Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile: Choir Mission Country launches album of religious music in the middle of the pandemic
“Stay in my love” is the result of the coordinated work of the Country Mission Choir that, through a song contest, voice casting and recordings in the midst of a health emergency, releases this album as a way to comfort in difficult times.
Reducing the number of members of the choir, prioritizing remote rehearsals, face-to-face rehearsals in the open air and distancing were some of the resources that the Choir Mission Country had to use for the production of the album.
Composers, singers, instrumentalists and artists were an essential part of the creative process to be able to launch “Stay in my love”, a new album by the Country Mission Choir , a Pastoral project of the Catholic University, and now available on Spotify , Apple Music , YouTube , Amazon , ITunes , among other platforms, and that through 11 songs seeks to evangelize through music.
The young volunteers, who carried out the realization of this album in the midst of the adversity of the pandemic, managed to resignify their service to the Church and Christ through a living apostolate, with the aim of bringing believers closer to continue growing as society in Christ, with a specific message for these times . And is that the novelty of this latest album is the message it transmits through the universal language of music. It is deeply marked by the pandemic circumstances that it was faced with and wants to be a living response to the voices and signs of this scenario.
“With this album we want to remember that only united to Christ can we find meaning in life and its circumstances” – Francisca Vásquez, Coro Misión País.
“With this album we want to remember that only united to Christ can we find meaning in life and its circumstances. We want to reaffirm the words of Jesus who asks us to remain united in his love and trust that – as Saint John Paul II said in our country – ‘love always wins, as Christ has won; love has won, although at times, in the face of specific events and situations, it may seem powerless to us. Christ seemed powerless on the cross. God can always do more. ‘ God is always present and will never abandon us ”, points out the general coordinator of the project, Francisca Vásquez.
Cover of “Stay in my love”, which is already available on various digital platforms.
For this reason, the songs talk about specific elements: they are based on people, situations and images, and it also seeks to be a company for those who listen to it, especially in times as difficult as today . “We rescued the voice of God, which became a song at every moment of this year”, rescue the general coordinators, Francisca Vásquez and Ignacio Bas.
Likewise, they highlight that the content of the album and of each of the songs arises from the question of Saint Paul in the letter to Romans: “Who can separate us from the love of Christ?”
Production and recording in times of coronavirus
The complex national and global scenario for the COVID-19 pandemic was a challenge to meet and record. For this reason, the young people who participated in the project developed specific health protocols to carry out their mission.
“We reduced the number of members of the choir; we prioritize trials and instances remotely; and face-to-face rehearsals were organized with limited capacity in open spaces, with due distancing and the use of masks at all times, ”said Ignacio Bas, general coordinator of the project. To comply with these protocols and the allowed capacity, they had to be organized in a more efficient way, considering longer recording times so that between singer and singer the production places could be sanitized and ventilated.
“We had to adapt and give up many things in relation to the rehearsals and the life of a choir, but despite all the difficulties, we were able to live the experience of the project by sharing our faith and music in community, serving God and giving gifts. the experience and message of Jesus through music ”, say Vásquez and Bas.
“We had to adapt and renounce many things in relation to the rehearsals and the life of a choir, but despite all the difficulties, we were able to live the experience of the project by sharing our faith and music in community” – Coro Misión País.
However, they stand out, the learning and the desire to carry out the album number 17 of Coro Misión País was much greater than all the difficulties of the current circumstances. “It was certainly a very big challenge. We learned many things along the way, and fortunately the evolution of the pandemic allowed us – albeit a bit against the clock – to carry out all the production stages, especially the recordings, complying with all the corresponding sanitary measures “, point out the coordinators.