Esperem pela próxima manif de profs...

India breaks Guinness Record in choir singing

NEW DELHI, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Over 160,000 people in twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad in West India gathered to sing in one voice and made it to the Guinness Book of World Records, local tabloid Mail Today said Tuesday.

The mammoth gathering paid a tribute to the 15th century South Indian Telugu composer Tallapaka Annamayya by singing seven classical songs composed by him at the Secunderabad Parade Grounds in the twin cities Sunday evening, according to the report.

The previous record was set more than seven decades ago by a German choir on Aug. 2, 1937, when 60,000 people sang the German national anthem in chorus under Nazi orchestration.

In the twin cities, the sprawling ground was packed with people of all age groups and from all walks of life. They joined a team of classical singers led by Carnatic -- a south Indian form of music -- vocalist Garimella Balakrishna Prasad. The event marked the Telugu composer's 601st birth anniversary, said the report.

The composer wrote over 35,000 songs in praise of Hindu Lord Venkateswara.

A Guinness representative, Raymond Marshal, announced after the choir finished its performance that a new record had been set. 　


A notícia aqui.

Para quem ainda tinha dúvidas...

Psychologist urges: sing for your health by Bill Bowder

CHORAL singing is good for health, a Swedish psychologist has reported, after conducting research into the long tradition of choral music in Sweden.

The psychologist, Dr Maria Sandren, from the University of Stockholm, will be presenting her findings at a seminar in Canterbury Christ Church University’s new centre in Folkestone on 29 April.


Sweden is a good place to study the effects of choral singing because one in five Swedes sing in a choir, she said. “Results indicated that choral singing had strong effects on the well-being, in that positive emotions increased significantly, and, in turn, negative emotions radically subsided. Choral singers, particularly women, are happier, more alert and relaxed after a rehearsal.”


Much less was known, however, about how the content of songs affected the singers’ health, Professor Stephen Clift, the director of the research centre that organised the seminar, said last week. But there was anecdotal evidence: at a recent performance at the university of Verdi’s Gloria and Rutter’s Requiem “a number of singers referred to the religious character of the music and the impact it had on them.”