Verlaine poems in song for Francophonie Week

French-speaking countries celebrated Francophonie Week in one way or another. French Ambassador Renée Veyret and Swiss Ambassador Lise Favre held a joint reception. Alliance Francaise and the Swiss Embassy presented singer-accordionist Celina Ramsauer in concert at the AF premises in Bel-Air; the Canadian Embassy presented jazz singer-pianist Lise Villanueve at The Podium, and Fil-Canadian soprano Joanna Go in recital at the F. Santiago Hall.

For the latter occasion, Ambassador Peter Sutherland welcomed the audience, Canada being one of the largest French-speaking communities and a major participant in Francophonie Week.

Appropriately, Ms. Go sang poems of French poet Paul Verlaine as set to music by Fauré, Debussy, Hahn, Szule and Poldowski, each composer doing so in his own distinctive style. The general character of the program was "romantic", subjects being the moonlight, the woods, love, lovers, serenades, festivities. By explaining beforehand the mood and ambiance of each song, Ms. Go deepened its meaning and heightened auditory pleasure. Her song interpretations were polished, eloquent and expressive, and her fluency in French was evident.

Concert pianist Jonathan Coo provided the seamless accompaniment and complemented the songs with solo pieces: Buenaventura’s Song of the Child and Twilight by the Sea, and Debussy’s impressionistic Clair de Lune – all exquisitely rendered.

Verlaine’s poetry in song was followed by arias, also in French, but these were of an entirely different discipline: "The Jewel Song" from Gounod’s Faust, "Nothing Can Frighten Me" from Bizet’s Carmen and "It Comes Back to Me" from Berlioz’s Beatrice and Benedict. The operatic arias were marked by vibrancy, flair, poignancy and dramatic expressivity, the words were enunciated clearly and emphatically; the high notes, sustained with absolute confidence.

Julie Remillard and Olivier Jacques of the Canadian Embassy took turns reading a few poems of Verlaine, thus adding another dimension to the performance.

Bouquets were handed to the participants by Ambassador and Mrs. Sutherland and Counsellor Da Silva. Christopher Daniel assisted in the arrangements

Add’l notes on Kayumanggi

For the opening number, the female members of the choir dressed in tangerine long gowns, sang from the passageway on either side of the CCP auditorium before ascending the stage where they were joined by the male singers garbed in dark blue barong and black trousers. how stunning was the initial sight the choir made onstage!

Lilian Lasquite-Mañalac was the soloist for the Kyrie in Ryan Cayabyab’s "Mass 2000", having taken the place of Prody Bartolome. The other soloists were Cherry Caballero and Fredrick de Santos.

The hour was late after the popular songs had been rendered but the audience clamored for repeats, and accordingly heard four more! These further affirmed Cayabyab’s many-faceted talent.