Malleswaram to London

Updated on: Thursday, December 08, 2011

Under a cold grey December sky of England, bright blue LED lighting and twinkling stars on Christmas trees brighten up neighbourhoods. Church stained glass windows let out a bit of candle light and snatches of Christmas carols. In a few days the London soundscape will include notes performed by a group of Bangalore school girls — from Malleswaram to be precise. Cluny Cecilian Symphony, the choir group of the Cluny Convent High School, will be performing at several venues in England, including two churches in London and Leeds, and a Salvation Army programme in Manchester from December 14 to 27.

The choir's repertory includes 25 pieces of music from “Messiah”, composed by the German-born English composer George Frederic Handel. “Messiah” was composed in 1741. It is a piece of English oratorio, a large-scale musical work meant for orchestra and vocal notes, without costumes, scenery, or action.

Eventually it became one of the most popular choral works in the western world. Its libretto (text, like lyrics) written by Charles Jennen, based on the King James Bible and the Book of Common Prayer, is an extended reflection on Jesus, the Messiah prophesied in the Hebrew Bible. It takes the listener from the fire-and-brimstone of the Old Testament to the stories of Jesus.

“Messiah” can be performed minimally, but its renditions often include elaborate orchestra, like what we have heard in the soundtrack of the Hollywood blockbuster, “The Da Vinci Code”. It conveys a broad spectrum of emotions and effects. The Hallelujah Chorus is the Christmas favourite of the Cluny choir. “It is different,” says Sanjana Sridhar, the violinist of the choir, a ninth standard student. “There is a little hip to it that I enjoy.” It is piece of stirring music, quite emotional, with some elegant lines drawn from the Revelation, the last Book of the New Testament. “s the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Hallelujah (God be praised)…”

While composing it Handel was overcome with emotion, tears rolling down his cheeks, as history notes. “It is tough, but Job sir makes it fun and easy,” Sanjana said about playing Hallelujah. Cluny Convent's music master S. Job Jesudian, who has logged 20 years in the Air Force, being part of its band, symphony orchestra and music training, is a popular figure in Malleswaram and elsewhere. He is the kind of teacher who would initiate an eight-year-old into her musical notation in the first two or three days and encourage her to improvise soon after. But like any good solider, he swears by training and discipline. So the girls train every day for 30 minutes during lunch time, often with aid of audio and video clips and music software, followed by practice at home. The keyboardist Sharon Leo says, before entering a competition, the team would work even harder. “Sometimes we practice for five hours a day…”

The selection for the Christmas events started back in August. At Cluny some 1000 students turn up for selection, and out of 100 short-listed, 42 make it to the team. It is such proceedings that perhaps makes the choir a hit. It has been a winner at the White Christmas celebration at the Rice Memorial Church and a contest at the Basel Mission for six years. Nandita Chandrasekhar, a solo singer of the choir, says such laurels make her and her teammates “kind of popular”. Besides the limelight, joining the choir changes several aspects of her student life; it keeps you away from too many other distractions!Many of the choir members have been practicing as a team for several years since their middle school years. Cluny has nursery and primary school choir groups too. Several students have had training in Carnatic classical music as small children, true to tradition in Malleswaram.

Pragathi Madhudusan, a solo singer, says such early training helps, though choral performance could be quite different. Over to Messiah, performed by Malleswaram girls.

Malleswaram to London

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