By Kshalini Nonis    

A programme to celebrate the life of Father Claver Perera will be held on December 17 2025, at St. Mary’s Church, Bambalapitiya. We had a chat with Geoffrey Alagaratnam, Coordinator of this programme.     

Can you tell us about the upcoming performance on December 17?

It is a celebration of the life of Father Claver Perera, his contribution to choral music and his legacy as seen in The St. Mary’s choral group, which is the regular choir at the liturgical services and high points at Christmas and Easter at St.Mary’s Church, Bambalapitiya.

How successful have you been in bringing together singers from across six decades, including those overseas?

We reached out to many who were thrilled with and supported the idea, but were unable to come down for the event, though we have at least four to six of the original choir members, both from overseas and locally- Jerome De Silva, being one of them from Sri Lanka and James Alagaratnam from Canada, among the original crowd.

How do you hope to do justice to the amazing musical journey of Father Claver?

This is a tough call due to the exacting standards demanded by Father Claver, yet we will, in a spirit of celebration and perhaps enjoyment and strive to maintain standards.

Can you tell us about the distinct periods identified by you, such as the early all-male choir?

We hope to do justice by highlighting some key points in Father Claver’s choral Journey in Sri Lanka. It all began in 1967 with an all-male St. Mary’s church choral group, started at St. Mary’s Bambalapitiya, which won the all-island choral competition conducted by the German Cultural Institute (now Goethe Institution). The repertoire was mainly the Italian mountain songs, bringing out experiences of the Italian Alpine people. He later moved on to St. Peter's, and under his direction, the school won the all-island schools choral competition. Subsequently, he was back at St.Mary’s Church, Bampalapitiya, before serving in the National Seminary in Kandy.

The music of St.Mary’s choral group was both secular and eclectic, with a few public performances. Can you tell us about some of the main items on the programme?

The main items will be the Italian  Mountain songs, such as Montanara, the Neapolitan songs like O Sole Mio Santa Lucia, Stephan Foster's Come where my love lies dreaming, Va pensiero – slaves' song from Navucco by Verdi,  and of course Father Claver’s favourite Christmas song O holy night.

 Who are the main participants in the programme?

The main participants will be the members of the St.Mary’s church choral groups, members of the past and present and Mary Anne David, who regularly sang with him, rendering Mozart’s Laudate Dominium.

Who are the sponsors?

We have the general support of contributions from present and past members, as well as individual well-wishers of the choirs and the support of  Wijeya Newspapers.

Finally, how do you hope to spread the message of Christ’s birth through your production?

The Christmas touch on the 17th of December 2025 will be provided by rendering Oh holy night and Tu scendi dalle stelle.