A magnificent Requiem / Violinist Donnie remembered

Weeks in advance, the CCP had already reserved tickets for me for Verdi’s monumental masterpiece Requiem, one of the greatest works in choral literature.

The concert marked the 150th anniversary of Italy’s unification, Italian Ambassador Luca Fornari announced in his opening remarks. Further, Requiem being the mass for the dead, he nobly and gallantly offered its presentation for the victims of Japan’s catastrophy, with Japanese Ambassador Makoto Matsura giving him a warm embrace in gratitude. Referring to the same disaster, CCP President Raul Sunico pointed to the solace and healing power of music over its survivors.

Requiem soloists — American dramatic soprano Helen Lyons, mezzo soprano Nicole Birkland, our own tenor Leodegario del Rosario and bass/baritone Andrew Fernando, both US-based — were excellent in varying degrees, each imbued with emotional intensity, Lyons and Fernando possessing unrivalled power. They all sang with rounded, resonant tones that retained their quality (timber) through the changing registers, and their moving expressivity. The Agnus Dei duet of Lyons and Birkland was exquisite; the soloists sang in various combinations, enhancing and enriching the Requiem as they performed with or without the chorus which, in its turn, reached thunderous climaxes.

The chorus consisted of the Madrigals under Mark Anthony Carpio, the AUP Ambassadors Choral Society under Ramon Molina Lijauco, Jr. and the Ateneo Chamber Singers — coming up to a total of just over a hundred.

If the soloists showed varying degrees of excellence, Olivier Ochanine showed himself to be a conductor par excellence. He approached the score with the highest respect, reverence and admiration, but was not awed by its superb orchestration, brilliantly balancing its glowing lyricism with its dramatic fervor. At the same time, he infused the orchestra members — like a true maestro — with force and fire. In the tuba mirun (part of the Dies Irae), the fortissimos reached the highest heavens.

Del Rosario’s voice had a splendid ring to it; Fernando’s tremendous power was magnetic; Birkland left a notable impact on the audience; Lyons’ voice conveyed magnificent range and color, and incredibly sustained power that will long be admired. Obviously, Verdi gave the (dramatic) soprano the biggest role: Lyons, who overwhelmed the audience with her glorious voice rising and soaring over the massive chorus and full orchestra, ended the Requiem in hushed solemn prayer for the deliverance of sinners.

The initial number, “Overture to Nabucco’ by Verdi, was suffused with a brisk martial air that reflected Ochanine’s sterling capacity to discipline the orchestra, this heralding the depth and breadth of what was to prove, to my mind, the conductor’s best baton performance yet in Requiem.

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On March 26, at 12 noon, radio station DZFE-FM will pay tribute to the late Dionisia “Donnie” Fernandez, a highly talented violinist. After she died last January 15 in New York, the US Army Orchestra and the US Army’s all-male chorale performed at the necrological service for her. She was given full military honors.

I quote: Donnie began studying the violin at seven; at eight, she won NAMCYA’s first prize and was later named a scholar of the Young Artists Foundation. She earned the nickname “Little Vivaldi” at ten, and was lauded as “The Little Violinist Who Charmed Cliburn” before she had outgrown her half-size violin.

She was the youngest member of the UP Conservatory’s Youth Orchestra before moving to study at the Juilliard School of Music’s pre-college division. Here, she was awarded Tito Puente and Juilliard Scholarships. At Juilliard, she studied under Louise Behrend and the legendary Joseph Fuchs, completing both bachelor’s and master’s degrees. She then pursued post-graduate training under Syoko Aki at the Yale College of Music and Felix Galimir at Mannes School.

During her career, Donnie was a featured soloist with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, the PPO, and the US Army Orchestra. She gave recitals at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall and Kennedy Center, and often performed with chamber ensembles.

Donnie was assistant concert master of the US Army Orchestra, serving as its assistant concert master, with the rank of Sergeant Master at the time of her death. With the army orchestra, she played for every US president since Gerald Ford. She also performed with the National Symphony Orchestra and the National Chamber Orchestra, attended prestigious international festivals and played under the batons of Bernstein, Ozawa, Slatkin and Eschenbach.