Members of Cantare performing at Christ Church community hall in Guwahati. Picture by Hrishikesh Roy

It was a well-presented evening of Western classical music by “Cantare the Christ Church and Mixed Voices Chorus” at the Christ Church community hall here last Saturday.

Cantare, which first sang during Christmas 2000, has since organised three similar concerts with their avowed mission — “to sing, to entertain, to glorify”. The members of Cantare, drawn together by their common love of Western classical music, are ably directed and co-ordinated by Pinuel Basumatary. The choir members also have an accomplished pianist in R.H. Duncan Lyngdoh (Harku), professor of chemistry at North Eastern Hill University, Shillong, whose participation has added a very professional touch to the group.

On Saturday, Cantare attempted some very difficult compositions like Credo (Franz Schubert), Ave Verum Corpus (W.A. Mozart), Who Crucified My Lord? (Ralph R. Belcher) before a packed audience. Mozart’s Ave Verum Corpus is a particularly difficult piece where singers are expected to perform through wide variations in vocal rendition. Though this was an ambitious attempt for a group comprising non-professional part-time singers, their efforts definitely deserve appreciation.

The choir’s rendition of well-known and beautiful compositions like O’Sacred Heart, Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring and Sheep may safely graze were the show’s high point. The voices of Pinuel Basumatary, Rajashri Baglari, Moushumi B. George, Madonna Sangma, Shankar Dev Choudhury and Rudrakshi Bhuyan were particularly discernible in the pieces where there was room for solo vocal performances. The other members of the choir group — Anjali I. Kathar, Mary S. Sangma, Caroline Dkar, Ivy Bora, Isha George and the secretary of group, Ruth Gomez — contributed immensely to the harmony of the performance. With some more training, one would certainly hear far superior renditions from Cantare.

The acoustic quality of the concert hall, however, is a serious deterrent for high quality musical performances. Cantare would do well to consider hosting their show in a better hall or else use enough buffers in the present venue to absorb those sounds that tend to interfere with the quality of singing.

The absence of Cantare’s regular conductor L. David, who was indisposed, seems to have affected the spirit of the performance as Lyngdoh, apart from providing keyboard accompaniment, also had to play the role of conductor. In Cantare’s earlier performances, the use of a percussion instrument had added a welcome variety to some of the songs on show. On Saturday too, many among the audience felt that the show could have done with a little more variety in the selection of pieces.

Utilising a short break taken by the singers during the Saturday concert, a quiz was conducted by George Chakko and D’com Bhuyan of the Gauhati Music Society with interesting prizes for the audience. The questions asked in the quiz were mainly related to names, compositions and background of the Western classical masters and the quiz elicited lively responses from music lovers present in the hall. Mala and Olly walked away with most of the prizes.

This group of amateur singers has come forward in an effort to perform well-known Western classical pieces for the Guwahati audience and deserve every support for the professional standards that they are seeking to achieve. But to do so, apart from more rigorous training of their voices, the performers must also present themselves in formal attire as this would definitely enhance the aesthetic value of the show.

The next Cantare concert is scheduled for December and chorus co-ordinator Pinuel Basumatary has extended an invitation to all interested persons, including non-singing music lovers, to come forward to help the group achieve its mission of singing and entertaining people. It is indeed an opportunity for every music lover to contribute his or her bit to spread good music in the city.

Hrishikesh Roy