When this writing assignment came my way, I was thrilled. I was intrigued by Handel Manuel’s rare success in western classical music — as pianist and organist, composer, accompanist, conductor of choirs, music teacher and producer of radio programmes for children. And here was an opportunity to meet his long-time associates and find out what made him tick. Midway through the effort, I realised the man and the musician made up an unitary whole. He brought the same mindset to the personal and the professional, governing both with rules set in stone.
Those close to Handel would tell you he had a finely-chiselled plan for the sublime as well as the mundane.
“He had a date inviolably fixed for haircuts — the first of every month. For everything, he had a time and a date. He would not miss it, come what may!” says Solomon Howie, who had associated with Handel as part of the Madras Musical Association (MMA) and St. Andrew's Kirk and was a close friend till the end in 1994.
“If there was choir practice at 7 p.m., you can expect to see him at 6.45 p.m. sharp. He always gave himself time to prepare for a practice session,” says Arul Siromoney, who was Handel’s understudy at St. Andrew’s Kirk and is now its organist and choir director.
M.P.C.S. Children's Choir with conductor Handel Manuel. PHOTO: THE HINDU ARCHIVES
Handel served as the church’s organist and director of its choir for 53 years; and he served as conductor of MMA choir for nearly four decades, after being almost pitchforked into the role when he was in his early twenties. He founded and conducted the Madras Philharmonic and Choral Society, which is now the Handel Manuel Chorus. Adella Paul, a member of the MMA Choir, says his effectiveness in his sphere was partly defined by his commitment to promoting various voices drawn from different places. “He brought singers from Sri Lanka, which included Lylie Godridge and Joan Cooray,” she says. The honours that came Handel’s way include being awarded the Padmashri, being invited as guest of honour to the International Tchaikovsky Competition, and being elected Honorary Life Member of the Royal School of Church Music, London.
A member of Madras Musical Association, Adella Paul had a stint as teacher at CSI Bain's School and would have to go past Handel's house to reach the institution. “More often than not, I would hear the piano being played,” she recalls. At home, Handel would spend long and lonely hours at the piano, practising and honing his craft.
Miss Eleanor Steber, leading Soprano of the Metropolitan Opera, New York gave a recital at the Museum Theatre on February 6, 1957. Picture shows Miss Steber talking to Madras artists after her performance. (Left to Right) Mr. Handel Manuel, Director, Madras Musical Association, Smt. D.K.Pattammal, leading South Indian musician, Miss Steber, Smt. Rukmini Devi, leading exponent of South Indian dance and Mr. Iswaran, husband of Smt. D.K.Pattammal.
“Practice was an integral part of his genius. At hospital, during his last illness, he could often be seen working the pedals of an imaginary organ,” says Adella.
He expected those under his watch to have a practice schedule and stick to it. If they did not, he would express his displeasure, but in the most subtle and pleasant way possible.
Arul took piano lessons from Handel. If the playing went off-key, Handel would wield a line, polite but effective. “If I played rubbish, he would politely say, ‘You haven't had enough time (for practice) this week.’ This was very effective. You knew you haven’t got away with it. This gentle reprimand was enough to ensure you did not play rubbish for a long time,” says Arul, smiling at the memory.
“Over the four-and-a-half decades I had known him, not once had I heard him raise his voice. Composure seemed to be a trait running in the Manuel family. Handel’s siblings also had the ability to stay calm in nerve-jangling situations,” says Sharada Schaffter, Handel’s sister-in-law. An adept conductor and pianist herself, she leads the Handel Manuel choir.
Though he had an amiable disposition, there was something about Handel that prevented people from taking advantage of it. Arul recalls an incident that illustrates this.
“A bigwig in the non-music world who was part of the Kirk choir was once late for practice. He stood outside meekly and apologetically, waiting for Handel to nod his permission,” says Arul. He commanded immense respect by virtue of his high personal and professional standards. Much of the aura came from the virtuosity with which he played the piano and the organ.
“He could sight-read any piece of music. But the best part of his skill was the ability to improvise and do exactly what was required at that time,” says Arul.
“One of the highlights during the MMA concerts lead by Handel was that he would take a simple tune like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and play it the way different masters like Bach and Beethoven would have arranged it,” says Dr. Ravi Santosham, patron of MMA and a member of the GATT Quintet.
Handel clearly had a well-honed instinct for music, probably because he was a self-taught pianist and organist. He grew up in an environment where people seemed to find their own way to music.
“From Tuticorin, Handel was the oldest of four children — three brothers and a sister. Their father, Dr. G. Manuel, had a rare hobby: Repairing musical instruments. The house would be overrun with these, and all the four children picked up some and learnt to play them. One of the four, Surender Schaffter learnt to play the cello, piano, pipe organ with pedals, clarinet, flute, cello, recorder and double bass. Handel taught himself to play the piano and the pipe organ,” says Sharada.
And that has made all the difference.
Bangalore/25/07/2010 :Chorus Conducter Sharada performing at St Andrew's Church in Bangalore on Sunday. Photo: G.P.Sampath.Kumar/July/2010.
‘Uncle Handel’
Handel Manuel worked with All India Radio on a contractual basis, serving as its director of Western Music programmes. On Saturdays, he had Uncle Handel, for children from various schools. They would sing accompanied by Handel on the piano. “The programme was so popular that he became Uncle Handel outside of it too. In our family, everyone, the young and the old together, called him Uncle. His wife Alice also called him so,” says Sharada Schaffter, Handel’s sister-in-law.
His mime skills
Handel Manuel knew how to have a good laugh. In fact, he created laughs with his histrionic skills. Special occasions at St. Andrew’s kirk would be marked by skits. Handel would be comfortable inside the skin of a comic character.
Solomon Howie, a member of the church and a theatre person, and Handel had driven many funny skits. The best of them is “The Man From The Moon.”
“At the time, the congregation had not responded to the pastor’s call for donations to renovate a section of the church that was in bad shape. In this play, the church building collapses on a Sunday, trapping members of the congregation. As the man from the moon, Handel inspects the rubble and has curious questions about the entrapped people. The dialogue has funny references to members in the congregation, keeping them in splits,” recalls Solomon. "Following the play, the donations started coming in.”
Love at first note
Alic e was introduced to Handel by her friend, Sharada, who married Handel’s younger brother Surender Schaffter. “I told Sharada I would kick her. ‘What do I know about piano?’ I asked her,” recalls Alice, who had a modest view of her piano-playing skill. Handel took a different view of it.“When I sight-read a piece of music and played it, his jaw dropped,” says Alice. Aged 90, Alice Manuel is at Margaret Place, an old age home at YWCA, Vepery, spending her time amidst such memories. Their son Viji Manuel, a renowned keyboardist, who worked with Ilayaraja, passed away in 2015. As a way of giving back to Handel Manuel and his family for his contribution towards its music, St. Andrew Kirk pays for Alice’s stay at the old age home and her other needs.
