Focus on RP composers / Homage to Mozart / Galvan on new IC site

Dynamic Maestro Oscar C. Yatco recently conducted the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra in a concert of Philippine works at the CCP main theater, thus affording the audience the chance to listen to their own composers. The pieces, varying in local color and ethnicity, interspersed with shouts, with percussions predominating, were R. Tapales’ Philippine Suite consisting of Mindanao Orchids, Tagalog Lullaby and Savage Dance, Kasilag’s Philippine Scenes consisting of Mountainside, Lullaby and Festival, Josefino Toledo’s highly original Sigaw, excerpts from Fr. Manuel Maramba’s powerful and dramatic operas Lord Takayama Ukon and La Naval, and Lucino T. Sacramento’s Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (Ang Maharlika), with pianist Mary Anne Espina as soloist.

Espina played the concerto with clarity, precision and brilliant fluidity while underscoring its distinctive lyricism. The composer, it seemed, showed no basic difference in treatment or mode of approach between the first and second movements, and between the second and third. The second movement sounded like an extension of the first; and the third, an extension of the second, except for the third movement’s more numerous chordal passages and slightly more florid configurations, without being basically different from the other two. Espina rendered the lyrical piece with nimbleness, agility and sensitive expression. She and Yatco garnered lusty applause and curtain calls for their eloquent interpretation of the work.

As Lord Ukon in Maramba’s opera, inspired baritone Noel Azcona asserted his presence most emphatically with his strong, resonant voice, although his words were not always comprehensible. The UST Liturgikon Vocal Ensemble was a compelling, cohesive group.

The Symphonic Ode from La Naval, with libretto by Tony Perez, evoked reverential awe as Yatco wielded the baton over the orchestra, the soloist and the chorus – all of whom brought the concert to a profoundly affecting conclusion.

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Of the various concerts presented at St. Joseph’s Church in Las Piñas for the 31st International Bamboo Organ Festival – yes, the Festival has lasted this long through adversities and changes in committee membership – I attended the third. It was titled "Homage to Mozart" through organ and orchestral music and song.

The all-Mozart program consisted of church or religious music: Litaniae Laurantanae K 109, Vesperae de Dominica, Sonata al Chiesa K 244, 255, 336, and the Missa Brevis in D Major K 194.

The Festival Orchestra was (is) made up mostly of selected instrumentalists from the Manila Symphony II based at St. Scholastica’s College where they are taught and conducted by Arturo Molina. In Las Piñas, the orchestra was directed by Eugene Castillo who demonstrated arresting versatility by switching without effort from avant-garde music he conducts for the PPO to Mozart’s delicate classicism.

Soloists in the Vesperae and Missa Brevis were soprano Katrina Saporsantos and mezzo-soprano Janet Sabas Aracama – both of whom sang with ringing voices of power and intensity – brilliant baritone Noel Azcona and student tenor Rogelio Peñaverde, Jr. whose developing voice was not as potent as that of Azcona, though it was similarly infused with feelings and spirit.

The disciplined, tightly unified Madrigal Singers were joined by the Las Piñas Boys Choir for the finale, the Missa Brevis. Organist Johann Trummer consistently hewed to the Mozartean style and substance as he played on a stage at the side.

A luminous portion was the solo performance of Russian organist Luba Shishkhanova who interpreted the brief pieces of the Sonata with exquisite delicacy, refinement, charm and grace – as Mozart imaginably would have played them. For the third piece, she was assisted by the first and second violins and the cello, the throbbing strings making luminous music and tight ensemble work with the organist despite the distance between the stage and the organ loft.

In the finale (Missa Brevis) the orchestra, the choirs and the soloists made the Agnus Dei particularly moving, arousing deeply religious sentiments in the listener. All told, the concert was a most gratifying tribute to Mozart. Msgr. Albert Venus, festival director, and outstanding organist Armando Salarza, assistant festival director, ascended the stage to congratulate the principals.

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Instituto Cervantes Director Dr. Javier Galvan, an eminent architect by profession, writes friends: "It is a pleasure informing you that the Instituto Cervantes has transferred to a new center at 855 Kalaw St. beside the Casino Español. Once we finalize the details, I shall inform you with great pride about the plans for the official inauguration.

"Change always brings with it many chores and difficulties, and transferring from the beloved Mayflower building, where the center was located for 12 years, was not an easy task. But beyond doubt, it was worth all the effort considering the improvements, both in terms of size (the Instituto has now almost doubled its useful area) and quality (the Instituto now has the modern facilities appropriate for its function as one of the leading cultural centers in the early 21st century).

"The architecture of the new building draws inspiration from a shared past, aiming to project a current and modern form that is heading towards the future. It also symbolizes the firm commitment of the Spanish government to boost to its fullest capacity relations with the Philippines, a sister country of top priority for Spain, with regard to its international relations.

Dr. Galvan’s innate modesty prohibits him from saying in his letter that he had drawn up the architectural plans for the IC’s new, impressive edifice.