Do you hear what I hear?

Christmas is busy season for India's top choirs. Sneak a peek at their own playlists to build the most festive soundtrack of them all

 

While the world winds down in the last weeks of the year, for choirs, there's no time to be naughty or nice. 'Tis the season to be busy. They juggle yearend engagements, family time, a full Christmas dinner and quiet moments of introspection. So, what do their own playlists look like?

The Shillong Chamber Choir

Founded in 2001 by Neil Nongkynrih, the multigenre 11-member choir, is accompanied by a band and orchestra. Performances can have up to 60 people on stage at a time. "The music needs to be perfect, of course, but there is also emphasis on exercising, eating well, and being in the right place spiritually," says William Richmond Basaiawmoit, 35, the lead vocalist. "But it's good to be busy."

On their playlist:

The choir's own collab. It features Uncle Neil on the piano, Ustad Zakir Hussain on tabla, and the choir on vocals. "It always gets the audience going and is a joy to sing because of how difficult it is."

Sunoh (Reprise), from The Archies. The choral a capella-esque song appears towards the end of the 2023 film and features a performance by the cast.

The Neemrana Foundation

Founded in 2004, The Neemrana Foundation has an adult choir with 16 full-time singers, a kids' choir, and another for teens. Set up in Delhi by Frenchman, the late Francis Wacziarg, the choirs are how headed by his daughter, Aude Priya Wacziarg Engel, 50, now the Managing Trustee of The Neemrana Foundation. Family is close during the busy season. Her three kids are part of one choir. "As unpaid singers too!"

On their playlist:

Va Pensiero by Verdi. A song for freedom, it was originally sung in the opera by prisoners. "My dream is to do this as a flash mob," says Engel.