Pamanang Pilipino

Last Saturday at the Intra-muros Clamshell, the Tourism Department headed by Sec. Roberto Pagdanganan, together with the Intramuros Administration, the Filipino Heritage Festival, the NCCA and the UNESCO presented Pistang Pamanang Pilipino as a continuation of Cultural Heritage month.

The musical legacy consisted of works by Filipino composers interpreted by the San Miguel Philharmonic under Arnel Feliciano and the San Miguel Master Chorale under Eudenice Palaruan. Katakataka by S. Suarez, Maalaala Mo Kaya by C. De Guzman and Hatinggabi by A. Molina were vibrantly and expressively played by the orchestra under Feliciano, their exquisite melodies – particularly those of Hatinggabi – arousing nostalgic feelings in the audience.

The beautiful love songs Lahat ng Araw and Dahil Sa Iyo by Mike Velarde, and Gaano Ko Ikaw Kamahal by Ernani Cuenco – all arranged by Ryan Cayabyab – were preceded by A. Buenaventura’s descriptive By the Hill side whose languid and pastoral sections were interspersed with strong, vivid contrasts, and F. de Leon’s Manila Sketches which depicted impressions of a hurly-burly city including its distinctive Chinatown.

Orchestral sounds were consistently cohesive and full-bodied; the concert master who rendered the violin solo in Hatinggabi gave out clear, crisp tones conveying deep feeling.

The first two choral numbers, Vochong and Ummah, Sallih, traditional melodies arranged by Dyzon Pesquera and John Pamintuan, respectively, had abrupt rhythms and unmelodic atonal lines. The rest of the songs, each sung a capppella, were well-loved and highly familiar.

The very powerful, sonorous, integrated fortissimos in the overall rendition, though tremendously impressive and spellbinding, were not quite balanced by fine, subtle nuances; the chorale tended to sing to maximum volume a great deal of the time, thus leaving listeners rather weary after a while.

The program ended with the joint performance of orchestra and chorus under the direction of Eudenice Palaruan. A. Buenaventura’s Bagong Pagsilang and San Pedro’s Sa Mahal Kong Bayan were stirring. Biyaheng Singko-singko, amusing and lively, called to mind the adventures and misadventures of jeepney riders in the metropolis. Again, the chorale performed in haute voltage fashion.

With Singko-singko driving the audience into high spirits, it clamored for encores and got three, among them Mar Roxas’ campaign ditty which helped to catapult him to the top rung, and the Otso-Otso which I was hearing for the first time. As music, Otso-Otso is thoroughly catchy and appealing. However, as dance. I’m told, it is something else altogether.

Pista ng Pamanang Pilipino induced genuine pride in the audience which derived from it the realization that Filipino composers having long come into their own are leaving the country with an enduring legacy. Fr. Pedro Galende, in his moving invocation, said it all when he offered to God the program that was to be presented onstage, with each musical number borne out of the Filipino’s creative talent.