BENGALURU: On Thursday, join the United Hearts Choir for an evening of African music. The concert marks the first performance of the African choir in the city. The singers will be rendering popular hymns like ‘Halellujah Messiah’ from Handel and ‘I know who I am’ by Sinach, Yonolhofatha and some slow numbers like ‘Modimo’ and ‘Ukuthula’. The 90-minute concert aims to build a bridge between Indian and African communities.
Twenty singers will take stage and sing fifteen songs in different voices of Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass. “We all grew up in different parts of Africa--Congo and Nigeria. We will be performing traditional music with percussion instruments. We would like to introduce Indians to our music,” says Damien Kakule, president of the United heart Community.
The Community is an association of International Catholic students and Indians. “We weren’t acquainted with each other earlier. We met in Bengaluru. Despite our cultural differences, we were able to get along and come together for music,” he says. The choir will be singing in different languages such as Kiswahili, French, English, Zulu, Xhosa, Lingala, Kibemba, Tshiluba and Kikongo. While most singers are not formally trained, they have some knowledge of music. “Singing is like a routine thing for us. We have all been into music since our childhood,” he adds.
Anisha Pucadyil, an Indian who is also part of the choir, says, “Ask one of our choir leaders Glory about how she learned music and she says that she learned it when she was in the womb of her mother. Early exposure to music is common in both Africa and India. There is music for every occasion. There’s music when babies do not sleep, for marriages and other situations. We try to understand the roots of our music and bring them into our compositions. We have three types of music - worship, classical and folklore. Music transcends all religion. The music is about love, joy and faith that we would like to share with Bengalureans,” she says.
The team is inviting people from different backgrounds, countries and cultures to celebrate the similarities in both the countries. Anisha says, “Both the countries were under the British rule. We too are fighting corruption in our country and raising our voices against social evils. The characteristic of the choir is also the same. We fight for our rights.”The United Hearts Choir was started in 2010 by a group of friends from different countries of Africa under the guidance of the Missionaries of Africa (of the Indian house) and is recognised by the Bangalore Archbishop’s House. Details: Alliance Française auditorium, Millers Tank Bund Road today, 6 pm.