San Agustin festival / A. Roces honored by FEU / Botong, Coching, Krip, Trix

On its 11th year, the San Agustin International Music Festival presented Spanish organist Ana Aguado Rojo for its third and final concert, along with other eminent musical artists.

She played compositions on the pipe organ which, dating back to 1762, was repeatedly repaired through the centuries, the last renovation having been in 1997. Srta. Rojo interpreted classic and baroque gems of the 17th and 18th centuries by Cabanilles, Narvaez, Purcell, Correa de Arauxo and Bruna. Nimble fingers delineated simple and florid works which today’s young music lovers might regard dry and dull. Older cognoscenti, however, must have found them quaintly fascinating, with the organist marvelously conveying an antiquated period.

Ariel Sta. Ana, principal flutist of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, manifested brilliant technical skill in Carl Stamitz’s Concerto in B Flat Major, with the equally brilliant Rojo as assisting artist.

Vastly improved facilities of the church venue led to an even greater appreciation of the flawless rapport between clarinetist and organist whose images from the organ loft were projected on the screen atop the altar. Long, smoothly flowing lines and rapid notes in the clarinetist’s cadenza were executed with startling dexterity.

Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 (Choral) provided the towering climax, its fervor and intensity vibrantly expressed by the PPO under Conductor Ruggiero Barbieri. In many concerts, it is usual to perform only the sung portion. At the San Agustin festival, members of the huge choir — consisting of the Madrigal Singers, Coro de Sta. Cecilia, College of the Immaculate Conception Chorale, Coro Animo and the Maryknoll Sanctuary Choir — were seated on ascending tiers facing the audience, patiently waiting for the three movements to end before singing. To be sure, the voices soared to magnificent heights, Barbieri for his part sustaining the pace, momentum and tension.

Many musicologists think that the sung fourth movement is not wholly integrated with the preceding three movements. At any rate, the voices thundered cohesively under the direction of Mark Anthony Carpio, although reaching, what these same musicologists believe, an anti-climax. If treated in isolation, the finale would have been regarded even more electrifying.

Italian tenor Gian Luca Pasolino and baritone Andrew Fernando sang solo parts, their powerful voices ringing awesomely. Soprano Rachelle Gerodias and Italian alto Simona Forni augmented the voices considerably, the two of them completing the glorious quartet.

The long evening of music was of the highest standards. Fr. Pedro Galende, San Agustin museum director, organized and conceptualized the concert, as he had done in previous festivals, with Zenas R. Lozada serving as artistic director.

Roces honored at FEU

Dr. Ricky Abad, artistic director of Tanghalang Ateneo, Dr. Mars Cavestany of the Kalahi Cultural Caregiving Faculty and Short and Sweet Festival director, and Dr. Cecile Guidote Alvarez, 1972 Magsaysay Awardee, founder of PETA, founding director of Earthsavers Dreams Ensemble and UNESCO Artists for Peace, staged a dramatic reading of Alejandro Roces’ short story “San Pedro Manok”. It was part of the “Pagpupugay kay Alejandro Roces: Pambansang Alagad ng Sining para sa Literati”.

The tribute was in line with FEU’s 2009-2010 Performing Arts Series, “Celebrating 60 Years of the FEU Auditorium” organized jointly with the NCCA and the UP Institute of Creative Writing.

Botong, Coching exhibit

The National Museum and Vibal Foundation will present the works of Botong Francisco, muralist, and Francisco Coching, komiks artist, in “Telling Modern Time” at the National Museum on Dec. 11 through Jan. 11, 2010. About 100 works of both celebrated artists spanning a fascinating range of material, including komiks excerpts, murals, prints, sketches and memorabilia, will be on display and a catalogue with an introduction by Dr. Patrick Flores.

Krip, Trix in Illuminati

Krip Yuson and Trix Syjuco will be “more than the talk of the town” Mondays 7:10 p.m. with replays at 10:10 p.m. over GNN Channel 21, Globe News Network, and Destiny Cable, Global Destiny Cable TV.