A tribute to Father Honti - SOUNDS FAMILIAR by Baby A, Gil

After Vatican 2 made it possible for the Catholic Church to perform services in native languages instead of the usual Latin, it became a question of whether Filipinos will be able to come up with suitable songs that would be whole-heartedly accepted by church-goers. It seemed like a formidable task trying to change three hundred years of tradition but they didn’t count on Fr. Eddie Hontiveros. The young Jesuit made the change possible and now, nearly 40 years later it has become almost impossible for Pinoy church-goers to remember a time when church hymns were sang only in Latin or English. Truth to tell, sacred music composed by local composers have become so successful that many of them have been recorded and turned into hits.
This accomplishment and his beautiful music is the reason why PLDT, in cooperation with The Culinary Exchange and Polymer Products is presenting Pananagutan, A Lifetime of Music and Love, in honor of Fr.Honti, as the Jesuit priest is fondly referred to by everybody. This show will be held at the University of the Philippines’ Main Theater on Dec. 8 and 9, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. It is a tribute to Fr. Honti in gratitude for his music and the life he has dedicated to the service of God.

Fr. Honti was a young Jesuit priest in 1965 when he composed the first Filipino Mass. This contained music for the Ordinary Parts and among those which Father Honti wrote were the Luwalhati Sa Diyos (Gloria) and the Ama Namin (Our Father). This work opened up the minds of composers and church-goers to the fact that they can write sacred songs and be successful at the same time and that church music in Filipino need not be boring or second rate.

The positive reaction to this Mass resulted in easy acceptance of Fr. Honti’s subsequent works. Seven years after his Filipino Mass, he published Mga Awiting Pansamba, which is made up of five masses and over 50 sacred songs, including the hugely popular Pananagutan. He would later also write music for religious folk practices like the Panunuluyan which is a dramatization of Mary and Joseph’s search for room at the inn on Christmas eve and the Pasyong Pilipino, which commemorates the Passion of Christ through song during Holy Week.

What must be his greatest accomplishment though is the fact that he opened the way for other composers to try their hand in writing liturgical songs. He was the inspiration for the likes of Nemesio Que, Danny Isidro, Fruto Ramirez, Manoling Francisco, Arnel Aquino and other Jesuits who continue to enrich what has come to be known as the Himig Heswita (Jesuit Music) with the fruits of their talents.

Expect many more from this and later generations to follow suit. Although illness keeps Fr. Honti from directly helping them in this direction, his music remains their strongest influence and guiding factor. In fact, proceeds from the Pananagutan concert will be used to set up a foundation to promote Filipino liturgical music through scholarships, professorial chairs and music awards.

Fr. Honti has also requested that half of the proceeds be used for the peace and reconciliation efforts in Mindanao. For all we know, this move might even result in more inspiring songs coming from the war-torn area from the children who will be touched by the goodness of his heart.

For those who want to join in this celebration, tickets to Pananagutan are available at the Jesuit Music Ministry, tel. 4266101, ext. 3425 or 4261023 or at the Jesuit Communications at 4265971 and 4264972. Tickets will also be available at the UP Theater box office on the days of the concert.

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The year is nearing its end but there still seems to be no let up in the boy band fever that continues to rage worldwide. Metro Manila is no exception and the local hit charts is dominated by boy groups, some girls and would you believe, an Oscar winning actress.

Here now are the songs most people are listening to these days: My Love from the new album by Westlife, Shape of My Heart also from a new album by the Backstreet Boys, This I Promise You from the latest by ’N Sync; Cruisin’, by the unlikely team-up of rock star Huey Lewis and actress Gwyneth Paltrow, who won her Oscar for the film Shakespeare in Love from the soundtrack of the movie Duets, If You’re Gone by matchbox twenty, PrettyBoy by M2M, Come on Over by Christina Aguilera, Music by Madonna, She Bangs by Ricky Martin and Black Coffee by All Saints.