Congregation turns choristers
On Tuesday, October 27 at 7.30 p.m., the whole congregation at the Cathedral of Christ the Living Saviour will become one choir, lifting their voice in glorious sounds, to the lofts of the magnificient church.
Neranjan de Silva: Come and sing
“Celebration with Song” with Neranjan de Silva, Adele Bibile, Eshantha de Andrado and the De Lanerolle Brothers will be a unique experience where the congregation becomes not listener but a contributor to that divine process of lifting spirits through music and song.
The inspiration for this programme came from the thanksgiving service for his father which de Silva played organ for, at the Cathedral of Christ the Living Saviour, in July.
“As I sat at the organ before the service started, more and more people walked in and sat in the choir stalls,” he begins.
By the time the service started, nearly 80 “really super voices” from choirs he has accompanied over the years had come together to form a special choir for the occasion. “The singing was just out of this world. And mind you – with no practices!”
The spontaneity and emotion of it stayed with him, and is just what de Silva is hoping to emulate on the 27th. “No rules!” he asserts.
The programme has been organised “just for the love of singing”. “Those who can sing the parts may do so,” he says, but the point is to bring together not only those who love to sing, but all who love music.
There will be no set seating arrangement and no director for the choir. Admittedly, this sounds like a recipe for chaos, which is why de Silva is interested in having two good rehearsals with strong participation.
“Organising and coordinating so many choirs last year was quite a tough job,” he says, “and there were a number of people who were upset at not being invited to join the choir.”
These issues of curating a large choir will all be addressed by forming a “congregation choir,” he says, explaining the open invitation for all who are interested to join the rehearsals.
The first of these will take place tonight (Sunday, October 18) between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. (you can walk in and walk out at any time you like) at the Cathedral of Christ the Living Saviour.
Copies of the programme will be available at the location, for Rs.500. Programmes will contain the usual information as well as scores for the music to be sung at the event, and can be used to practise with de Silva at the rehearsal tonight, as well as the next, which is scheduled for Monday, October 26.
What de Silva expects is that a few very casual rehearsals will allow the singers to get over any inhibition as well as agree on phrasing and other details, creating some uniformity in the output on the 27th.
Effectually, “the part singing will also happen from within the congregation, not from choir stalls or a stage” making the experience very different to what is usually seen and heard at such a programme.
The guest artists will perform favourites from their repertoire, and de Silva himself will play a few solos, “to show off the versatility of the Cathedral’s new Johannus organ,” he says.
The organist is best known as an accompanist of some of the best choirs in Sri Lanka, but he is also famous for his organ arrangements of pop tunes.
Some of these tunes may also be in his solo repertoire for the evening, he says, amongst other classical organ solo pieces.
“I want to make it as interactive and informal as possible,” de Silva says, hinting that he may even take on requests.
More than 200 copies of the programmes sold within just under a week of their release, and considering the nearly 2000 strong participation at last year’s “Celebration in Song,” de Silva expects the congregation choir this year to have at least 1000 voices.
Programmes for “Celebration with Song” featuring Neranjan de Silva are available at Commons, Park Street Mews and the Methodist Church Headquarters in Kollupitiya.
You can also collect yours at tonight’s rehearsal between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. at the Cathedral of Christ the Living Saviour for Rs. 500. Call Neranjan on 0777368614 for more information.