The Kabayao Quintet / Two voice recitals

Violinist Gilopez Kabayao and his pianist wife Corazon keep facing the same challenge through the years as they continue to hold lecture-recitals for students in public and private schools in Luzon, Visayas and far-away Mindanao.

The students listen to music ranging from compositions by Beethoven, Schubert, Rubinstein, Vivaldi and Sarasate to Bahay Kubo for four violins, the other three violinists being the Kabayao children Sicilienne, Farida and Alberto. The students also learn such niceties as prolonged applause, "Bravos!" and standing ovations for truly fine artists.

Gilopez and Corazon have indeed transformed thousands of bonafide rock/pop and disco fans into lovers of classic music through their avid proselytizing.

Many comments on the sight the family quintet makes as it gives profound meaning to the saying: "The family that plays together stays together." What the audience sees, however, is the "finished" product. What the family really enjoys are behind-the-scenes rehearsals, as individuals at first, then as a group. After hours of coaxing and cajoling by the parents, the youngsters see the music taking shape, and the family members blending and orchestrating their talents for a performance deserving of audience approval and applause.

Bert is the maverick because after rehearsals, he goes straight to the basketball court where he is a star player, thus combining music and athletics.

Last Feb. 16, Gilopez and Corazon marked their 30th wedding anniversary, and it is safe to presume that they have given more than 2,260 highly-acclaimed concerts in those 30 years, both here and abroad: the US, Canada, Australia, Saudi Arabia, China, Japan and other Asian countries. Their musical partnership has reached more than a million local listeners!

On Sunday, April 18 at 4 p.m., the Kabayao Family Quintet will give an invitational concert at the Philamlife and launch four new CD recordings.

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After 56 years of singing professionally, Irma Ponce Enrile Potenciano gave what could be her last public performance – a recital at the Philamlife dedicated to her mother Purita Ponce Enrile, art patron and singer, on her 100th birthday.

Culling mostly love songs from her rich and wide repertoire, Irma sang various styles in Italian (Scarlatti, Cesti, Parisotti and Donaudy), in French (Fauré), in German (Brahms and Richard Strauss), in Italian again for operatic arias (Verdi, Mozart and Puccini) and in Tagalog (Abelardo, San Pedro, Cuenco, Umali and Silos).

Irma is noted for her meticulous and sensitive artistry, and this was still very much in evidence, as well as for her polished refined technique which she demonstrated with her exquisite phrasing, tonal inflection and clarity of diction.

Her singing was not quite marked by full-throated ease, especially at the start of her recital wherein the voice came out rather faintly and with a certain degree of effort. But the volume became progressively bigger as the recital went along, with the flowing melodic lines of Fauré underscored, particularly in Après un Reve. Further, the text of the Brahms and Strauss pieces were eloquently articulated.

The daunting aria Pace, pace mio Dio from Verdi’s Forza del Destino is usually essayed by a dramatic or mezzo soprano whose voice is much heavier and fuller in timbre. Surprisingly, however, Irma did extremely well by the aria, the drama in the haunting melody, which forebodes tragic results, surfacing admirably. Indeed, the aria was one of the best interpreted songs, and Irma garnered resounding applause – a fully deserved one – for it.

The hearty response grew even lustier for the native portion which Irma sang with every nerve and fiber of her being, rendering the kundimans with subtle, expressive nuances and considerable flair.

The redoubtable concert pianist Raul M. Sunico, dean of the UST Conservatory where Irma teaches, graciously assisted her, thereby displaying another facet of his incredible versatility. He followed the singer’s every note with perfect fidelity and singular expression.

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Veteran journalist Nestor Mata, to whom singing is an avocation, interpreted a light program My Secret Heart consisting of English and American love songs, doing so before a select audience at the beautiful residence of Esther Vibal. His clear, emphatic diction vastly enhanced the meaning of the pieces, thus adding to the listeners’ gratification. His voice was forceful, gaining in volume in the sustained end notes of the upper register.

Nestor’s characteristic enthusiasm and zest particularly stood out in I Love Life by Mana Zucca, When I Have Sung My Songs by Ernest Charles, Sylvia by Oley Speaks, I’ll Follow My Secret Heart and I’ll See You Again, both by Noel Coward, and In the Silent Night by Rachmaninoff. Jude Areopagita was a most competent assisting artist.

Violinist Sergio Esmilla, Jr. lent professional support with his excellent rendition of At Dawning by Charles Cadman, Ernesto Vallejo’s Cavatina and Antonio Molina’s Hating Gabi. Pianist Zenas Reyes Lozada was the wonderful accompanist. Odette Alcantara served as emcee; Mrs. Vibal and Narda Camacho co-hosted the recital.