Brotherhood
September 8, 2005 | 12:00am
I’m not an artist. I coaxed the title "Line and Wash" out of a bookshelf recently, thinking it was an ode to my household chore of choice. I pushed it back into its niche – not without a twinge of embarrassment – when I realized it had to do with watercolor technique. That’s how much I know. Still, I appreciate good art not just for what I see or hear, but for what I experience when I am before it.
Three Sundays ago, at the Pag-Asa event at the People Power Monument, I was enthralled by the performance of violinist Merjohn Lagaya and pianist Naldy Rodriguez of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra. It wasn’t so much the playing, though that was quite amazing – technically proficient and all that. It was the collective experience of the performance and reception of the audience that really made my skin tingle. The music brought us to that place inside ourselves that recognizes what is common and true. There was a definite feeling of warmth that spread inside me and a brand of pure joy that lifted me up. I looked at the people around me – poor, rich, young, old – and I could see they felt it, too. In those few moments, we were all a little bit softer; perhaps a little more human. That whole experience – that’s what art is about. It really is food for the soul and spirit.
Art lets you experience something deep within, but it also expands your senses to realms beyond yourself. It touches your feeling life. It isn’t a cold, intellectual exercise. Music beautifully and honestly played touches everyone. A painting that captures a truly human experience or feeling reverberates. It causes movement in the soul that creates warmth and light inside.
Our high-tech world has all but annihilated the interest in museums or the theater because it is much more convenient to press a button and have simulated versions entertain us at home. Given the state of traffic in this country, I can’t say I haven’t resorted to this myself. But after my experience at the People Power Monument, I was reminded to seek art in its purest form. That afternoon, I made a silent vow to support our artists more because I have felt again how their passion, work and effort feed and heal the soul. For the first time, I experienced an inner awakening of a strong sense of spiritual brotherhood. In our divided and chaotic world, it is important that we cultivate and nurture that space time and again.
Live performance is so different from one-dimensional entertainment, no matter how fancy or sleek the latter is. Live is always rich and full of texture. There are all the little details you will never see in the simulated perfection of a screen. There are even the side stories you can experience unfurling around you. Live has more integrity and your participation in it much more active and engaged. A pulsing human exchange cannot be duplicated.
This is also why I did not lull my babies to sleep with recorded music. I sang to them (and still do). It is part of my quest to make sure they experience and appreciate truth in everything. The human voice is best heard live. When you hold your child close and sing to him he not only hears your voice, but feels how it travels through your body, connects to him and surrounds him as well. What a precious gift to both mother and child! Why bombard the child with detached, cold electronics when his mother’s voice enfolds him in human warmth?
Anyone who has experienced good theater or a great concert can attest to that post-concert high. It is a feeling of gratitude and hopefulness; hopefulness about the human race and the world. It is a realization of every human being’s capacity to bring beauty into the world. I believe it stems from an experience of truth in the soul that only art – and perhaps love – can inspire.
I remember getting dressed to see a concert, play or ballet at the CCP as a young girl. It was an event my sister and I looked forward to. We were both students of dance then, so the chance to see our idols in the field was always extra special. We traced every movement with our eyes and felt everything in our own bodies. It was in those performances that we recognized our limitations but also our possibilities. We would go home anxious to practice our jumps and turns. Watching those dancers made us imagine everything we could become. I have the same feeling now when I read good literature. Good literature inspires me to write. It doesn’t make me want to go out and buy another book. It inspires me to create; to contribute to that special flow of creative energy.
At the Pag-Asa event, that’s what I felt. Everyone, from all walks of life, was unified by the universal message of music. In that space, we felt the strength of the human spirit. We also felt a deep and nagging urge to engage ourselves in the active building of a nation that upholds truth, integrity and morality. It was in the music, dancing, praying. It was in truth-sharing. Indeed, it is culture that unites us all. It is in this sphere that we can communicate authentically at last. It is in this sphere that we can remember and celebrate the kind of human beings we are destined to become. By supporting our artists, watching performances and giving honor to their talent and hard work, we are helping to enliven that space of brotherhood.
As I write this, the turmoil in our country is mounting. Our political sphere has been problematic for too long and I can’t help but feel that this sense of spiritual brotherhood is one of the missing links. If everyone felt this authentically, there would be no question as to the value of upholding truth and integrity at all costs.
Last Saturday, I saw Sayaw LikhAng Kiukok Atbp. at the CCP. It was an amazing modern dance tribute to National Artist Ang Kiukok choreographed and directed by Agnes Locsin. Anyone familiar with Kiukok’s work will know how difficult it must be to translate it to dance and how challenging for the dancers, but we had a few of the country’s best (some of them recipients of global awards in dance!) giving it their all. This performance was a good reminder of all that is inherently good, true and possible about the Pinoy.
There is also a group of our finest opera singers who are staging a show OperaNow, a gala opera concert, on Sept. 14, 8 p.m., at the CCP Main Theater. It will be a repackaging of opera, with 30 of our country’s top classical artists to perform best loved opera arias, like the Quartet from Puccini’s La Boheme; "O Mio Babbino Caro" from Gianni Schicchi; the Flower Duet from Madame Butterfly, to name a few.
What are you waiting for? Find that place inside you that is in perfect synch with the rest of humanity; of all creation! It is in our daily striving to nourish our authentic spaces that will allow the light to penetrate and create real and lasting change at last. See you in the theater!
Please log on to www.truthforce.info for Pag-Asa updates plus your daily dose of true and good news. Pag-Asa has returned to the People Power Monument. We invite you to join us for a Mass at 6 p.m. nightly. I can be reached through magisip@yahoo.com. No attachments or junk please. Thank you!
Three Sundays ago, at the Pag-Asa event at the People Power Monument, I was enthralled by the performance of violinist Merjohn Lagaya and pianist Naldy Rodriguez of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra. It wasn’t so much the playing, though that was quite amazing – technically proficient and all that. It was the collective experience of the performance and reception of the audience that really made my skin tingle. The music brought us to that place inside ourselves that recognizes what is common and true. There was a definite feeling of warmth that spread inside me and a brand of pure joy that lifted me up. I looked at the people around me – poor, rich, young, old – and I could see they felt it, too. In those few moments, we were all a little bit softer; perhaps a little more human. That whole experience – that’s what art is about. It really is food for the soul and spirit.
Art lets you experience something deep within, but it also expands your senses to realms beyond yourself. It touches your feeling life. It isn’t a cold, intellectual exercise. Music beautifully and honestly played touches everyone. A painting that captures a truly human experience or feeling reverberates. It causes movement in the soul that creates warmth and light inside.
Our high-tech world has all but annihilated the interest in museums or the theater because it is much more convenient to press a button and have simulated versions entertain us at home. Given the state of traffic in this country, I can’t say I haven’t resorted to this myself. But after my experience at the People Power Monument, I was reminded to seek art in its purest form. That afternoon, I made a silent vow to support our artists more because I have felt again how their passion, work and effort feed and heal the soul. For the first time, I experienced an inner awakening of a strong sense of spiritual brotherhood. In our divided and chaotic world, it is important that we cultivate and nurture that space time and again.
Live performance is so different from one-dimensional entertainment, no matter how fancy or sleek the latter is. Live is always rich and full of texture. There are all the little details you will never see in the simulated perfection of a screen. There are even the side stories you can experience unfurling around you. Live has more integrity and your participation in it much more active and engaged. A pulsing human exchange cannot be duplicated.
This is also why I did not lull my babies to sleep with recorded music. I sang to them (and still do). It is part of my quest to make sure they experience and appreciate truth in everything. The human voice is best heard live. When you hold your child close and sing to him he not only hears your voice, but feels how it travels through your body, connects to him and surrounds him as well. What a precious gift to both mother and child! Why bombard the child with detached, cold electronics when his mother’s voice enfolds him in human warmth?
Anyone who has experienced good theater or a great concert can attest to that post-concert high. It is a feeling of gratitude and hopefulness; hopefulness about the human race and the world. It is a realization of every human being’s capacity to bring beauty into the world. I believe it stems from an experience of truth in the soul that only art – and perhaps love – can inspire.
I remember getting dressed to see a concert, play or ballet at the CCP as a young girl. It was an event my sister and I looked forward to. We were both students of dance then, so the chance to see our idols in the field was always extra special. We traced every movement with our eyes and felt everything in our own bodies. It was in those performances that we recognized our limitations but also our possibilities. We would go home anxious to practice our jumps and turns. Watching those dancers made us imagine everything we could become. I have the same feeling now when I read good literature. Good literature inspires me to write. It doesn’t make me want to go out and buy another book. It inspires me to create; to contribute to that special flow of creative energy.
At the Pag-Asa event, that’s what I felt. Everyone, from all walks of life, was unified by the universal message of music. In that space, we felt the strength of the human spirit. We also felt a deep and nagging urge to engage ourselves in the active building of a nation that upholds truth, integrity and morality. It was in the music, dancing, praying. It was in truth-sharing. Indeed, it is culture that unites us all. It is in this sphere that we can communicate authentically at last. It is in this sphere that we can remember and celebrate the kind of human beings we are destined to become. By supporting our artists, watching performances and giving honor to their talent and hard work, we are helping to enliven that space of brotherhood.
As I write this, the turmoil in our country is mounting. Our political sphere has been problematic for too long and I can’t help but feel that this sense of spiritual brotherhood is one of the missing links. If everyone felt this authentically, there would be no question as to the value of upholding truth and integrity at all costs.
Last Saturday, I saw Sayaw LikhAng Kiukok Atbp. at the CCP. It was an amazing modern dance tribute to National Artist Ang Kiukok choreographed and directed by Agnes Locsin. Anyone familiar with Kiukok’s work will know how difficult it must be to translate it to dance and how challenging for the dancers, but we had a few of the country’s best (some of them recipients of global awards in dance!) giving it their all. This performance was a good reminder of all that is inherently good, true and possible about the Pinoy.
There is also a group of our finest opera singers who are staging a show OperaNow, a gala opera concert, on Sept. 14, 8 p.m., at the CCP Main Theater. It will be a repackaging of opera, with 30 of our country’s top classical artists to perform best loved opera arias, like the Quartet from Puccini’s La Boheme; "O Mio Babbino Caro" from Gianni Schicchi; the Flower Duet from Madame Butterfly, to name a few.
What are you waiting for? Find that place inside you that is in perfect synch with the rest of humanity; of all creation! It is in our daily striving to nourish our authentic spaces that will allow the light to penetrate and create real and lasting change at last. See you in the theater!
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