The Christian Medical College, Vellore welcomed two choirs for an evening titled ‘Musical Mosaic.’ The Handel Manuel Chorus from the city and the Coimbatore Chamber Chorale were joined by local musicians, who came together to support the CMC Emergency Fund for the treatment of disadvantaged patients.
The Handel Manuel Chorus was conducted by Sharada Schaffter. She co-founded the choir in 2003, to honour and continue the legacy of the well-known conductor Handel Manuel. The Chorus members are regular visitors to Vellore, who help raise funds for needy patients at the hospital.
The Coimbatore Chamber Chorale was conducted by Faith Ragland. Both choirs were accompanied on the piano by Dhruva Seshadri.
The evening began with Mozart’s stately ‘Coronation Mass.’ The singers blended perfectly under the baton of Sharada Schaffter.
The Chorus then sang the sacred works from Bach, including solos by Naveen Narendrenath and Sonaly Kutty Francis. Local musicians complemented the choral works: Sujith Chandy on recorder; Pratap Mathews played Debussy’s Claire de Lune (piano) and was joined by Dhruva Seshadri for a duet from Fauré’s Dolly Suite.
For the second half, the Coimbatore Chamber Chorale came up with lively renditions of more contemporary works such as ‘The Storm is Passing Over’ by Charles Tindley, and ‘The Prayer’ (Sager and Foster). They sang their signature Tamil lyric, ‘Potruvaen Theivanayae’, written by CMC alumnus Theodore Dhingaran and his father David.
Earl Joseph and Faith Ragland also performed solo and duet and Dhruva Seshadri showed his mastery with the challenging ‘Prelude’ by Rachmaninov (Op. 23).
The performance ended with ‘Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me’, by Miller and Jackson, echoing the closing line from the Mass, ‘Dona nobis pacem.’
