The choir of Saint Aldwyn's in the village of Writhcombe has stopped singing at its weekly rehearsals, following a review of what its footage achieves online. Members now stand in the nave in silence, holding their faces ready.

The change follows months of filming by the choir's social media officer, Mr Colin Peat, who posts each rehearsal to the choir's channel. A clip of the choir being surprised by the opening chord of a hymn was watched by more people than any of the hymns themselves, and by more people than any hymn the choir has recorded in its history, according to Mr Peat.

"The maths was quite plain," said Mr Peat, standing beside a tripod while eleven singers held expressions of gentle astonishment behind him. "People do not want to hear us sing. They want to see us hear it."

The rehearsal

Wednesday's rehearsal began, as rehearsals now do, with a warm-up for the face. Members were asked to move from neutral to delighted, hold it, and then attempt alarm without any movement of the shoulders.

"We used to warm the voice," said Mrs Deirdre Slack, an alto of thirty years' standing. "Now we warm the eyebrows. It is not what I joined for, but I do feel seen in a way that singing never managed."

One tenor, who asked not to be named, said he had been told his reaction to the first chord of the previous Sunday was "not landing", and had been asked to think of something sad before each take. He declined to say whether he was still thinking of it.

The choir no longer performs the first chord of anything more than once per service. The organist, Mr Howard Pym, has been instructed to pause before striking it, to allow every member to reset their face.

"It is an extraordinary discipline," said Mr Pym. "In silence, a choir looks like a group of people waiting for something. It turns out that is the product."

What happens next

The choir's Christmas programme will be performed at the village carol service, which Mr Peat confirmed will be filmed. He said the choir had discussed singing during rehearsals again once the reaction footage had "found its level", but that no level had been reached yet.

"We are not against singing," said Mr Peat. "Singing is a small part of what a choir is, and we are simply focusing on the rest of it."

A second camera has been ordered for the font.