Submitted by composer Doug Jamieson
This piece started in 2017 as a trio intended for my musical theatre work Fastlane to Paradise, but I decided it was not right for the intended scene. When COVID-19 struck, it seemed to be a good work to record remotely, and dedicate to the health-care professionals and front-line service workers.
The lyrics and the vocal arrangement were completely revised, and for the remote recording the 14 singers and David Restivo, the pianist, were sent guide tracks. They listened to the guide tracks on headphones while recording their parts on another device, such as a cell phone or iPad.
The recordings were then sent to me. I loaded all of the recordings into a multi-track music program where they were carefully tweaked to make the ensemble sound unified. It was a time-consuming process, but a labour of love.
Next I created a video to present the words and to elaborate the theme of the song. I wanted the video to position today’s pandemic in the historical context of past pandemics and, at the same time, provide a hopeful message. The photographs were generously provided by Unsplash.com.