A ‘lockdown choir’ shares ‘Power of love’ amid Covid-19 crisis
The choir has recreated the evergreen song The Power of Love, originally created in 1984.
Music heals. And The Power of Love, penned by Gunther Mende, Candy DeRouge. Jennifer Rush, Mary Susan Applegate, is a composition that has since 1984 touched millions of lives across the globe, with cover versions by the likes of Laura Branigan and Celine Dion.
Now, a group of Zoroastrian Parsis, led by musician and entrepreneur Shayan Italia, have come together to form what he calls The Global Lockdown Choir. They have worked around a soothing, unique recreation of the evergreen song, dedicating it to those away from their loved ones during the lockdown period during the Covid-19 crisis.
He says, “For me, there is no greater power than the power of love between two living things: human beings or animals. A mum is a mum for everyone (be it for you or a dog, a tiger, or even a whale), and a loved one is a loved one for every living thing.”
And conveying that with music made sense for him as he feels it holds the power to spread a message across the globe incredibly fast, and connect with people individually on a very deep level.
”It is in these trying and uncertain times of ours, music helps to heal, rejuvenate, restore positivity, enhance faith, build love and getting our creative juices going helping us through the daily challenges that each face in our own way,” Italia tells us.
He came to know of a fellow Parsi vocalist Delraaz Bunshah, and collaborated with her. It was during a practice take that he setup a phone and a drum mic, and recorded it. When he shared it with a friend who instantly loved it, one connection organically led to another, and within 72 hours, many who were away from their loved ones during the lockdown, reached out and said they would like to sing on it too.
“Before we knew it, many from various parts of the world were coming together. I just decided to call them The Global Lockdown Choir as the name was apt towards the overall message of the video and the trying times we are in, during this difficult time of our lives,” he adds, mentioning that it took a total of 2 weeks to put this initiative together, coordinating the vocalists on a “crappy 3G/4G network” and much more.
A lot of the collaborators, Italia shares, “asked not to be credited”. “Sometimes good people just like to be part of something without having their names plastered all over the place. The world has become more introverted that way,” he says on a philosophical note.
