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Gold medal for borgeet in choir format at world fest

By Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Dec 12 - Borgeet in a choir format might be a new concept for many who follow this devotional music genre, but Angelos Luit Choir of Assam is not just practising this format, but has also won international acclaim for it.

An innovative performance by Angelos Luit Choir along with Naamghar Association of America (NAAM) has won the gold medal in the 2nd World Virtual Choir Festival held in Indonesia recently. The team represented India in the festival in the mixed choir category and performed Borgeet Govinda Chintahu Baal Gopal written by Madhabadeva in choir format.

The pioneering modal polyphonic choral rendition of the Borgeet was written in the style of 10th to 12th century AD Orthodox European medieval music Organum performed by musicians and choristers of the Naamghar Association of America, USA and Angelos Luit Choir.

�It was a�global appreciation for our Assamese divine music and culture. Sankari music, inspite of its universal appeal and value, is still globally unexplored and awaits enrichment in its devotional magnitude by experts in the field,� said Bipul Borah, coordinator of Angelos Luit Choir and NAAM.

Borgeet is a genre of classical devotional music category in Assam, composed by great saint and polymath Mahapurush Srimanta Sankaradeva and his disciple Sri Madhabadeva in the 15th-16th century.

�We have been practising this format just before the COVID-induced lockdown began. It is amazing how our Borgeet ragas are strikingly similar to Western Christian orthodox music modes barring the fact that their music was polyphonic whereas ours is monophonic,� said JB Rupam, choir conductor and music composer.

�Whereas Srimanta Sankaradeva mainly took the basic elements to develop our sacred music, as it was easier for the masses to follow, the western world experimented a lot with the music during and after the renaissance. As an advanced society, since now we can read and write music and experiment with its different elements, it opens up wider opportunities to take our sacred devotional music to the world in different ways,� he added.

�We are thankful to the NAAM for allowing us to perform our experimental music in one of its programmes. This eventually led to the global competition, which won us the achievement,� he further mentioned.

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