By Tyron Devotta
As the day draws closer to the Father Claver Perera Memorial Celebration to be held at St. Mary’s Church Bambalapitiya on 17 December, the singers who once sang under his baton find themselves retracing familiar but demanding paths. Many recalled that Father Claver never simply taught music—he shaped an entire way of singing. This December’s recital attempts to gather those fragments of memory, discipline and devotion, and breathe them once more into life.
Members of the choral group are now navigating the rigours of practice, wrestling with the dynamics of foreign-language pieces that formed the backbone of Father Claver’s repertoire. For many, the hardest task is not merely learning the notes—it is capturing the nuances of a style he honed with precision. Bringing back that distinctive genre of choral expression to young voices, and older ones that sometimes strain at the upper register requires patience, stamina, and deep affection for the man who first taught them to listen before singing.
A tapestry of generations
The core team is determined it will be more than a tribute. They see it as a milestone, a gathering of generations shaped by a single visionary who influenced Sri Lanka’s choral tradition for over sixty years. As one veteran singer wryly observed, juggling regular Sunday Mass rehearsals alongside the intense schedule for the memorial performance is “a long, tiring affair, but the spirit is willing, even if the flesh protests.”
They are also reaching beyond borders. Several strong voices, particularly in the base and tenor sections, are expected to fly in from overseas, to complete the texture that was always present in Clavar Perera’s productions. Their presence will enrich the timbre of the ensemble and help lift the evening into something unforgettable.
On the 17th of December, it will be the rekindling of an era, an affirmation that the discipline, humility and joy this Catholic priest instilled in so many lives continue to resonate, long after the final song fades.
Poster - 'I will never forget you...'
A legacy handed down
For many in the memorial choral group which has members of the Saint Mary’s Choral Group (SMCG) preparing for the December celebration, Father Claver Perera is an icon they never met, a legend passed down in stories, harmonies, and the unmistakable style that survived him. Yet his spirit travels easily across generations. It settles into their rehearsals, guides their phrasing, and ignites their imagination with a legacy they feel rather than remember.
In that sense, the Father Claver Memorial Celebration has already achieved something quietly profound: it has built a bridge, from past to present, from those who knew him to those who only know his music. And in crossing that bridge, these singers carry his tradition forward, letting it open a path into the future.
Beyond playlists and streaming platforms
And it is in this crossing of generations that the concert finds one of its most unexpected triumphs. Among the younger singers is 25-year-old Chetianga Attanayake (Cheti), a voice shaped not by direct memory of Father Claver Perera, but by the stories that ripple through the choir like a soft undercurrent.
Chetianga Attanayake (Cheti)
Cheti is part of a generation raised on playlists and streaming platforms, not Latin hymns or classical Italian songs. Yet, she steps into these rehearsals with a curiosity that feels almost inherited.
“Most of these pieces I’m singing for the very first time,” she admits. “I’ve only heard them at home, because I listen to all kinds of music. But singing them, actually being inside the sound, is completely new,” she laughs when asked about some of the more iconic pieces.
“Las Mañanitas, yes, that one I know. But Funiculi Funiculà? Never sang it. Just heard it.”
And yet, she enjoys every moment of it.
Time travel
Part of that joy, she explains, comes from recognising what a rare opportunity this is for someone her age. “Most people in my generation don’t listen to this kind of classical music. So I’m grateful I get to sing pieces that belonged to a different time.”
But the real revelation comes not from the music alone, but from the company. During rehearsal breaks, Cheti finds himself listening to the older members, singers who once stood before Father Claver himself, who share stories of discipline, of phrasing, of the particular timbre he demanded. “It’s interesting,” she says thoughtfully. “I read something recently that said music is the only form of time travel. And it’s true. When I sing these songs, I feel like I’m getting as close as I possibly can to understanding what life and music were like back then.”
In those moments, as the seniors recount the old days—how rehearsals were strict, how Fr Claver insisted on exacting standards, how every vowel, every breath had its place—Cheti feels himself being carried into a world long before her own. “It was very disciplined,” she says. “Very different to now. But it’s good to keep in touch with those things. Good to carry them forward.”
One day in the future
Around her are others in their twenties—young voices who respect the weight of what they are learning, who understand that they are not just singing notes but becoming custodians of a tradition.
“Maybe one day,” Cheti says with a smile, “when we are your age (65), we’ll still be here. And maybe we’ll keep this little bit of legacy going.”
She returns then to her daily life—working in the hospitality trade—but the sentiment lingers. In her voice, and in those of the other young choristers, the bridge to the future is already being built.
An artistic imprint kept alive not only by those who remember Father Claver, but also by those who never met him—yet carry his music forward with reverence.
