A Feast of Hymns

Saturday, 1 October 2011 00:55 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

An evening of traditional hymns titled ‘A Feast of Hymns’ conducted by Mary Anne David and accompanied by Neranjan de Silva will be held on Sunday, 9 October from 7.15 p.m. at St. Paul’s Church, Milagiriya.

The glory, majesty and power of the great traditional hymns will be presented by joint members of Colombo’s choirs. These hymns written over hundreds of years have a wide range of melodies and harmonies reinforced by lyrics that are meaningful and often poetic.

The topics range from praise, faith, salvation, penitence, assurance, consecration and prayer. Mary Anne David, who is one the country’s outstanding teacher in all genres of vocal music, has sequenced almost 30 hymns in a seamless presentation where choir and congregation will complement and combine in the singing.

Andrew David, who cut his teeth on this music from his days at Trinity College, has scoured hymn books and music scores to help find what could be selected from the enormous treasure trove of hymns. His one regret is that at least two dozen more could not be in the programme.The evening will be given extra ‘lift’ by organist Neranjan de Silva, who on his keyboards creates a full orchestra to wind or stringed instruments.

Entrance will be by programme at Rs. 300 and it would be wise to come early to ensure a seat. The programme will carry all the words and would be a ready reference at your bedside for your morning song. The net proceeds of the evening will be used by St. Paul’s Church for its outreach work.