Brilliant. Stunning. Extraordinary. The adjectives that came to mind were all in the superlative. But, if there was one occasion on which one could truly use the word “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”, then it was on the evening of December 27, 2024, at Old Goa.
On a stage, against the backdrop of the Se Cathedral, on the wall of which were projected different scenes, unfolded a concert that the thousands of people who had gathered will remember for a long time.
From the moment the Shillong Chamber Choir took to the stage with the “Lord’s Prayer” sung as a solo, till the moment they signed off with “To God be the Glory”, the song that won them the inaugural India’s Got Talent, the audience was held mesmerised.
They signed off, but it didn’t end there, for on request the choir sang “Vande Mataram”, even as the Cathedral walls came alive in the hues of the tricolour.
It was a programme that lasted all of three hours, and the 10 pm sound restrictions came too soon, not only for the audience but also for the performers.
It opened with the 3D projection mapping sound and visual on the walls of the Cathedral, delivering a succinct depiction of the life of St Francis Xavier, followed by biblical scenes as Christmas carols played on.
Taking the stage first, and opening for the Shillong Chamber Choir, was Goa’s In Vox, led by Omar Loiola Pereira who set the tone for the evening, starting off with the iconic Konkani hymn dedicated to St Francis Xavier.
They could have selected neither a better hymn for the occasion, nor a better musical arrangement, which was different from the usual and written by Fr Joaquim Loiola Pereira.
Following them was the Shillong Chamber Choir, and in the darkness of the night, it was the sound of the “Lord’s Prayer” that sent shivers through the audience. The lights came on and mobile phones went up as the audience attempted to capture the moment in photographs and video.
It was a brilliant start by the choir, and one wondered if they would be able to sustain the momentum. They did.
And as the evening progressed, they sang favourites like “By the Rivers of Babylon”, “Amazing Grace”, “O Happy Day” and “Go Tell It On The Mountain” in English and old Aramaic, the language that Jesus would have spoken, and later even “Auld Lang Syne” in modern Aramaic.
Songs like “The Prayer” made popular by Andrea Bocelli and Celine Dion, and “Wind Beneath Your Wings” also had people singing along.
A concert of that nature was perhaps a first for Goa, but there were a few firsts for the choir too. They announced that it was for the first time in their 23-year history that the choir had performed a two-hour gospel music concert, and that two of their choir members had rendered solos for the first time that evening.
Perhaps the same concert in an indoor setting may not have had a similar impact on the audience.
The white walls of the Se Cathedral that came alive in scenes and colour, the dark sky with merely a few twinkling stars, the knowledge that within those white walls rested the sacred relics of St Francis Xavier, created that exceptional atmosphere that was both unreal and yet so real.
The Exposition Committee certainly deserves a round of applause for an enchanted evening.