Faith

Wymondham Abbey has been brimming with TV camera, lights and microphones for a recording of BBC1's Songs Of Praise.

A hymn service attended by the church's congregation and led by Wymondham Abbey Choir, the town's choral society and Broadland Youth Choir is the centrepiece of the programme, to be screened on Sunday, 30 September, 2007.

After two months of planning, the Songs Of Praise Manchester-based crew pulled up in the town on Monday, 9 July for two days of sound and film recordings at the parish church.

Week-long assignment

The team is then spending the rest of the week in the county capturing picturesque scenes of the broads and coast.

Programme producer Karen Hannah

They will also visit King's Lynn to record a sequence on the old North End fishing community for the 35-minute edition, presented by Pam Rhodes.

Programme producer Karen Hannah said the team was impressed with the area's choirs after recording a Christmas Eve special at Thursford, and were swayed to film in Wymondham by a special anniversary.

"I knew that Wymondham Abbey was 900 years old," said Karen.

"I wanted to go somewhere where we had some established choirs and I knew that we had a big choral society in Wymondham and I knew that we had the abbey choir.

"When we did our programme from Thursford at Christmas time the choirs that are here also took part in that particular programme.

"We thought they were very good and so I was trying to find a venue where we'd be able to get everyone together and still say it's Norfolk."

The youth choir rehearse for the sound recording

Broadland Youth Choir

One of the groups which took part in the Christmas celebration was the Broadland Youth Choir, which has been elevated from a place in the congregation to a starring role at Wymondham.

Musical director Carole Tims said she was delighted to hear her singers had been chosen to appear on screen and then picked for the coveted solo performance on what's believed to be the world's most watched religious TV programme.

"It's just lovely, but I think we're all a bit scared because it's syndicated around the world and the producer told us that the viewing figures come in at something like 50 million," said Carole.

Although the 40-strong choir aged between 8 and 18 normally practice once a week during term-time, they've been sneaking in some extra rehearsals at their Salhouse base.

"The hymns were new to the choir because we're not a church choir," said Carole, "although we do sing in churches - I think we've sung in every cathedral in East Anglia - and we do sing religious music."

News that Broadland Youth Choir had been selected for the programme came through two months ago, and the recording has been met with a mixture of emotions from the young singers.

The abbey's director of music Howard Thomas

"It's been nerve-wracking but exciting as well to think that we're going to be on TV," said Lily Betts. "I think you've just got to pretend the cameras aren't there."

Spreading the word

Wymondham Abbey's director of music and organist Howard Thomas was pleased to welcome back Songs Of Praise to the church after its last visit 12 years ago.

He feels the series - which has been running for 46 years in October - still has an important part to play in promoting Christianity.

"It gives us at the abbey - the abbey congregation and choir - an opportunity of bringing our Christian faith to people in their sitting rooms," said Howard.

"Normally we can only do it for the people we meet in church and sometimes when we go out either to old people's homes or carol singing. It's an immense opportunity to bring some of the joy we have to so many people," he added.