HALLELUJAH
Singing about music , love , loss and having faith in difficult times
A little over a year and a half ago , I ’ d never have thought that I ’ d be singing to a screen .
Lockdown was difficult , and choirs and music lessons were no exception . Time lags and echo feedback forced everyone to put themselves on mute , and performances were halted . Aside from singing to no one in the shower – as many of us do – virtual versions of our choirs were set up . It was odd to be sure , as our teachers had no idea what we sounded like ! And that ’ s not really a good thing !
Apart from the awkwardness and the strange shift from the norm , choirs and music in lockdown were fun . Singing is a wonderful way for people to relax , especially in those strange circumstances ; it was great to take a break from lessons and have a stretch and a sing . One brilliant opportunity to sing was the rendition of Leonard Cohen ’ s ‘ Hallelujah ’, which choirs across all the year groups contributed to . We videoed
ourselves singing – standing up for once – and sent the clips in to school to be compiled into a piece .
‘ Hallelujah ’, in my opinion , was a great choice for a song . It ’ s about love and loss and still praising God , or any other high power . It ’ s about still having faith in difficult times , despite being broken and bitter , similar to Job ’ s outlook on his suffering . But it ’ s also about music , and how beautiful a song can be , and music helped keep me sane during lockdown . Just moving around , even if I was going to sit down again , and finding some space to play an instrument or sing a song , was always calming and a good break from screens .
It was certainly strange to see myself on a video singing by myself , and an odd , sometimes complicated experience , filming it . Watching the video felt different , as I had never really watched myself singing in a performance before . One potential downside – or upside , depending on your point of view – is that it was very easy for my parents to share the video with our friends and family !
Getting back to school in person and back into live choir has been a great change and I , for one , am really looking forward to full live performances once again !
Allegra Fleming , Year 9
SEVENOAKS SCHOOL 2020-2021 65