JOIN USIt’s Christmas and that’s reason enough for everybody to sing along to popular songs that are seasonal specials. Most Christmas carols announce the birth of Christ and capturethe joy thereafter.
Carol singing is an integral part of Christmas and several church and independent choirs in the City have been practising long and hard to put up an impressive show this time as well.
Metrolife brings a round up of some of the popular chorale performances this season.
William Joseph International Academy for Performing Arts will present ‘There Can’t Be A Christmas Without Music,’ an evening of singing, music and theatre on December 21, 5.30 pm at 687, 6 A Cross, 3 Block, Behind Koramangala BDA Complex. Sharing his thoughts on the season of Christmas and carol singing, Ashley Williams notes, “In the olden days, Bangalore used to be like a musical city during December. You could see carol singers from every walk of life going from house to house, taking the message of love. You could see Christmas trees and lights everywhere and the smell of cake and wine would be in the air. But today, carol singing has lost its glory and there is a need to spread Christmas music to one and all.”
The Harmony Children’s Choir, conducted by Sandra Oberoi, will present ‘Cadence 2013’ under the theme of ‘Around The World In 80 Minutes’ on December 15, 5.30 pm at Jyoti Nivas Auditorium in Koramangala. “The performance traces the story of three young siblings who are stuck at home on Christmas eve as their mother and father are busy at work. While looking for ways to entertain themselves, they chance upon an old, dusty book titled ‘Around The World In 80 Minutes: Celebrating Christmas The World Over’. On opening the book, they are ushered into this magical journey where they are led to discover exciting Christmas traditions from different countries,” explains Sandra, who says this journey will be captured and brought alive through song and dance. The show is conceptualised and directed by Sandra and Anezka Kurien has written the script.
There are also several churches in the City that are bracing up for their performances.
The St Mark’s Cathedral Church Choir will render classic and contemporary carols on December 15, 6 pm in the Parish Hall on MG Road. Some of the popular carols the church choir will sing are ‘Star Carol,’ ‘Will There Be Room,’ an anthem for advent or Christmas eve, ‘Rise Up! A New Light A-Comin’ and ‘Nativity Carol.’ There will also be a few traditional carols such as ‘Hark The Glad Sound’ and ‘While Shepherds Watch’d Their Flocks’ to name a few.
The East Parade Church Chorale is one of the few church choirs to perform western classical compositions with much ease. The 40-member choir will present popular Christmas carols and a few select western classical compositions such as Mozart’s ‘Glorious is Thy Name’, the all-time classic ‘The Hallowed Season’, Francis of Assissi’s ‘Anthem of Praise’ and Tom Fettke’s ‘Virgin Mary Had A Baby Boy’. The junior choir will perform two pieces. The choir performance is on December 14, 6.30 pm at East Parade Church, MG Road.
The Indiranagar Methodist Church will have its Christmas candlelight service on December 22, 6 pm.
The choir of the church will present the story of Christmas through song and drama. Talking about what’s in store for the performance, Indira Mahadevan, the director of the choir, sums up, “The choir will stage a small drama which will highlight the effect of Jesus’ birth in the world. The drama is interspersed with songs both classical and contemporary.”