------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2006 * * * Y E A R * * * O F * * * T H E * * * S E N I O R ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Goa Sudharop Annual Awards on November 20, 2006 @ Mandovi Hotel @ 4:30pm Chief Guest: Dr. Asha Vishwanath Sawardekar
A series of essays as a tribute to Goan Seniors can be found at: http://www.goanet.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=524 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Death descended slyly on a dark Friday afternoon on January 24, 1997 drawing curtains on a period of wondrous creativity and tremendous personal growth. Maestro Lourdino Barreto, music's international superstar, was dead. A beautiful innings cut short prematurely leaving a vacuum that can, at best, only be regrettably felt by music connoisseurs. Fr. Lourdino was born with an 'inner feeling' for music on February 11, 1938 at Galgibag, a sleepy village in South Goa. From a rural youth, fond of tickling the ivories, he went on to become a formidable musicologist with international acclaim. At a World Congress organised in Rome for conductors and maestros, Fr. Barreto was described as "the best musicologist to the east of the Suez canal." A graduate cum laude in Gregorian chant, composition and piano, he earned his doctorate for his thesis "Aesthetics in Indian Music" and attempted a synthesis of western classical and Indian music. His creative interpretation of Western and Indian music and integration of the two musical lineages in contemporary score through his mastery of the interpretation was highly appreciated in scholastic circles. The first traces of Fr. Barreto's brilliance in music were seen in the auditoriums of the Pontifical Institute for Sacred Music and the Conservatoire in Rome in the late sixties. He taught music in the minor and major seminaries of the Archdiocese of Goa. He also served as the president of the Goa Diocesan Commission for Sacred Music. His works, some of them based on Indian ragas, have been performed by various orchestras and musical ensembles in cities like Rome, Lisbon, Baltimore, Buenos Aires and many others. Some of the performances even graced the STAR TV network. He has also given organ, violin and piano recitals in Italy, Switzerland, Austria, England and the United Stated of America. The astounding depth of his legacy unfolds across a variety of genres. It moved from the sacred to the secular, from the stage to study, from the flambouyant to the sublime. With his expertise in contraptual and chromatic harmony he made revolutionary forms of executions that drew him worldwide acclaim. As a modern conductor he took music to a new high both culturally and otherwise. The world took notice and so did the then government. In 1977 the then chief minister and chairperson of Kala Academy, Mrs Shashikala Kakodkar, in a letter to the Bishop wrote seeking the services of Fr. Barreto as director of western music department of Goa's Kala Academy: "Permit Fr. Barreto to accept the said post, his services in the field of western music will be very beneficial to Goans and he will certainly create a good name for the Academia on the cultural map of India ." He accepted the post and thousands of students were trained in music under his guidance till his untimely death. While in service he formed the Goa Philharmonic Choir (GPC). Besides staging operettas and Broadway musicals, his Choir participated in international choir festivals in Rome and other European cities. An audiocassette of his music interpreted under his baton by the GPC was released only a month before his death. Some of the unforgettable performances under his musical direction were: Sound of Music, Oliver Twist, Fiddler on the Roof, My Fair Lady and Orphaeus in the underworld. Fr. Barreto made significant contribution to Goan folk music. He brought Konkani sacred music to international standards through his outstanding composition and choral arrangement. His inspired treatment of Dogi Tegi Beatini (a Konkani dulpod) is a delight. Again his highly intricate Raghupati Raghav Rajaram is an experience that borders on the sublime. On the academic front Fr. Lourdino was the Chairman of the Board of Studies for western music of Goa University and an advisor to the Government of India for the formation of Army, Navy and Air Force bands across the country. Thanks to Fr. Lourdino, music was added as an optional subject from std. VII to XII for which he himself prepared the textbooks. All said Fr. Barreto's life should not be seen as a one-piece orchestra. He was a keen footballer and a sports lover. He was one of the founders of the Galgibaga Sports Club and St Anthony's High School, Galgibaga. He also wrote several articles and books. The Vincent Xavier Verodiano Award was posthumously conferred on Fr. Barreto recently. Ironically, the state government is yet to honour Fr. Barreto for his services, leave alone his genius. Honours or no honours, the legend lives. Etched in the collective memory is the image of Fr. Barreto as a tall, strikingly handsome and imposing figure. For the connoisseurs of music, however, this musicologist will remain a towering genius who put Goa on a new pedestal in the international music arena. ****************************************************************************** Anthony M Barreto aka Tony Martin Freelance Writer and Author Galgibaga, Canacona, Goa -- 403728 M: 9422390701 R: 91-0832-2632012 www.canacona.net ***************************************************************************** ____________________________________________________________________________________ Sponsored Link Online degrees - find the right program to advance your career. Www.nextag.com _______________________________________________ Goanet mailing list Goanet@lists.goanet.org http://lists.goanet.org/listinfo.cgi/goanet-goanet.org