Paranjoti Choir enthrals

Paranjoti Choir enthrals
CYRIL D’CUNHA
OLD GOA, FEB 7
Oozing with elegance and grace, Coomi Wadia has that magical something that lifts her to the very top; a conductor with a dominant presence. Waving her baton with a minimal swish, this silver-haired lady brought out the best in the 27-member Paranjoti Academy Chorus at the annual Monte Music Festival 2011 on Saturday 5 February.
The acoustics of this centuries-old chapel suited the choir to perfection, and complemented their awesome reputation as one of India’s best capella groups. Having taken over as Music Director and Conductor of the choir since the death of Dr Victor Paranjoti 35 years ago, she proved that she is one who lays a finger upon perfection.
Moving from the mystical ‘Poili Santa’, an ovi from the Konkan arranged by Victor Paranjoti, the harmony of voices struck an immediate chord with the packed audience, which overflowed beyond the chapel’s doors. The maestro’s unsurpassed mastery over dynamics, particularly the pianissimo, had an immediate impact. The strong tenors and sopranos gave ‘Asato-ma-Sat-Gamaya’ and ‘Hodie Beata Virgo Maria’ ample scope for high voices, while the altos hung on to the basses in perfect unison.
By this time, the choir had already begun to sweat, not from tension but from the stifling indoor heat. But that did not prevent them from showing just how good they are. It was a real turn-on when they sang a ‘Hymn to St Francis Xavier’. It brought back memories of maestro Paranjoti himself; he presented this piece in Goa in the early ’60s. ‘Mary had a Baby’ and Kodaly’s double-chorus ‘Jesuz es a Kufarok’ – an interpretation of an angry Jesus – followed.
The divine ‘Kyrie Eleison’ next fell under the spell of Coomi Wadia’s baton and the group came out with strong emphasis in ‘Joshua Fight the Battle of Jericho’, made famous as a black spiritual.
And what better way to end than with ‘He’s got the Whole World in His Hands’, which metaphorically came as a reality with the audience, which listened with rapt attention as the choir sang from memory, blending voices and intonation for a sound and compact self-orchestration.