's been a CD that you can go

and listen to how other people did it.

No such luxury here. They have to decide how this goes for themselves.

I want to find out what is going to make this

a Cheshire Fire And Rescue performance.

So you are entirely free to decide,

is that beginning bit going to be sung by everyone?

Is it going to be a duet or is there somebody new who hasn't sung before?

If you want to say something personifies the Fire And Rescue Service,

it's deep, manly.

-Deep and manly.

-There's deep and manly for you.

-It does have a top F.

HE SINGS BOTTOM F

-LAUGHTER

-That's a bottom F. OK.

My opinion is we should use Gareth and Ash.

Let's have a listen to all the options.

# When I just can't see

# What you can see in me

# Somehow you still see

# You see the best me. #

Yeah, could work, couldn't it? It needs some practice.

It would be a missed trick if we didn't hear Michelle.

She missed the opportunity last time.

Michelle, why did you not put yourself forward for the solo?

She was on leave.

Michelle, will you come out?

# When I'm just not me

# When I can't even be

# All that I can be

# Just see the worst in me. #

I think it sounded amazing, I really did.

When you get that in a cathedral, bouncing off the walls,

that's going to be awesome.

We all agree that it's Michelle for the win?

ALL: Yeah.

Looks like you just got yourself a solo there, Michelle.

Michelle is one of the Fire Service's outreach workers.

We get to go out into the community.

We get to meet lots of young people and try and help them.

Pop that one in for me.

There's no better work than the youth work that we do

and the community work in raising awareness of fires

and getting respect for the fire service. There you go.

You done it! Yes!

# When I'm just not me When I can...#

I've never been judged singing,

I've just sang when people haven't really wanted it.

To have the rest of the choir's hopes on my shoulders,

I probably wish I'd stayed in the background.

# To see the best me. #

Well done.

That was lovely.

Great. Where have you been hiding that voice, then? That was great.

Thank you very much, everyone. Well done.

In their first rehearsal, Cheshire has decided on its arrangements.

It'll start with a solo, be joined by a duet

and then followed by the whole choir.

Wow! In the nick of time a really good voice. Really good.

Just perfect for that. Perfect!

-We'll be stood right next to you.

-I know, yeah.

-It does help.

What I love about this group is that they make a decision and run with it

and support each other and it's very solid and they don't flap about.

They just make a decision.

Gareth is on his way to Canary Wharf to catch up with his last choir,

global banking giant, Citi.

It'll be very interesting to see how each choir performs

singing the same music but with a different interpretation.

We're into the final, which I guess was our objective

when we set off on this wonderful journey a few months ago.

And there is everything to play for.

Quite exciting to hear what today's song is and what we're doing, where it's going to be.

They've got choral singers in there. It could be their moment.

It SHOULD be their moment.

# Now I know

# That I'm on solid ground

# When you're...

# I never lost my...

# Then I am strong. #

OK. Good.

It's very Andrew Lloyd Webber. I mean, it's lovely.

It's very Andrew Lloyd Webber, it's very Paul Mealor.

You have to kind of get inside it and find a way to bring it to life.

Ideally, for a cathedral, I'd like something properly classical.

But then I'd probably like something properly classical at every stage.

# Nothing I can't do... #

It's cheesy. It's cheesetastic,

but I like the build-up it's going to have.

This song is on a knife edge between being too sentimental

or being absolutely beautiful and heartfelt.

And that is entirely down to the performance and how they react to it

and I think it was a very musical response from them.

Now they've got some decisions to make.

It says soloists from choir three, so is there any rule that...?

There are no rules. You could all do it if you like.

-Let's work to our strength, which is...

-Blend.

-Blend.

We could have, essentially, almost like a quartet,

except of course it's got five parts, so quintet.

So, three altos on the soprano and alto lines.

And then in bar 78

the rest of the choir starting unbelievably quietly

at the beginning of that bar.

By the time we reach strong we're all going.

And I just thought of that in the last 30 seconds. Brrrrrrrr!

And I've got a spreadsheet.

Citi have got to find a way not to be boring.

They really do. That has been their problem all the way along.

They do nice performances, but they never set the world on fire.

No-one is more anxious to find out how the choirs will interpret

the piece than contest judge, Paul Mealor.

He composed the song with lyricist Brendan Graham,

whose hits include You Raise Me Up.

This is the first time I've ever given a piece of music over

to a group and not heard a rehearsal.

There's a lot of things in this piece which they've never

done before, which could throw them.

For example a soprano might do this...

HIGH TO LOW NOTE

-..whilst the alto is doing...

-LOW TO HIGH NOTE

..the opposite and it's happening all over the place.

But Paul's not just looking for technical precision.

Emotionally I want this piece to be about friendship.

It's at Christmas that friendship really hits home.

So I'm expecting and hoping that they'll bring my piece alive.

It is so nerve-racking. What are they going to do?

Are they going to murder it?

In Dover, the choir is no closer to a decision.

# And I just stand alone

# No land is my land

# And nothing is all I own. #

SHOUTS OF ENCOURAGEMENT

Do you know, that really touched me, because that's so vulnerable.

Well, it's got heart, hasn't it?

If we have Grant doing "When I'm an island I just stand alone."

And Geoff's next to him

and he just has to put his hand on his shoulder

-and then they come in together.

-Whoa!

We're talking brothers, here.

-It's too much!

-"You give me your hand..."

-OK. Let's try it.

# When I'm an island

# And I just stand alone

# No land is my land

# And nothing's all I own

# You give me your hand

# You are the unlatched door

# You are the shore land

# You are safe shore

# And I am strong. #

I think that's great.

There's something, with the support of the brothers.

But not everyone in the choir agrees.

Now I'm in two minds whether to have a solo.

I think we sound better together.

Is it about winning the competition or saying,

"Look, we all agree as a team that these guys can go up and sing this"?

I think it really is all about winning now,

rather than going on about people's feelings at all.

Tidy it up. Have another few goes at it.

When I come back, let me see what you've got.

OK. Thanks, everyone. Bye-bye!

See you next time. Bye-bye.

-I don't think anything's decided.

-No. Nothing's decided.

It's a bit of a mixed message over whether we want to be vulnerable

-or whether we want to be best...

-Clinical.

-Yeah.

The best kind of singers.

# No land is my land

# And nothing's all I own... #

Citibank are going to go in there and they're going to bang it

and they're going to be pure.

Their singing is going to be crisp and bang on,

and this start is just not going to work for us.

It's going to be Geoff, it's going to be Grant.

-Let's just get on with it.

-We could still be here next week

trying to make a decision on who's going to be doing what.

As Ely Cathedral prepares for the final,

the choirs are having to juggle their day jobs with rehearsals.

With just over a week until the final,

Gareth's back in Cheshire to rehearse with the fire service's soloist.

Michelle starts the whole thing. That's pressure.

When she gets those notes on the day, she's got to be right.

She's going to need nerves of steel, this young lady.

-Hello, Michelle.

-Hiya.

How are you feeling about this solo?

I was just panicking that I'd have a bit too much pressure on me

to try and come in on the right key.

Shall we try it?

# Somehow you still see

# You see the best me. #

Pretty good.

But I think actually what it needs is an audience.

I'd like you to go and perform it to other people.

-Like...?

-I don't know. Anyone that's around.

-You're not going to take me to the right, are you?

-To the right?

-Yeah.

-Why, what's going on?

-I think there's a huge conference.

Oh, perfect!

There's about 100 people in there.

Have a look.

I think the Chief's in there as well, and your boss' boss.

Perfect! Well, look, if you can do that, you can do anything.

Excuse me. Hello.

I'm so sorry to disturb your meeting.

I'm Gareth, I'm conducting the Cheshire Fire And Rescue Choir.

They have a soloist at the beginning.

This is Michelle, everyone.

As you can imagine, Michelle's somewhat nervous

about getting up in front of a lot of people in Ely Cathedral,

so I thought what better way than in at the deep end.

The floor is yours.

Go on, Michelle!

Deep breath.

-Can't do it.

-You can.

Phew! Let's do it.

# When I'm just not me

# When I can't even be

# All that I can be

# Just see the worst in me

# When I just can't see

# What you can see in me

# Somehow you still see

# You see the best me. #

Well done!

Thank you, all!

Well done.

You did it.

You absolutely did it. That shows courage. Yes!

Good. Well done!

As small as she is, if we win this it's cos we're standing

on her shoulders. I'm absolutely convinced of it.

I think me confidence has definitely, definitely grown.

So, hopefully, it'll put me in good stead for the final,

cos it can't be much worse than that.

Although the fire service is on course musically,

a national strike threatens their progress.

Head of Operations has asked to see Gareth.

-Hello.

-Hello, Gareth.

-How are you?

The Union has voted for strike action over changes to retirement age

and pensions.

The news is, we were expecting dates of strikes.

There's a circular come out today from the FBU.

That's the fire...

Fire Brigades Union. Yeah, excuse me.

"It now appears that strike action is unavoidable in England and Wales.

"Arrangements are currently being finalised for this."

Between...

..now and the finals, there's almost certainly going to be

clashes with the choir and the strike.

If it does come to it, I hope for the choir's sake that it happens

after the finals. Right, see you later.

The choir is doing so well here in Cheshire.

They've worked incredibly hard, and to lose out

because of a strike...

would be a great shame.

# You walk beside me

# You are the one more mile

# The smile inside me when I... #

In Canary Wharf, the bankers have agreed on an ensemble approach,

and are testing it out in a cathedral-sounding space.

We've put a lot of thought, as you might imagine,

into how we should present this particular piece of music.

They think they've cracked it with a precise technical arrangement.

We're not going to do an individual soloist.

We've got the best singer approach.

We've got a choir which has got many different parts

and play really well together.

So, some gorgeous sounds came out.

-Hello. Good morning!

-Morning.

-Morning.

# No joy I can't bring

# No-one I can't be

# And still be still me

# With a friend like

# You

# With a friend like you.

# With a friend like you # Hey!

# Da-da-dee-dae-ray! #

Hey!

OK. So, none of that.

I think you've got ba-baa-ba-ba in your minds, but it's...

# Dee-dee-dee-dee-dee

# Dee-dee-dee-dee... #

Let us take care of the rhythm, and you just do line over the top of it.

I think you have to...

# No song I can't sing...

# We're back to gospel! #

Do you know, I mean, it's almost tempting just to try it like that.

Can you try it gospel style? Ha!

The whole bit or just the second bit which we sing without the piano?

I think, mmm, ooh...

-Oooh!

-That is a good way of doing it.

-That's a really good idea.

-That's...

We've had a breakthrough! OK. Yeah.

I like that. So, we go all classical...

So we have a really, sort of, nice and on the first one and then...

# No song I can't...

# Whoa, yeah! #

Exactly, it's a cappella.

Do you know what? It's bold.

We go Sister Act.

# No song I can't sing

# No joy I can't bring

# No-one I can't be

# And still be still me

# Nothing I can't do

# That I can't get through

# With a friend like

# You. #

I've got to say, I think it's amazing.

It's a sort of gamble, isn't it?

-No risk, no reward.

-No risk, no reward, I like that.

I love it. I don't know why Citi didn't think of doing gospel before,

because it was such a breakthrough moment for them.

We need, yeah.

'That's been the big revelation, I think, in Citi, is to get'

boring bankers actually rocking out and having a really good time.

Yeah, baby!

I think it's proper genius.

I think as bankers, I think, you know,

we're probably in that sense outsiders,

and then to take that piece and maybe just use that to edge past,

you know, by a nose, perhaps.

Maybe people think we'll be uncomfortable doing something a bit

racy and a bit daring, but maybe we should just go out and show we can.

After a week of debate, the ferry staff have finally made a decision.

Just in time to take to the high seas for Gareth's next session.

The last time I saw them at rehearsal

they weren't making decisions, and if they haven't made one now

I think that could be critical for them.

We're blending well. We've picked our soloists

and I think they're the best people for the job that we need to do.

I hope that he likes our arrangement.

I'm sure we will find out if he doesn't. Hmm!

Hi, everyone. How are you doing with your song?

-Hmm! I think it's too much pressure.

-Is it?

-Yeah.

Because we want to do better every time, don't we, of course,

naturally, and there's an element of "Can we?"

And then some days we're kind of like, "Yeah, course we can."

And then some days we're like, "I don't know if we can."

So, it's really up and down. Literally!

Yeah. Literally.

You know, the really important decision is the beginning.

For me, all other considerations are secondary.

OK. Shall we stand up? Let's get singing.

I don't know what I'm going to get. Who am I looking at?

# When I'm an island

# And I just stand alone

# No land is my land

# And nothing's all I own.

# Give me your hand

# You are the unlatched door... #

Hello!

# You are the shore land

# You are the safe shore

# When I am strong. #

Well done. Have a sit.

-Can I just commend the two guys? I think that's great.

-Yeah.

Really good.

The choir is opting to keep it simple to highlight the rich tone

they've been praised for.

Starting with brothers Grant and Geoff, and joined by everyone.

The start...

# When I'm an island... #

..in that kind of like oche way is beautiful.

Then these harmonies are not exciting enough.

There's much more potential in here.

I think that they should win it.

Really, based on where their last performance was.

But they just don't sound certain.

# Oooh. #

Wrong note.

-Who, me?

-Wrong note. Yeah. Both of you.

And they don't sound like they've been rehearsing.

They sound like they've been discussing.

Right. OK. I don't think there's a break.

No, there isn't. So, there's no break there.

And I think we can do it, but I think we've got a little while to go

yet before we get everything down perfect to the T.

Just about got my sea legs...

With P&O playing catch up, Gareth needs to help brothers Grant

and Geoff get to the heart of the piece.

One, two, three.

# When I'm an island

# And I just stand alone

# No land is my land

# And nothing's all I own. #

Good. I think there's a few things we can do.

I mean, first off, what does this song mean to you?

I mean, when are you an island?

-Do you ever feel like an island, Grant.

-No.

-No?

I can relate to it.

I've got a twin brother called Ross and he has cystic fibrosis.

A long time ago we get told he needs a liver transplant or that's it.

And it's a bit like, "Oh, what?"

And all of sudden the whole outside world, you don't notice any of it,

because you're there and you're on your own.

And this is very out of character for Grant,

but I was really upset about it.

And he just came up and gave me a hug in front of everyone,

and it was just like all of a sudden we were there together again.

Is this one of the first things that you've done together in a while?

-Yeah. In a very long time.

-Yeah.

How's that been for you?

Grant, I'm going to ask you to tell me genuinely.

How has it been for me, this choir thing?

Yeah, you know, well, working with your brother

-and spending time together?

-Nice.

-Is that it? Nice.

-Nice.

Man of very few words. No. It's been all right.

I wouldn't have done this if it wasn't for him.

I need you to feel it, you know, when you're singing.

Because you don't want this...

# When I'm an... #

How's it sounding? That sense.

You just want...

# When I'm an island

# And I just stand alone

# No land is my land

# And nothing's all I own. #

Job done for me.

Interestingly, just subtly different

following that conversation.

As long as we can get the togetherness, togetherness,

we'll be all right.

And that's what it's all about.

Well, this is falsetto...

Togetherness defines the fire service.

But top Gs don't come so easily.

SONG: "Staying Alive" by The BeeGees

Tray and go ah, ah...

# Staying alive... #

We're trying to get an example of someone singing real falsetto

that we would all know. We've had Barry Gibb.

We appreciate we can't bring the BeeGees too much

into the performance, can we?

So far, there's been no news of the first strike date.

It's become a habit of mine just to check the Twitter for announcements.

-Anything come out yet?

-Yeah. Oh, hang on.

Strike next Wednesday.

Is it?

You can probably see what it's done to just this room

in a few short seconds.

I think that will be amplified across the organisation, really.

With the strike date now national news, Gareth is under no illusions

about the gravity of the situation.

Cheshire Fire Service have always had unity on their side,

and I worry with strike, the atmosphere of the strike,

that they're not going to be able to kind of focus, really.

Hi, guys. You all right? How has it been going?

-Not particularly merry.

-No. I'm sorry to hear this.

This is kind of really awkward timing, isn't it?

The shadow of this is still across the date of the final.

I've completely blocked that out of it

coming for the final, in particular.

It just seemed...

..you know, too bad news to even contemplate.

I think if we can just put it to one side. Shall we crack on?

Let's get everyone together and have a rehearsal.

# When I just can't see

# What you can see in me

# Somehow you still see

# You see the best me

# When I am strong. #

OK. Thank you very much. Not quite in tune.

Now what's happened?

Cos it was sort of perfect last time, wasn't it, tuning wise?

Tension? I don't know. Let's try and solve it.

One, two, three.

# Ahhh

# Ahhh... #

So, we're just not even remotely in the same key.

The problem with starting a choir in a workplace is that whatever

happens in the workplace affects the choir.

So, we're on a downer at the moment,

because the fire service is on a downer and I've got to pick them up.

Can we push the chairs back and get in a circle, please?

We're going to have a sort of little Christmas eggnog dance.

Can we have the ladies in the middle in a circle

and the gentlemen on the outside in a circle?

Why don't you just turn out, ladies, and face the gents?

There we are. And I'd like...

# Ding dong, merrily on high

# In next person, da-da-da!

# Ding dong merrily on high

# In heaven the bells are ringing

# Ding dong verily the sky

# Is riv'n with angel singing

# Gloria

# Hosanna in excelsis. #

Thank you. That's finished me off. How's morale now?

Bloody awful!

Counting down to the final, and Gareth has a crucial rehearsal

with the stars of the Ely Cathedral -

its choristers.

They'll be the backing singers at the beginning and end

of each choir's section, and their musical benchmark.

-Hello. Hello.

-Hello.

As pupils at the cathedral school...

Hello. Come on down.

..they sing at services up to six times a week.

We're going to go and rehearse in the cathedral, so follow me.

They are entrenched in choral music.

They live, eat, breathe, sleep it.

They are the epitome of that British choral sound

and having them sing with my choirs, I think it's going to elevate

everything that they've done so far to a totally different level.

Let's all stand. Not too heavy on the B flat.

Light.

THEY HARMONISE

# With a friend like you. #

That's fine. I don't think it'll need a lot more than that.

I just don't want to feel that sense of punch

and effort on the final note.

My choirs are going to come and sing in Ely Cathedral.

What can you tell them that they need to know

about this sort of sound?

Project your sound to all around the cathedral

-so people can hear the words, diction, everything.

-Yes.

You need to try and blend with everyone around you

and not be the voice that sticks out.

You need to let the building do a lot of the work for you.

Try and keep the sound really forward and coming from your head.

Can you demonstrate the difference?

# Aaah

# Aaah. #

Just looking at you, it's almost as though you're singing

out of the back of your head. Can you all demonstrate that?

# Aaah... #

It's amazing, isn't it? It just rings in here.

It's so nice. And I think it's going to be really good fun.

Thank you very much. Good rehearsal. Well done.

They're great. They're beautiful. They're so musical.

You ask them one thing, and they do it.

They change it.

I must have said, you know, a thousand times to my choirs,

it's not all about shouting. It's not all about volume.

I feel like these choristers have just significantly upped the game.

This is as close as it gets to a cathedral at Citi.

Come and stand over here.

With the final approaching, Gareth uses the 42-story tower

to prepare the bankers for a cathedral acoustic.

# No song I can't sing

# No joy I can't bring

# No-one I can't be

# And still be still me

# Nothing I can't do

# That I can't get through

# With a friend like

# You

# With a friend like you. #

Good.

With the gospel bit, unless you over-gospel it, it doesn't register.

-When you get the whole sound, it's lovely, isn't it?

-It is.

The actual music is now coming together.

Right now I think our chances of winning are really high.

We're the opposite. I don't think we're going to win.

-I don't listen to him.

-I don't think we're going to win.

I think we're going to win.

Citi's combination of really good choral singing with

the freedom of gospel and the fact that they've come together

as a choir and as a group of people,

I think it makes them very hard to beat.

In Dover, Gareth's chosen the 80,000 square feet warehouse

to refine the trademark rich dynamic that's got P&O this far.

# Nothing I can't do

# That I can't get through

# With a friend like... #

Go for it. Into the floor.

# You.

# With a friend like you. #

-Good.

-I mean, do you know what?

Being in here changes everything, doesn't it?

It really needs that level of enormous exaggeration,

but good work. Thank you very much. Good rehearsal today.

Thank you very much.

The past couple of rehearsals have been really hard,

but Gareth's come in and he's worked on a lot with us today.

In there it sounded amazing. It really, really did.

Erm, and I think we're all on... we've gone down

and now we're just coming back up.

Nothing can really prepare them for the majesty of a cathedral

and what you need to give in a space like that.

There's a week to go.

If they work very, very hard, then this could be very special.

While the bankers and ferry workers are rehearsing,

the firefighters are in the midst of the first strike in over ten years.

Once over, it's an anxious wait for the next strike date

while they get back to work and singing.

Let's put the choir a bit further down there

so we can really tell whether you can hear the words...

Gareth wants to re-focus on their strengths - the spirit and drama

of their performance.

Really go for the operatic sell.

# No song I can't sing

# No joy I can't bring

# No-one I can't be

# And still be still me

# Nothing I can't do

# That I can't get through

# With a friend like

# You

# With a friend like you.

They're smiling now. You look like you're enjoying it.

What, for you, feels like a long way into a kind of rich choral sound

is going to be exactly right. I think it's in a great place.

That's good. Thank you, audience.

What's the update?

Unions have to give seven days' notice of industrial action,

and with only a week till the final, they're all waiting on news

of a second strike.

Right. Thanks, Tim.

There's been no announcements of further dates,

-so it's clear road now to Ely.

-Good.

Great! Oh, that's really good.

The day of the final has dawned.

This is amazing!

-No pressure!

-No.

-When do you get the opportunity to sing in a place like this?

-No.

Wow!

Absolutely beautiful.

It's magnificent, the building, the setting.

It's awe-inspiring.

I just can't wait to hear what it sounds like

cos I just think it's going to be amazing.

I don't really know what to say, it's...

huge.

Welcome to Ely Cathedral! It's the final!

I am very excited.

At the end of today, you will be performing a world premiere

in this amazing space to a capacity audience.

There are going to be 1,200 people in here.

So important is music to the cathedral

that they have their own dedicated school just next door,

where they teach the choristers to sing.

The youngest of them is only nine years old.

ALL: Aww!

So, you are going back to school.

Each choir will be tutored by their own group of Ely choristers

and cathedral choral director.

It's their last opportunity to prepare for the cathedral acoustic.

Come on in and have a seat...

There isn't a lot of time for them

to absorb the lessons from the cathedral choristers,

but there's enough time for them to make that little change

that's going to make all the difference when they get in there.

# No-one I can't be

# And still be still me

# Nothing I can't... #

I'm going to stop you there. Thank you!

You've got to breathe in the sound you want to transmit

to the audience, and it has to be...

-DEEP VOICE:

-No song - rich.

-HIGHER VOICE:

-One, two.

HE INHALES

-# No song I can't sing... #

-Yes!

# No joy I can't bring... #

If anyone is standing like that or like that, it's best thing to

go like that, cos then the whole diaphragm is straight to let all

the vocalism come out of your mouth and travel through the cathedral.

Singing with you mouth open. # Ah. #

Drop your jaw. You get a lot more resonance. As soon as I did that

then I was like, "Oh, God, I'm producing a different sound there."

I'm just promoting this young man to area manager.

Honorary member of the Cheshire Fire Service. There you go.

Pleased to meet you, sir.

Fantastic!

# Nothing I can't do

# That I can't get through

# With a friend like you. #

Words definitely need to be crisper.

Use your tongue and your teeth.

They really help to get the consonants through.

Thank you, yes!

I just can't get over... The gospel bit was amazing.

I'm so impressed by that. We should have more of that in the cathedral.

# No land is my land

# And nothing's all I own

# Oohh. #

The cathedral's going to be absolutely packed,

but you've got to...

Are you supposed to make us feel better right now?

You've got to ignore all the people. Sort of imagine like you're

singing to one person at the back,

perhaps who's hard of hearing.

That'll give the right effect.

Geoff and Grant, if they have more confidence in themselves,

they'll do really well.

Their projection and diction and everything and they'll be great.

-Dictation, pronunciation.

-Yes, that's it, dear.

-Yes, dear.

Back to judge for one final time are Royal Wedding composer Paul Mealor,

world-renowned soprano Sarah Fox,

and award-winning gospel conductor Ken Burton.

In a cathedral, I mean, what a place to be performing

on your third or fourth performance.

I've been in this industry for what, 30, 40 years of my life,

and it's taken me decades to get to this!

They're going to be more than nervous, I think!

The acoustic will perhaps throw them off, because it's very, very boomy,

there's a lot of space,

so it will be interesting to see how they cope with that.

I haven't heard any rehearsals...

For composer Paul Mealor,

it'll be the first time he's heard his song performed.

I'm expecting and hoping that they'll bring my piece alive,

that they will add their voices to mine

and you'll hear something quite special.

It's probably the toughest thing they've had to do so far.

Special glittery eye shadow...

With rehearsals over, it's time to focus on the performance ahead,

and the six months it's taken to get here.

We've come so far.

I'm singing like I never thought I'd be able to sing, I really am,

and that's all down to Gareth.

# La la la... #

I want to enjoy it, cos, you know,

it's the culmination of, like, months and months of work.

That's mine, I think.

Sounds really cliched. The self-confidence it gives you.

This has changed my life.

I spent six months with these choirs and it comes down to this.

If P&O get their tone right,

if Cheshire have the heart and soul and the friendship,

and if Citi go for it in that gospel section, any of them could win it.

1,200 people are waiting.

Backstage, it's Gareth's last moment alone with all three choirs.

Here we are! This is it.

It's quite a thing to walk out onto that stage

and sing into that acoustic.

It takes courage and it takes standing tall and really delivering.

I think all of you are capable of magic, and that's what

I want to see on stage tonight, cos this is a magical place.

Have a ball up there, and I'll see you out there.

Thank you all very, very much.

APPLAUSE

Welcome to Ely Cathedral for the grand final of Sing While You Work.

Ladies and gentlemen, our three choirs.

Please welcome Cheshire Fire And Rescue Service.

Next, we have the longest-running cross-channel ferry service

in the country - P&O Ferries.

And last, but by no means least -

this is a fiercely competitive bunch -

please welcome Citi, the Bank.

Singing with them tonight are the Ely Cathedral Choirs.

# Hallelujah

# Hallelujah

# Amen

MUSIC: "With A Friend Like You" by Paul Mealor

# When I'm just not me

# When I can't even be

# All that I can be

# Just see the worst in me

# When I just can't see

# What you can see in me

# Somehow you still see

# You see the best me

# And then I am strong

# Then I belong

# Can even angels be just right or wrong?

# No song I can't sing

# No joy I can't bring

# With a friend like you

# No song I can't sing

# No joy I can't bring

# No-one I can't be

# And still be still me

# Nothing I can't do

# That I can't get through

# With a friend like you

# With a friend like you. #

CHEERING

MUSIC: "With A Friend Like You" by Paul Mealor

# When I'm an island

# And I just stand alone

BOTH: # No land is my land

# And nothing's all I own

# You give me your land

# You are the unlatched door

# You are the shore land

# You are the safe shore

ALL: # Then I am strong

# And I belong

# Can even angels be just right or wrong?

# No song I can't sing

# No joy I can't bring

# No-one I can't be

# And still be still me

# With a friend like you

# No song I can't sing

# No joy I can't bring

# No-one I can't be and still be me

# Nothing I can't do

# That I can't get through

# With a friend like you

# With a friend like

# You. #

CHEERING

MUSIC: "With A Friend Like You" by Paul Mealor

# You walk beside me

# You are that one more mile

# The smile inside me

# When I don't have a smile

# When you're around know

# That I'm on solid ground

# When you're around know

# I never lost my friend

# Then I am strong

# Then I belong

# Can either be just right or wrong?

# No song I can't sing

# No joy I can't bring

# With a friend like you

# No song I can't sing

-# No joy I can't bring

-Joy yeah

# No-one I can't be

-# And still be still me

-Still me

-# Nothing I can't do

-I can do anything

# That I can't get through

# With a friend like you

# With a friend like you. #

CHEERING

So, Paul, what did you think?

I tell you what, I'm quite close to a tear.

You sung from your hearts, all of you, every single one of you,

and it's a credit to you.

Well done, all of you.

Thank you very much, Paul.

It's decision time for the judges.

-Now...

-Down to the nitty-gritty.

When Cheshire started, I liked the way they set themselves up,

and I liked the way they went through it,

and I think overall it had a lovely performing energy, as always.

If there's any choir of the three which exemplifies the spirit of

the meaning of this song, I think it's Cheshire.

You know, putting workplace together with choir, the togetherness,

the growth in confidence and so forth.

Moving to Citi Choir.

I thought their energy was brilliant.

I thought their tuning was magnificent.

Nice bit of gospel there, as well.

Yeah, they let go on it, and that's what I wanted to hear.

What about P&O?

One thing that really impressed me about their performance, really,

was their dynamic contrast.

But if you remember the first time that I commented on them,

they were terrible and I'm so pleased that we hear them now at the

final as a proper choir, doing stuff that it takes choirs years to do.

With all that taken into consideration,

I think Citi did a better job than P&O.

For me, P&O has represented the choir

which has made the most progress.

We've got to pick one.

APPLAUSE

Well, thank you very much, Gareth.

Thank you very much indeed, choirs.

Cheshire, you never disappoint.

Great moves, great energy, fabulous solo. Thank you.

P&O, there were many great things happening

in that performance tonight.

What I especially liked were your dynamics, the way that you

were able to build and the different colours that you used

in your voices as well was really, really wonderful to listen to.

You've really, really come a very, very long way

and I'd really like to congratulate you for what you have achieved.

Citi, the Bank,

we thought you did a stunning performance.

You had wonderful, wonderful tuning throughout

and we loved the moves that you did,

we really did, and it's been wonderful to see the freedom

of spirit you've had, so congratulations.

And now the decision.

I can tell you, it may well be Christmas

but it wasn't very merry back in our judging room.

However, we have come to a decision.

The workplace choir of the year is...

..P&O.

Congratulations to P&O Cross-Channel Ferries. You deserve it!

We've only gone and done it, haven't we?

We've only gone and blooming well done it!

Sometimes you need a little push and a little persuasion to do something

-out of your comfort zone, and you get something amazing from it.

-Yeah.

-Yes! Yes!

-Ow!

There were moments in there where I felt a special connection with P&O.

We did absolutely everything we could.

We wanted to peak in a performance for once and we managed it.

I hope it's the start of a whole new beginning, for us,

for our choir, dare I say it for banking?

Well done!

Disappointed not to win, but totally cool with it.

I thought P&O were awesome.

It's been one of the most amazing projects,

if you can call it that, I've ever been involved in, ever.

I've been struck all day by how far this idea has come,

this crazy idea that singing should be in workplaces,

that it should be in communities, an idea we'd sort of forgotten about.

Singing in a cathedral at Christmas

with three amazing workplace choirs, sublime!

# Ding dong merrily on high

# In heaven the bells are ringing

# Ding dong verily the sky

# Is riv'n with angels singing

# Gloria

# Hosanna in excelsis

# Gloria

# Hosanna in excelsis

# In excelsis

# In excelsis

# Hosanna

# In excelsis. #

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Happy Christmas, everyone!