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Do you hear what I hear? India’s best choirs share their playlists
Christmas is busy season for India’s top choirs. Sneak a peek at their own playlists to build the most festive sound-track of them all
While the world winds down in the last weeks of the year, for choirs, there’s no time to be naughty or nice. ’Tis the season to be busy. Delhi’s The Neemrana Foundation has been so swamped with performances leading up to December 25, that they’ve turned down lucrative additional offers. Bengaluru’s all-male The Bangalore Men and all-women Cappella Bangalore are booked from early December onwards. The 11-member Shillong Chamber Choir did five shows in the week leading up to Christmas, including a performance for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a gig at Mumbai’s Bandra Gymkhana.The NCPA Chorus and the Stop Gaps Choral Ensemble rehearse and sing their hearts out all through the season, all while juggling year-end engagements, family time, a full Christmas dinner and quiet moments of introspection. So what do their own playlists look like?
The Shillong Chamber Choir
Founded in 2001 by Neil Nongkynrih, the multi-genre 11-member choir is accompanied by a band and orchestra. Performances can have up to 60 people on stage at a time. “Christmas concerts get pretty crazy and require a lot of work beforehand,” says William Richmond Basaiawmoit, 35, the lead vocalist of the Shillong choir. “The music needs to be perfect, of course, but there is also emphasis on exercising, eating well and being in the right place spiritually. But it’s good to be busy.” For the Mumbai concert, they performed from their 2020 album, Come Home Christmas, which featured lyrics in Arabic and Hebrew.
On their playlist:
Messiah, by Handel, The Monteverdi Choir’s performance. “Choral music can sometimes be too square, too technical or a bit too pompous,” says Richmond. “This rendition had soul and is extremely moving.”
The choir’s own collab. It features Uncle Neil on the piano, Ustad Zakir Hussain on tabla, and the choir on vocals. “In terms of complexity and sheer intensity, it’s a really dramatic piece,” Richmond says. “It always gets the audience going and is a joy to sing because of how difficult it is. When you get to the end of it, it’s even more rewarding.”
Sunoh (Reprise), from The Archies. The choral a capella-esque song appears towards the end of the 2023 film. It is set in the Riverdale town square, and features a choral performance by the cast.
The Neemrana Foundation
Founded in 2004, The Neemrana Foundation has an adult choir with 16 full-time singers, a kids’ choir, and another for teens. Set up in Delhi by Frenchman, the late Francis Wacziarg, who also co-founded the Neemrana hotels, the choirs are how headed by his daughter, Aude Priya Wacziarg Engel, 50, now the managing trustee of The Neemrana Foundation. “We get requests for a five-people choir!” Engel says. “A reasonable choir would be at least 50 people. India has so many issues... the lack of people shouldn’t be one.” Family is close during the busy season. Her three kids are part of one choir. “As unpaid singers too,” she says with a laugh.
On their playlist:
Va Pensiero by Verdi. A song for freedom, it was originally sung in the opera by prisoners. The song is about the power of music, and the Italians have even toyed with the idea of making it their national anthem, says Engel. The Neemrana Foundation choir has performed the piece many times. “My dream is to do this as a flash mob,” says Engel.
Carmen, by Bizet. “Personally, I like it when a choral piece has a solo,” says Engel. “Singing in a group is not stressful and there’s a relaxed energy, which all piles up and impacts the mass. With a single voice, there’s a lot of adrenaline, the stakes are high.” This opera was first performed by the Opéra-Comique in Paris in 1875. It alternates between solos and choral pieces. The Neemrana Foundation choir did a production of it in Delhi in 2008.
Yeh Shaam Mastani, by Vienna-based conductor Vijay Upadhyaya. This a capella cover was performed by the Foundation’s Western choir as a group song with a lead duet. “We love to do this as an encore because some people don’t know what opera is. This song is one they can relate to,” Engel says.
The NCPA Chorus
The National Centre for the Performing Arts in Mumbai has a choir of 30 children and 9 adult singers. Rehearsals are intensive, says Olga Vykhodtseva, 58, music director and conductor. “This is not an easy process but we are always in anticipation of the joy of our performances,” she says. Her family lives in Spain, and she hopes to visit them soon. “But, my singers and colleagues here in Mumbai are my family,” she says.
On their playlist:
Adoramus te Christe, by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina; and Messiah, by Handel. “I have been fortunate enough to perform many works with choirs or vocal groups in Almaty, Kazakhstan, where I am from,” says Vykhodtseva. Palestrina’s composition, dates back to at least 1604.
Rejoice, O Virgin, by Sergei Rachmaninoff. “All Christmas music is distinguished by a sublime, solemn and joyful mood,” says Vykhodtseva. “The feeling of Christmas is a feeling of magic and anticipation of something better to come in life.” This work is among the most widely performed pieces of Russian Orthodox sacred music.
The Nutcracker, by Tchaikovsky. It’s not choral music, but the 1892 ballet has long been a Christmas favourite. The story unfolds on Christmas Eve at the foot of a Christmas tree as young Clara dreams of a Nutcracker Prince.
The Capital City Minstrels
Founded in 1994 in Delhi by Zohra Shaw, The Capital City Minstrels does two seasons of shows: January to May rehearsals culminate in performances in May; and August to December rehearsals for pre-Christmas concerts. This year, they have 60 singers on stage. “This time of the year gets a bit hectic and we do miss other engagements,” admits Reem Khokhar, 42, a soprano. “We have people from across India and the world, meaning people will be travelling back home to meet their families around this time.”
On their playlist:
Balleilakka, by AR Rahman. “There’s not a lot of Indian music arranged for a choir so it’s always fun and interesting to sing music by Indian composers,” Khokar says. The choir performed this piece on their Europe tour in 2015. “It’s a challenging one: It’s fast, with tricky enunciation and rhythm. But it’s also light and playful and such a ball to sing.”
Carol of the Bells. “It’s a piece that is thrilling to sing, the lyrics mimic the sounds of bells – it starts light and crisp and then builds to this fierce peak. So many film soundtracks feature it,” says Khokhar.
Africa, by Toto. The choir performed it for their 25th anniversary in 2019. “We imitated the sounds of wind and rain and transitioned into the lyrics. I love the way it builds. It’s super creative,” she says.
The Stop-Gaps Choral Ensemble
Established in Chennai in 1972 to raise funds for charitable causes, the ensemble shifted base to Mumbai in 1984. Alfred J D’Souza, 72, chairman and music director, has been holding the Festival Of Festive Music concert at The National Centre for the Performing Arts for almost 40 years. The senior Stop-Gaps Choral Ensemble and the junior choir have 35 members each. D’Souza hosts a huge dinner for his family at Christmas. “My cake soaked in rum is legendary,” he says.
On their playlist:
Silent Night. “It epitomises Christmas for us,” says D’Souza.
Messiah, by Handel. “It has a magnificence and grandeur which talks about the glory of the saviour.”
Aa Ja Re, by Lata Mangeshkar and Nitin Mukesh. “This 1979 song from the film Noorie is a crowd pleaser at choral performances in India,” says D’Souza.
The Bangalore Men and Cappella Bangalore
The Bangalore Men was founded in 2016, and the women’s choir Cappella Bangalore in 2019. Singers rehearse all year round. This year, 45 perform together. “This is the time to be with family and friends and relax and enjoy the season together,” says Jonas Olsson, 47, conductor.
On their playlist:
Ding Dong Merrily on High: The carol dates back to 1924 and is a choir favourite for its long, upbeat Glo-o-o-o-o-o-o-oria.
This Little Babe, by Benjamin Britten. “It has a fresh sound and surprising rhythm patterns. And isn’t this really what Christmas is about, excitement, anticipation, surprises and endless joy?” asks Olsson.
Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day, by John Gardner. “It captures the spirit of Christmas through the sound of bells, dissonant chords and rhythms that seem like you’re riding on the back of a donkey!”
