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Music sans frontiers
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The many glories of choral singing could not have been revealed more persuasively, says DEEPA ALEXANDER
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Photo: D. Gopalakrishnan
CLASSIC & CONTEMPORARY A rich repertoire of sacred and secular music
How did you spend last Saturday evening? Were you part of the capacity audience in search of good cheer that filled the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan auditorium King Koti, lured by the stage lights and a mouth-watering programme of choral music performed by the Poona Musicale, one of the most memorable choirs in the country. The 85-member strong choir, which includes voices from many countries and soloists of every ilk did not disappoint. Conducted by Daniel Manoharan, the choir's reputation for unalloyed excellence is legendary and their rendition of sacred and secular music had plenty of opportunity for both choir and orchestra to demonstrate their prowess.
Compere and convenor of the evening's programme, Cmde (retd.) T.M.J. Champion, with characteristic good humour and lightness of touch, jollied the initially tentative audience into all manner of participation. Introducing the choir he said, "The musicale which was founded by Daniel Manoharan in 1993 has had an incredible turnover with Pune being a city of floating populations. Never does the choir remain the same for two consecutive performances. Which is why it is all the more credible that the quality of the voices have not been compromised."
No texture, speed, tonal colour or dynamic seemed to be beyond the means of the Poona Musicale. Enterprising choirs have two options - stick to traditional singing or infuse new rhythm. The choir successfully navigated both pitfalls. They sustained wispy pianissimos as easily as deafening fortissimos and tossed off singing in parts with awesome nonchalance in their opening piece, Schubert's Kyrie Eleison.
In their second piece, the choir had an astonishing variety of negotiated melodic passages of a convoluted rapidity in Mozart's Credo. A spectacular demonstration of their virtuosity found solos, Cleona John, Sashikala Charles, John Abraham and Vijay Samuel taking the lead in separate pieces matched by extraordinary sonics - crystalline definition, superb presence and an overall clarity that was breathtaking.
The male voices began demurely enough with the singing of the great Negro spiritual Someone's Knocking at the Door, graduating to an uplifting rendition of the Good Friday favourite, We Hail Thee.
The male ensemble also performed two uproarious songs - A Catastrophe about a schoolboy, his teacher and a tack and Alexander about an unscrupulous shopkeeper's life described through a play of syllables.
The choir regrouped for Handel's Zadok the Priest that has been sung at every English coronation at Westminister Abbey since George II's. And to top it all there was the 1980s' favourite We Are The World.
Still more impressive was the performance by the Chariots, a group of students of African origin. The all-male group sang fantastic, magical, life-enhancing stuff. If there is such a thing as a soul it was mightily stirred. If you could capture, bottle and sell this magic you would make a fortune. Every note of music from the sopranos, altos, tenors and bass breathed life not just into the works but into the audience as well. The two songs - I'll Fly Away and Wayafika in Zulu were performed with no accompaniment save the sound of castanets and ululations made by the band members themselves.
The accompanists for the evening - Lalitha Choweller, Cheryl Christo, Naveen Elias from Hyderabad and 13-year-old Jasmine Irani subtly invaded the senses.
At times, the choral contribution floated like clouds in the distance above the pianists, the changing textures resolving into spiritual assertions of life and truth.
Never for a moment was this performance ever less than outstanding. Simply marvellous and a strong contender for the concert of the year, it would have been nicer if some of the noisy audience had stayed home.
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