“Praise my soul the king of heaven, to his feet thy tribute bring
Ransomed, healed, restored forgiven, Evermore his praises sing”
- Henry Francis (1834)
The lyrics of this famous hymn which has resonated in Cathedrals and Chapels for two centuries clearly indicates that divine adoration and worship remain an integral part of Christian life. The Holy Bible is full of Psalms, a majority of them written by King David.
Change is part of human life and with time, various traditions and rites of the church have been subject to change. One of the very noticeable spheres of this change is in music.
Today, hymns which were written with zeal and veneration are being transformed to appease the choice of younger generations: this is not a cardinal offence, yet the majesty of the choir supplemented by the rendition of the pipe organ sustains a certain aura which is almost divine. Interestingly, if you take time to study the background of each ancient church lyricist you will find that they truly wrote with passion, from their deep relationship with God. With digital input steadily dominating every aspect of Christmas globally, hymns are being ‘remixed’ to increase commercial sales. Carols have been a part of the Yuletide celebration for centuries. Originating in Europe they have told the story of the divine nativity. Initially, many of these delightful hymns were written in Latin and German before translation into English. Some of these vibrant hymns of Christmas are: Joy to the World, Silent Night, O Come All ye Faithful, The First Noel, Once in Royal David’s City and Hark the Herald Angels Sing.
The Catholic church of Sri Lanka has a magnificent choir made up of young people aged 18-30. I met the choir leader Danushka Jayasinghe and some of his choristers, as they rehearsed in perfect celestial harmony. The man who formed this choral outfit is Fr.Prasad Niranjan an outstanding organist and a faithful pupil of Fr.Cleaver Perera. Beginning with just six persons in 2004 the choir sang with earnest dedication. Three of the original members still sing today: music director Udara Fernando, Merishan Perera and Rukshan. It was in 2006 that the church’s Liturgical Director Rev.Fr. Cecil Joy (presently Rector of the Kalutara Seminary) realized the contribution of the choir and endorsed them as the Archdiocesan Choir of Colombo.
Subsequently, Fr.Prasad became the Rector of St. Joseph’s College, Enderamulla but he continued this musical journey and remains the dynamic backbone of the choir whose members can sing in Latin, English and Sinhala. Moratuwa is a town synonymous with music, thus most of the choristers were from this area. With time, the members began to be absorbed from Negombo, Kalutara and Avissawella.
In 2007, using the tagline Cantate Domino, the choir launched their first CD. By 2011 the choir blossomed to have 60 young men and women. Danushka Jayasinghe said “our main event is the mass in August which is conducted at the National Basilica, Tewatte. We also perform at various events within the church, travelling across the country”. The group had their first concert attired in black robes in 2011 titled, “An Evening of Harmony”. This show propelled them to stardom and since then they have been in demand. That same year the choir did another CD with M-Entertainment. Gaining momentum they were invited to perform at Temple Trees. The choir is keen to sustain and bring about a resurgence of the Latin hymns. It is understandable that many today will not understand and appreciate Latin - a language that is somewhat alien to them. However, classical Latin is a rich language with lovely listening appeal. During the golden age of Latin there were great writers like Cicero, Virgil, Tacitus and Ovid. This young choir will perform during December at various programs within the Catholic Church. Venite Adoremus- O Come Let Us Adore Him.