Sonorous and inspiring; a Christmas concert only the Revelations can do
What does one do when one’s venue is burnt to cinders a week prior to one’s gala performance ? That’s what ominously happened to the Revelations when the hall at the BMICH burnt down, right down to the ground. Yes there was a lot of heartache and heartburn as the host for the evening Kumar de Silva rightly pointed out. But the Revs, ranked fouth among world choirs and twice gold medal winners, are made of sterner stuff. It galvanised them into action, to outperform themselves and do even better. And that’s what an appreciative audience experienced at the packed-to-capacity St. Joseph’s College auditorium on Sunday December 8.
The evening began dramatically and with a bang with the Revelations doing ‘Gloria in Excelsis Deo’. It was arresting and set the stage for magic to follow. A quick change of mood and tempo and then came the traditional hits – ‘Winter Wonderland’ and ‘Jingle Bells’. They were given the Revelations special ‘magic touch’.
And thus unfolded a wonderful evening, sonorous, inspiring and magical, as only the Revelations can do. The carols were for the young and the not-so-young, they were also for the old and the not-so-old. They were for everyone.
You could see the obvious amusment and tangible joy in the children in the audience as the little ones on stage wished – “I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas” along with ‘Santa Claus is coming to Town’ with Willie Godridge of the Revelations.
And so the audience was taken on an unforgettable and delicious journey of music and song , from a few traditional arrangements to a large number of non-traditional arrangements which the Revs excel in. ‘The Twelve days of Christmas’ and ‘White Christmas’ were sung with a refreshing twist. It was naughty and provocative and loaded with fun.
The arrangement was precious! I do wish I had it recorded to listen to again and again. In fact the entire evening’s arrangements were so unique that they deserve to have been recorded and brought in audio CD format for the greater listening pleasure of the Revelations’ thousands of fans, both in Sri Lanka and overseas.
The special arrangement of a medley of Sinhala carols dedicated to the ensemble’s indefatiguable manager Priyan de Livera was perhaps the most touching part of the whole evening to me. They brought the message of Christmas right into our hearts.
All this and more, the performances by the Platinum award winning Methodist College Choir and the members of the Revelations Academy, the traditional setting with its Christmas décor, tree, snow and twinkling lights enhanced the ambiance and helped bring out the spirit of Christmas with the Revelations! The obvious passion and joy with which Revelations sing was as contagious as always and this was certainly a wonderful prelude to the festive season.
Congratulations to Choral Director Sanjeev Jayaratnam and the Revelations on a brilliant performance. We’re waiting for Christmas 2014.