Media Release

Panaji, Mar 20: As the streets of Panaji, the capital of Goa, celebrated 'Sigmotsav', a spring festival celebrated by the Hindus of Goa, the gallery hall of the Fundacao Oriente, in the Fontainhasarea of Panaji, played host to release of the book on music history authored by Dr Michael Lobo.

The book titled ‘A Thousand Pages of Songs’ is a work of scholarship and research, an encyclopedia of songs of all eras, ranging from medieval folk songs, through the era of parlour songs of the late 19th and early 20th century, to the rock’n’roll music of the 1950s and ‘60s. The gallery hall was filled with music aficionados of Goa. Fundacao Oriente, the cultural wing of the Portuguese consulate in Goa, sponsored the programme.

Justice Michael F Saldanha, retired judge of the Karnataka high court, was the guest of honour. Praising Dr Michael Lobo’s contribution by way of his book on Music he said, "Dr Michael has given a new lease of life to old songs and revived the interest for the old treasures in the current generation. The songs of yesteryears are full of melody and rhyme and are timeless creations, which need to be documented for the future generation."

He also recalled the contribution of Goan artistes and musicians to music and art. "Dr Michael Lobo's books on music are collector's treasure and should be there with every music lover," he stressed.

Dr Michael Lobo made a presentation on the books and thanked the initiative of Fundacao Oriente for promoting the book on music. The assistant director of the center, Yvonne Rebello, welcomed the gathering and compered the function. The director, Eduardo de Carvalho, a native of Portugal, had to return to his home country because of a tragedy in his family.

The highlight of the programme was the performance by soprano singer Faye Monteiro, accompanied by Ingrid Nazareth on the piano. She presented seven pieces much to the delight of the audience. Incidentally, Faye Monteiro has a Mangalorean connection. Her mother is a granddaughter of J J Rego, a noted Konkani writer of the first half of the 20th century, who also authored the song book 'Chaltin Podam', a compilation of over 250 Konkani songs, which has run into several editions and sold over 10,000 copies.

Earlier, these books by Dr Michael Lobo had been already launched in Mangaluru and Bangalore, but a new feature at the Goa function was the release of three CDs to accompany the book. They are just the start of a series of many more CDs that will soon be available, and may be launched at an independent function in Mangaluru.

A short extract from a report on the function that appeared on Goanet News:

"Not too large a crowd, but a lively session with Retd Justice Michael Saldanha – a friend of the mathematician turned genealogist and musicologist Dr Michael Lobo – being in town to grace the occasion.

Faye and her accompanying keyboard player enthralled the gathering. Justice Michael was very impressed and Dr Michael Lobo was moved and inspired to present a copy of his books to them.

There was even an impromptu quizzing session conducted by the author. Some of the song compilations were aired and the gathering had to name the singer, the relevant CD being given as a prize.

It was awesome to meet Justice Saldanha... full of anecdotes and jokes and incidents that took place while he presided over the bench."

Here’s to some more Goa-Mangalore collaborations!"