Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith opened the proceedings of “Joy  to the World 2013”on Saturday, 14th December 2013 at the “Nelun Pokuna Mahinda Rajapakse Theatre” by talking of the Journey of the Spirit of Christmas. He followed it with a Prayer and a Christmas Blessing.

Then Helen Massey who hailed from London sang “Ave Maria” while the screen in the background depicted the scene of the “Annunciation” when the Angel Gabriel appeared to St.Mary and told her that she would bear the Christ Child, the Son of God.  Helen was accompanied on the piano by Caroline Jayaratnam.

 

 

“Bambini”, the Primary Choir comprising singers from Good Shepherd Convent, Kotahena, St.Bridget’s Convent and others then sang “Little Drummer Boy” and three little girls played the drums.  The screen showed poor children rummaging in dustbins for food, a reminder of the reality for the concert was in aid of the Poverty Alleviation Projects of the Archdiocese of Colombo and “The Blessed Joseph Vaz Trust”.

All the choirs performed free.  The Children’s Choir then acted out and sang a Tamil Song “Rajangani”.  Helen then sang “Little Road to Bethlehem” followed by “O Holy City”-Jerusalem.  Helen then gave a brief introduction to the cold December of London and sang “White Christmas” while confessing a love for the sunshine of tropical Sri Lanka.

Another soloist Imesh Wijewardena then sang “Jesu Swami Daruwani” originally sung by Nanda Malini.

 

 

The Senior Choir “Pueri Cantores” next sang a song in Swahili, a tribute to Nelson Mandela.
The group “Voice Print” then came on stage and harmonized “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” followed by “We Three Kings of Orient Are”.  They next sang “Namo Mariyani” singing acapella.  They  concluded by singing the title song “Joy to the World”.

The De Lanerolle Brothers appeared looking very smart in tuxedos and sang “Long Time Ago in Bethlehem”.  Then came “Away in a Manger” with a mix of three tunes.  Rohan de Lanerolle’s little son then hit the high notes with “Mistletoe and Wine” and sang “It’s a time for giving…”

 

 

The De Lanerolle Brothers then sang their signature tune “The Prayer” immortalized by Celine Dion and Andre Bocceli: “I Pray you’ll be alright”.  Ishan de Lanerolle next sang “Blue Christmas” while the screen in the background showed snowflakes falling. Rohan de Lanerolle then invited the audience to sing along as the brothers sang “Go Tell it on the mountains”.

The siblings then sang “When a Child is Born” followed by “O Holy Night”  The Brothers then invited “Voice Print” to come back on stage and join them in singing “Joy to the World”.  The concert concluded with all the artistes on stage singing “Felize Navidad” and wishing everyone a Happy Christmas!

Comments from the audience:

Gehan Chandrasekera

“The concert was excellent.  It was well organized and we enjoyed it a lot.  “Voice Print” was simply amazing.”

 

 

Jeremy Claasz

“The word ‘Excellent’ is too simple.I think that everybody owes a big ‘Thank You’ to Choir Director  Francis Almeida.  I hope that one day my grandchildren will also be able to enjoy a show like this.”

 

 

Jenny Rodrigo

“It was a fabulous show.Very well-organized.  We couldn’t have enjoyed a better show.  From the children’s choir to everything, it was lovely.  “VoicePrint” was fantastic and had a lot of rhythm.”

 

 

 

 

By Sirohmi Gunesekera
Pics by Waruna Wanniaarachchi