Music from a different era

The church was almost full with musicians and lovers of Western classical music who stayed on right till the end of the concert.

What was interesting was that Christopher played on the 100-year-old organ at the church. The pipe organ at the church was installed in 1881 and was recently restored and now the organ is used for most of the concerts at the church.

Christopher Gray is particular that he selects most of the pieces he plays at the concert in keeping with the quality of the organ he will be playing on. Talking about his experience of playing in the City Christopher says, “I found that although the audience didn’t know too much about the period the particular piece belonged to, I found them to be very appreciative of the music. I believe that there’s a good following for Western classical music here in India.” 

He plays just about any Western classical composition he can lay his hands on. Talking about the pieces he played in the City Christopher says, “The idea of choosing such pieces is also to show the different capabilities, styles and sounds of the organ. Each stop in the organ has a different sound and when you blend them together it’s pure magic,” he observes.

Among the pieces that Christopher played in the City were Francois Couperin’s Mess Pour Les Paroisses, J S Bach’s ‘Prelude and Fugue in C Minor, Franz Tunder’ Praeludium in G moll and Hendrick Andriessen Thema met Varieties to mention a few. Christopher explains that there were a few pieces that he played from the early 1600s and a few modern compositions that were composed in 1949.

“A lot of music I play reflects the time and period it was composed in. And I always attempt to bring out that mood in my performance as well,” adds Christopher  
Those in the audience were appreciative of Christopher’s performance. The technical stuff apart, the music was great, they averred. “Christopher’s performance boomed and the contact between his fingertips and the sound generated from the organ was fantastic,” says Prem Mitra, a music lover.