Manchester faith groups unite in spiritual music

Special notations have allowed the choir to sing in languages which are alien to them

Seventy women from six faiths have come together to form a choir in Manchester.

Sacred Sounds sing spiritual chants and religious music from a range of faith communities, including Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Sikh, Jewish and Muslim.

The choir is just over three months old and will perform on 7 July at the city's Bridgewater Hall.

Choirmaster Beth Allen said: "It's very unusual to be singing other people's sacred music and there's nothing like the feeling that comes from that."

Ms Allen added: "I knew it was going to be amazing because I am interested in language. Yet singing other people's material that belongs to their culture, history, souls and hearts has been beautiful."

Members of the choir were not required to have previous choral experience but there are experienced singers in the group, including Reshmi Dave, a trained singer who represents the Hindu faith.

She said she had never previously sung in such a large group, let alone used the songs of other faiths.

"Hindus don't normally have what is known as choir singing, so I was excited about taking part and getting my friends to join. I didn't know there were so many songs in other faiths. When we wore our saris and did our first performance using a Jewish song, I thought that was brilliant," she said.

Sacred Sounds was created as part of the Manchester International Festival and was inspired by a previous project called Sacred Sites - a celebration of religious chants in Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Jewish and Sikh sites of worship across Manchester.

Retired teacher and choir member Asha Buch said Sacred Sounds is representative of Manchester's multi-faith tolerance.

"We knew that Manchester is cohesive. Yet to experience it and confirm it is a wonderful feeling. Many of us in the choir can't read western musical scores, so it's sung to us. Hindi and Punjabi Sikh chants don't have notation, so Beth makes up a dot notation for everybody," she said.

Ms Allen's notations have allowed the group to sing songs in languages unknown to them - such as a Buddhist chant called White Tara, in Pali, and one of the oldest Muslim nasheeds, Tala al Badru Alayna, in Arabic.

The choir will be premiering If Ye Love Me, a piece composed especially for them by maestro Sir John Tavener.

Jennifer Cleary, Manchester International Festival's creative director, explained how the collaboration came about: "John Tavener has been inspired by faith throughout his career and recently, has perhaps taken a more universalist philosophy towards his work.

"He wrote a meditation on the 99 Names of Allah or God in Islam, and he'll be premiering a piece inspired by the tale of Krishna, a Hindu god, at the festival this year. So we approached him about writing a piece specifically for this choir, which he was really excited about," she said.

Sacred Sounds will also be performing with acclaimed Pakistani Sufi artist, Abida Parveen.

Choir member Sarah Yaseen said she grew up with the singer's music and is elated at the idea of sharing a stage with her: "My father taught me how to sing as I child so I learnt a few of Abida Parveen's songs.

"I love her style. Reading poetry in Urdu is fine, but singing it, you really need training. Whether she sings compositions by poet Bulleh Shah or her own, it's incredible to hear the way it resonates from her. To have the opportunity to sing with Abida Parveen, I feel it's a real achievement."

The MIF Sacred Sounds Women's Choir will be performing with the BBC Philharmonic in a concert of new works by Sir John Tavener at the Bridgewater Hall on 7 July. It is part of Manchester International Festival's summer programme, which will be running from 4 - 21 July 2013.

You can hear more on this story on the BBC Asian Network on Monday 1 July.