Music
composer Jerry Amaldev and his choir mesmerised an audience during a
performance on Independence Day
Photos: The 'Sing, India Chorus'; Composer Jerry Amaldev
By
Shevlin Sebastian
It
is fitting that when Jerry Amaldev and his 'Sing, India chorus'
begins the ‘Choral Eve’ programme on Independence Day, August
15, he begins with a rendition of ‘Vande Mataram’. It is the
traditional song, and not the version as sung by Oscar winner AR
Rahman.
There
are 20 male and female singers wearing white and black and holding
thick songbooks in their hands. As for the instruments, there are
acoustics and bass guitars, a piano, keyboard and a rhythm composer.
It is interesting to observe the age range: from a youngster with a
mop of curly black hair to a grey-haired bespectacled man.
The
choir begins with a couple of Malayalam songs: ‘Aana aana jana’,
which was used in the Malayalam film, ‘Attappoovum nulli’, and a
Christmas carol, ‘Shantham Prasantham’. This was followed by ‘Bum
Bada Bum’. “It is a percussion sound made vocal by the singers
and is an overture from the opera, ‘William Tell’,” says band
member Joe Gabriel. “It is the sound of a man riding a horse and
aiming an arrow at an apple placed on the head of his son.”
Meanwhile,
Jerry takes the mike, and says, “I must congratulate this audience
for their attentiveness. During many concerts, in my experience, the
usual Kerala crowd talks about prawns and vegetables. Respect is not
given to the people performing on the stage. Please understand that
unknown songs are more difficult to enjoy, than known songs. But do
listen with an open mind.”
And,
indeed, one of the unknown compositions is a Filipino children’s
song, ‘Bahay Kubo’, which is about vegetables. And this is
confirmed by the English translation: ‘Palm hut,
even though it is small,
The plants it houses are varied,
Turnip and eggplant, winged bean and peanut,
String bean, hyacinth bean, and lima bean.’
The plants it houses are varied,
Turnip and eggplant, winged bean and peanut,
String bean, hyacinth bean, and lima bean.’
But
it is not so unknown because in the audience a young girl tells her
father, “Our Music Sir taught this in school.”
A
striking song is the Negro spiritual: ‘Soon I will be done with the
troubles of the world’. “Black people used to sing this song in
church,” says Jerry. “Since they were treated worse than animals
for centuries, when a person died it was a moment of celebration,
because it meant the end of suffering any more injustices.”
The song was made world-famous
by the great Gospel singer Mahalia Jackson. But the chorus sings it
with equal fervor and the audience is enraptured easily.
They
are also entranced when the group sings one of the most famous Jewish
songs: 'Hava Nagila' (‘Let us rejoice’). The choir sings it
loudly, with verve and energy, accompanied by a pulsating tempo. Of
course, many singers have rendered this Hebrew song, including Bob
Dylan, Glen Campbell and our very own Usha Uthup, but the most
well-known was by Harry Belafonte, regarded as ‘The King of
Calypso’. And he sang it slowly, without any music accompaniment,
except for the soft sound of a tambourine.
Thereafter,
Jerry lives up to the audience’s silent wish when, for his final
song, he launches into one of his timeless hits, ‘Aayiram
Kannumayi’, sung by Yesudas in the 1984 hit, ‘Noketha Doorath
Kannum Natt’.
Jerry
sings it, with felicity, and when he asks the audience to
participate, a foreign girl in the front row gives a sheepish grin.
But the crowd does sing along, a song that sounds as fresh as when it
was released more than two decades ago.
Throughout
the 17-song concert, Jerry is a master conductor at work. He guides
the singers and the musicians with deft movements of his hands and
nods of his head, breaking into an occasional smile. It is
fascinating to watch how the singers are all focused on him and sing
accordingly. The result is a flawless performance, made dazzling by
the remarkable unison of all the voices.
As
Fr. Raju Chakkanattu, the director of the Don Bosco Musical Academy,
which organised the programme, says, “Thanks to Jerry Master and his team, we enjoyed a magical
evening.”
(The New Indian Express, Kochi)
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