Their earnestness and hard work came through in their singing. The 26 youngsters in the 1-17 age group hailing from different parts of the world, together form the Auroville Youth Choir. They have been performing since 1993 and the concert that they put up this Saturday past was part of the ongoing Auroville festival.
The choir, conducted by Nuria Casanova, an Auroville resident from Catalonia, was accompanied on the piano by Matthew Littlewood. Popular classical and films numbers were part of a short yet sweet repertoire. They began with the Israeli composer Josef Hadar’s ‘A White Rainbow.’ Among the other notable numbers were Secret Garden’s ‘You Raise Me Up’ (music by Rolf Lovland and lyric by Brendan Graham), a number that’s sung by many including Josh Groban and Westlife; ‘Can you Feel the Love Tonight’, the Elton John classic from ‘Lion King,’ ‘Lean On Me’ and the evergreen John Newton hymn, ‘Amazing Grace’ (it is said to be performed 10 million times annually!).
Then, the Auroville Choir took the stage. This is a group of 50-odd music-loving people, who call Auroville their home, though they hail from 15 different countries across the globe. Strong voices that blend into one, the choir was formed in the early 1990s to promote unity through music. In keeping with the unique brand of music, the choir chose quite a few compositions of the Catalan composer Anandi Sala Casanova, who has set Wordsworth poems to music, to present that evening. Besides, there were a few French pieces as well.
The finale saw the two groups come together for ‘Do You Hear the People Sing?’ from ‘Les Miserables' and ‘Hallelujah’ from the movie, ‘Shrek.’ It was an evening where harmony met melody in smooth proportions, making it enjoyable all the way.
