Joyful midday concert at Nalis

PEOPLE going about their usual business at lunchtime were pleasantly surprised by the sounds coming from the eastern side of the National Library on Abercromby Street, Port of Spain.

The occasion was the continuation of the Ministry of Culture’s Christmas Brown Bag series, which featured performances by the National Performing Arts entities, in concert form, and free to the public.

As the National Steel Symphony Orchestra (NSSO) played the national anthem, people were seen standing at attention at every corner. Then the National Philharmonic Orchestra, led by Marc Harro, delighted the audience that filled the chairs on December 11 in the library arcade with Viva La Vida (Coldplay), the 1964 Brazilian bossa nova hit Girl from Ipanema, September (Earth, Wind & Fire), Home-made Wine (Scrunter), and closed with Marcia Miranda’s 2009 parang soca Bring Out de Ham.

The tempo was raised several notches when the NSSO returned and filled the city with a spirited delivery of the Carol of the Bells that earned them thunderous applause.

When members of the National Theatre Arts Company (NTAC) joined the steel symphony at strategic points within the band to render We Three Kings, a song written by John Henry Hopkins Jr in 1857, the combination elicited more lusty applause, as did their combined performance of David Rudder’s version of Go Tell it on the Mountain.

NSSO continued with another “goldie,” Sleigh Ride (Leroy Anderson) to which a number of older people in the crowd happily sang along to, as they did to the popular parang song Anda Parrandero (Los Tocadores), with vocals by NTAC.

NSSO and NTAC continued to thrill the crowd, which included students from the Learning Living Institute of Arouca, with more old Christmas favourites: The Little Drummer Boy (Carol of the Drum), a medley of O Come All Ye Faithful, Hark the Herald Angels Sing and Joy to the World, then got into local music for Christmas Is Yours,by Willard “Relator” Harris.

The NSSO closed the concert with Black Cake and Sorrel by Da Spirits.