The Bangalore Men – an all-male voices ensemble- led by Jonas Olsson, voice faculty at Bangalore School of Music will present choral hymns, set by British composer Gustav Holst's (1874-1934) ‘Sanskrit’ period. Launched in 2016, the choir focuses on western classical music, from eras ranging from medieval music to contemporary. In an e-mail exchange with The Hindu MetroPlus Olsson writes about their maiden presentation of Rig Vedic hymns, their journey so far and of performing in Kerala for the first time.
The idea of presenting Rig Vedic chants in classical western music is fascinating. What does it entail?
We are really excited to be able to present Gustav Holst's Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda in India, for the first time! The music, written by British composer Gustav Holst between years 1908-1912, is composed in a strict Western classical tradition, but with many influences from the Indian classical music, in terms of rhythm and tonality. The texts are from Rig Veda, sings praises to Agni, Vena, Indra and so on, and has been translated from Sanskrit to English by the composer himself.
Why did the group decide to do this?
We have done a lot of music in Latin, German and other European languages, since we started our choir in the beginning of 2016, that too also mainly sacred music from the Christian tradition. Since we are an independent choir, not connected to a church, I wanted to do something different this time, and basically stumbled upon these beautiful compositions by Holst, connecting so well with our Indian heritage and tradition, and felt that this was music we wanted to introduce to the country - the country Holst had in mind when composing!
The Bangalore Men Choir was formed in 2016 with a definite idea of promoting western classical. How has the journey been?
We focus only on the Western classical tradition, singing music from the early 1300s up until the 1900s. The idea is not only to do concerts and to perform, but also provide a sound musical foundation, and educate good choir singers in vocal techniques, music theory and music history. We are part of the Bangalore School of Music, and we are also collaborating a lot with other musicians, both Indian and foreign, in the arc of Western classical music. So far we have performed extensively in India, with concerts in Bangalore, Goa, Hyderabad and Mysore, and this will be our first visit to Kerala.
Tell us aboutyour group
The group consist of 14 singers, all with previous experience singing in choir or as soloists. What unites us all is the love towards music, and a desire to do high-quality performances, and also have fun while doing so! All guys come from different backgrounds, we do have some full-time musicians with us, being teachers at The Bangalore School of Music, but most of us have day jobs like architect, teacher, engineer, doctor and so on. What drives us is the passion for music.
Your first presentation in Kerala . What are your expectations?
Our expectations are of course to meet an enthusiastic and knowledgeable audience, that will appreciate the music we perform. But, it is also to create awareness, and to perhaps find new and exciting ways of collaborating. We are extra happy to be able to perform at David Hall Art Gallery, since we are believers in cross-pollination of the arts, whether it is music, literature, paintings etc.
Tell us about yourself and your musical background
I hail from Sweden, and have been a resident of Bangalore since almost ten years now. Professionally, I am with the Volvo Group, where I head one of our IT delivery units. My passion in life has always been music and singing, and I have been singing since the age of 11, in various choirs, studied musicology at the Gothenburg Conservatory and also got vocal coaching from some of Sweden's best coaches. In Bangalore, I also volunteer as a vocal coach with The Bangalore School of Music, and of course head The Bangalore Men, which really gives me a lot of inspiration and joy every day!
