Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Taking choral music to the people

Staff Reporter

Thiruvananthapuram: When the elements of western choral music are blended with the melody of Indian music, the results can be quite exhilarating. As the late music director M.B. Sreenivasan demonstrated, the element of harmony in Western choral music can be well adapted to the melody of the East.

The repertoire of choral music that he created - nearly 500 pieces of music - is the source of inspiration for hundreds of youth, whose love for music has kept them together at the MBS youth choir for the past 18 years.

On Monday evening, at the end of their annual training programme, the 50-member choral group gave a scintillating performance of some new songs that they had added to their repertoire. Poet O.N.V. Kurup was the guest on the occasion.

The MBS youth choir, formed as a memorial to M.B. Sreenivasan by his friend, the late S. Sharma (Sharmaji as he was known), has been engaged in popularising choral music through songs in Indian languages that speak of freedom, nationalism, freedom of expression, peace, the power of mother tongue, the joy of nature and much more.

The annual training programme of the choir is led by music teachers of the famed Madras Youth Choir, which was formed by MB Sreenivasan to promote choral music.

Choral music is not just church music as many would think. It is a demonstration of the sheer power of human voice. The effects of orchestra are lent by voice itself, in six different levels, as the soprano, tenor, high tenor notes of western music.

Though this kind of music is not very popular in Kerala, in the past 18 years, the MBS youth choir has demonstrated how inspiring choral music can be, especially as a vehicle of ideas of national integration and patriotism. Rendering of national integration songs is now an event in youth festivals and the MBS choir has successfully developed many children's choirs in schools.

The MBS choir has in its collection songs in all Indian languages, written by Tagore, Subramania Bharathi, Vayalar, Vallathol, P. Bhaskaran, O.N.V. Kurup, among others. Folk and tribal songs too are included.

The songs that were performed on Monday included `Paambu Pidaram,' written by Bharathiyar, set to score by M.B. Sreenivasan; `Paadasalai,' written by Tamilanpan and music by M.B. Sreenivasan; `Hind desh ke nivasi,' written and composed by Vinaychandra Maudgalya, and `Jaya jaya he,' a Saraswati vandanam in Sanskrit, written by Hari Ram Acharya and composed by Satish Bhatiya.

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