Music to find peace with

Matinloc is a heart-shaped island located in Bacuit Bay, El Nido in Palawan. A vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary experienced by a nurse-housewife in 1982, asked her to "look for the heart of my Son" and she found this two years later in Matinloc. When seen from the air, the top view of the islands shows the agonizing face of Christ and the Blessed Mother holding a child. When seen in profile there is the image of Christ laid to rest. "The heart of my Son" mentioned in the vision is found on the left side and is now represented by the two entrances to the Immaculate Heart of Mary Prayer Center.

This Prayer Center was built with the help of a French businessman who went to Matinloc on a pilgrimage in 1985. After waking up from a nap, he saw the heavens open with a ring of rainbow and witnessed a beautiful monument descend on an open space. Eight years later, with the earnings from his prosperous business, he built the shrine which is now the Prayer Center on that space. Matinloc has since become a well-known pilrimage destination with tales of miraculous healings and conversions. This fulfills what Our Lady stated in the vision – that the islands of Matinloc and of nearby Tapiutan are to be used "for the spiritual upliftment of mankind."

To help bring about the conversion and upliftment of more souls, the Friends of Matinloc recently produced an album titled Sa Ating Paglalakbay, Tungo Sa Bagong Herusalem. This is made up of old and new sacred songs like the Ave Maria, Pagsibol, Lift Up Your Hands, Anima Christi, Inang Maria, Prayer of Saint Francis, Make Me a Servant and others. These are performed by priests from Palawan, Fr. Eddie Penafiel of El Nido, Fr. Greg Igig of Bataraza and Fr. Nito Bundac of Sofrono Espanola. Featured tenor is Eugene de los Santos and the sopranos are Grace Guioyo who also composed the music of Hymn to Our Lady of Matinloc and Teresita Fernandez-Laumond.

The album is not selling in the usual outlets. It is instead being distributed in exchange for donations that will benefit the evangelization program of the Vicariate of Palawan. Those interested in helping out this worthy cause can get copies at the Office of His Excellency, the Most Reverend Bishop Pedro Arigo at the Bishop’s Residence in Puerto Princesa in Palawan with telephone number (048) 433-2568 or at the Jaylon International Office in Makati City, Metro Manila with telephone number 817-7506. Sa Ating Paglalakbay is available in single albums at P300 each and in double editions with the music minus one of the selections at P500.

The Jesuit Communications and the Jesuit Music Ministry has come up with videos of the songs Inay and How Lovely is Your Dwelling Place, both composed by Arnel Aquino, SJ and performed by RB Hizon, SJ. Inay is one of the cuts in the albums Alay-Kapwa: Huwag Limutin and Far Greater Love. The video is directed by Dave Hukom who also did the Limutin and Far Greater Love. The video is directed by Dave Hukom who also did the CMMA 2001 Best MTV awardee Pananagutan. This was shot at the Marian Grotto in Baguio and shows various images and experiences of motherhood as exemplified by Mary.

Dwelling Place depicts the search of a fitting place for God in this world. It is included in Something More: Songs for Skeptics and directed by Lawrence Cordero. It follows the day of a young Jesuit scholastic at work amidst the garbage heaps of Payatas. Try to catch these in local TV stations and discover the peace of mind that they bring.

Classical Comfort

The producer of Classical Comfort probably felt like a kid set loose in a toy store and told to take everything he pleases and do what he wants with them. This was what happened to Chris Zippel, who was told to create electronic ambient music with any of the classical recordings from the Eterna catalogue. The result is not only interesting because it gets the listener into a dissecting, analyzing mood, but is also very relaxing. This is how it would have been like had Mozart, Bach or Debussy gotten their hands on those electronic thing-a-ma-jigs in the recording studio today.

Chill out with Franck’s Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 in a major, in Get is in the Box, by Naomi, to Smetana’s Die Moldau in Die Moldau (The Wall Mix) by Fred 2 Fred, or to Mozart’s Symphony No. 19 in e flat major k. 132 in Star Beach 7:AM by Vintage Youth, to Grieg’s Lyric Suite Notturno, op. 54 in the Nocturnal Clubbing Suite by Ocker and other enticing combinations.