“Aaya Masih”, the Hindi carol sung across India in churches during the Christmas season has been given a new choral arrangement and rendition. Originally composed by Nirmal K Das, the carol has been sung by the UK-based opera singers Rebecca Silverman, Marienella Phillips, Seumas Begg, and Adam Maxey, and arranged by the British composer and choirmaster Paul Ayers (vide above).

This is part of The Christmas Project, an initiative by Das’s daughter Menaka Das in collaboration with composer and producer Andrew T Mackay to revive her late father’s musical legacy. Das, who also composed Bhojpuri songs, was well-known for carols like “Sunlo More Bhaiya”.

Das wrote several hymns in Hindi and Bhojpuri, using four-part harmonies and counterpoint. He went on to form an amateur choir, which performed across north India, especially during Christmas and Easter.