Arts
Keeping that familiar seasonal music alive
Intimate take on Christmas at home: Neranjan and his daughter Anila
The finishing line of a yearlong triathlon of hurdles, fears and challenges edges closer. While the pandemic loomed over the last 12 months and possibly the coming year, these difficult times have also inspired creativity and the perseverance of the human spirit as we each tried to create and instil a sense of the familiar into the ‘new’ normal we are faced with. While schools and universities exchanged classrooms for screens and board meetings took place in bedrooms and dining rooms, our homes became our workstations and entertainment also took a creative and tech inspired turn. Shakespeare plays livestreamed from the Globe Theatre in London and singers and musicians performed concerts from their living rooms.
Melanie Bibile Pix courtesy Camerati
This month, well known organist and accompanist Neranjan De Silva, together with a few friends, shared his own contribution to the virtual music library with two videos encapsulating Christmas music.
While sound engineering and recording is akin to coming home for Neranjan (his studio is at his residence), video production and directing was a completely new experience, but a chance to learn and experiment with. “It’s something I never wanted to get into,” he admits and was pleasantly surprised at how much he enjoyed the process. Together with theatre practitioners Jehan Bastians and Neidra Williams, who contributed with the visuals and producing, their first attempt saw the festive duo of Melanie Bibile and Sherene Vas performing a haunting mash up of “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” and “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”.
The two seasoned performers had been singing together under the tutelage of Mary Anne David and then as members of the all-female vocal ensemble Camerati. Having first performed their duet at a Christmas show last year “we thought we should record it at some point” and so they approached Neranjan. Despite being familiar figures to the stage, it was the first time Melanie and Sherene had recorded together and taken their performances to the virtual stage.
Music is important to Neranjan’s family as well, and they don’t hesitate to join him in his studio. In keeping with the warm cosy ambience of Melanie’s and Sherene’s performance, the second video too is an intimate take on Christmas at home. The familiar “Merry Christmas” decor hangs on the wall behind her as Anila De Silva sits at the dining table, singing, rather than performing the classic “When a Child is Born”. The scene is reminiscent of Christmases at home, with Neranjan accompanying his daughter on the piano, not unlike any family sing-along.
Sherene Vas
It also includes well known singer Rohan De Lanerolle who adds to the narration in his rich baritone. This was an impromptu inclusion with an unsuspecting Rohan dropping by the studio for some other work and quickly becoming a welcome addition to the video.
With video production now added to his creative repertoire, Neranjan is gearing up for the release of a few other videos featuring chamber choir OKTAVE. For him, the challenging pandemic has ironically brought musicians, performers and the public a little closer with livestreaming, virtual shows and now carol services making the listening and viewing experience accessible to people all over the world among its many advantages.
Melanie adds, “It may have reduced our want to perform in public due to the constraints the pandemic has brought for all our performers but I also think it has allowed us to venture out into new areas of having people listen to us.”
“O Come, O Come Emmanuel”/ “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen Mash Up” by Melanie Bibile and Sherene Vas and “When A Child Is Born” featuring Anila de Silva, Rohan de Lanerolle and Neranjan de Silva are available at the following links:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B54xgAe3DQ and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l3rmtySiBw