Mirror Magazine

Mirror Magazine

It’s been a long, long journey
The Peterite Chorale has been in existence for 10 years. It seems like they can only get better
By Marisa de Silva
Sitting in the St. Peter’s College Chapel last Sunday I felt myself transported to the African plains where I could see myself at the foot of Pride Rock, watching baby Simba being lifted overhead by Rafiki, when I heard the Peterite Chorale’s powerful rendition of the ‘Circle of Life’.

“A Decade Together… Forever” a concert presented by the Peterite Chorale, in celebration of their 10 year anniversary as a choral group, with a guest performance by the Senior Choir of Holy Family Convent Bambalapitiya (HFC), is all set to take music lovers down on a musical journey, on March 27 and 28 at 7 p.m. at the Lionel Wendt Theatre. Proceeds of this concert will be in aid of the Hope Cancer Hospital.

This group made their debut as the Peterite Chorale at the Peterite Easter Cantata in 1993, at the College Chapel with just 12 members. Stefan Corera, Choral Director of the group, shared with me his experiences with the choir, from day one.

“Most of the guys are not exceptionally musically inclined nor do they come from great musical backgrounds, but what keeps them going is the nostalgia of school days and the love for music,” says Stefan. Re-living old times and making new ties brings about a sense of camaraderie amongst the group, he says, adding that this has been the foundation of the chorale. The musical aspect has always been the essence of the group, and the chorale’s shared love of singing too has been the key to their success.

Every member of the Chorale has a strong sense of belonging and each one has a role to play. “The burden doesn’t fall on any one person; everyone chips in and does their part,” added Stefan. He adds that he is assisted by Sanjeev Dabare and Eshantha de Anrado, two members of the chorale.

Whilst in keeping with their trademark style of perfect harmony, the chorale has broken away from the traditional belief that choral music must be associated with religious or spiritual music. Musically the chorale is quite flexible but has yet to venture into high classics.

The concert will be a mix of light and serious classics, like ‘Climb every mountain’ and Giuseppe Verdi’s ‘Va Pensiero’ to popular favourites from the past like the Beatles classic ‘She’s got a ticket to ride’, ‘Great Pretender’, ‘Only You’, ‘Drift Away’ and a beautiful arrangement of the song ‘Seize the day’, from the Disney cartoon ‘Newsies’.

The a cappella version of ‘Bye, Bye Blackbird’ is fantastic. It starts off with just the voices singing to an organ beat, and is later accompanied by the organ, with the choir singing half and the organ playing half of the lines. It’s quite an innovative arrangement and is executed brilliantly. Sounding like one voice, the chorale carry out this number with perfect timing and pitch.

It was almost as though I’d accidentally stepped into the Beach Boys studio whilst they were recording ‘I get around’. The high notes in particular could very easily have been mistaken for the original version. The ease with which they pitched those notes made me wonder - how do they do it?

The guest performance by HFC, who have been recently selected to participate in the prestigious ‘Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod’ in Wales, in July this year, comprises a few new numbers not performed by them at a public concert before. The Familian Choir is under the direction of Soundarie David who says that, “it’s great working with the Chorale and Stefan because it’s always been a learning experience and the two choirs can relate very well with each other.”

Growing from strength to strength, the Chorale now comprises over 40 voices, which is the most they’ve had at one time to date in the choir, says Stefan. Although facing some obstacles Stefan is happy with their progress thus far. However, he says that the group has a lot of room to grow, both in terms of the type of music they do, to how they tackle the music they choose.

“My philosophy is to do pieces the choir enjoys, because if they don’t enjoy it, then there’s no chance of the audience doing so either,” says Stefan. Therefore, before he decides on a new piece of music he sends a feeler out to the guys and depending on their feedback, he either continues with it or scraps it, he says.

Neomal and Yohan de Alwis will accompany the chorale on piano, while Christopher Prins will join in on drums. ‘O When The Saints’, ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’, ‘Va Pensiero’ and ‘Seize The Day’ to be sung by the combined choirs of HFC and the Chorale, are sure to bring the house down, with the sounds of over 70 voices singing lustily in an amazing blend of harmony, bringing the show to a grand finale. Tickets are out now at the Lionel Wendt. Media sponsors for this concert are the Sunday Times, TNL Lite and ARTv.

Top