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Sound of music as the 'Messiah' comes to Mumbai

On the 250th death anniversary of German composer Handel, the Paranjoti Academy Chorus will perform his most famous choral piece — Messiah as a tribute.

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On the 250th death anniversary of German composer Handel, the Paranjoti Academy Chorus will perform his most famous choral piece — Messiah as a tribute, stated Coomi Wadia, who has been conducting it for the last 17 years. It will be performed on January 17 and January 18 at the Jamshed Bhabha Theatre.

Generally used to performing ‘a capella’ (without accompaniment), the concert will be performed in collaboration with the Symphony Orchestra of India (SOI). Zane Dalal, the resident conductor says, “Some core Indian members of the SOI will be performing, including extra musicians from Kazakhstan, Moscow and Uzbekistan.”

In addition, four soloists from USA and Canada will be coming down especially for the concert. The alliance is a first between SOI and Paranjoti. Adds Zane, “The idea is to encourage interest among people into such music.” The instruments which will be heard are violins, violas, cellos, bass, oboes, trumpets, timpanis and bassoons.

The Paranjoti Academy Chorus was formed out of the Bombay Amateur Light Opera Sabha (BALOS) by Dr. Victor Paranjoti in 1960. The first Indian choir to go on a concert tour to Europe, subsequently the Paranjoti has toured over 20 countries. Coomi Wadia adds, “We go on a concert tour once a year. In 2007, we participated in the Millennium Peace Festival in Valencia, Spain after which we went to Portugal. Later that year, we went to South Korea to participate in the Busan Choral Festival & Competition 2007.”

The Paranjoti has had the honour of performing for (late) Pope John Paul II in Vatican City, His holiness the Dalai Lama and Pandit Ravi Shankar.

The Paranjoti is open to all music lovers — age, religion, language are no bar. Coomi says, “It is important to love music and have a good ear for music.” The most continuous member of the choir is Coomi, who earlier used to sing under Dr. Paranjoti.

After his death, the choir was on the verge of breaking up. Coomi’s husband Nariman, a Paranjoti member narrates, “We performed for Dr. Victor’s funeral. Many members thought it would be a good idea to continue instead of breaking up. Coomi was unanimously voted to become the conductor and Paranjoti found its voice back.”

Members come from varied professions – students, teachers, executives, engineers, architects, housewives etc — all united in their love for music.

The motto of the choir is ‘International harmony through International Music’. The choir has sung in 22 languages, ranging from Indian languages such as Sanskrit, Gujarati, Hindi, Konkani, Marathi, Bhojpuri and Parsi to international languages like Polish and Hungarian.

“Compositions in other languages are taken directly form the source, from the people who speak the language. We pick up music from our tours abroad,” adds Coomi. The most difficult language sung by the Paranjoti was Basque, as it was virtually unheard of even in Spain.

Classical music apart, Paranjoti also sings modern, spiritual, folk and traditional music. Compositions by Indian composers like Dr. Paranjoti, Vanraj Bhatia, Abel D’Cruz and now Nariman Wadia are encouraged. Nariman explains, “My compositions are usually folk songs in Gujarati, Hindi. They have been inspired by the songs I used to sing to Lord Krishna in my childhood.” 

Practices for the concert began in June last year and will continue till a day before the performance. Practices apart, Coomi is confident that the concerts will go off without a hitch. Her confidence can be summed up from these lines from a quote in the Polish Arts magazine at the IX International Choral Competition, “Everything here is absolutely perfect, unforgettable and no doubt represents the highest standard in the musical world.” Hallelujah to that. 

Getting a Handel on the oratorio

Messiah is an oratorio (a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists) by George Frideric Handel based on a libretto by Charles Jennens. Composed in 24 days by Handel, it premiered in Dublin on April 13, 1742. It consists of three parts — the birth of Christ, his passion and the aftermath.

Handel’s Messiah will be performed on Jan 17 and Jan 18 at the Jamshed Bhabha Theatre. For ticket details, contact NCPA on 66223737, 66588997

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