Heritage Festival / Holocaust concert

On August 11, 2003, President Arroyo proclaimed May "Heritage Month", and each May thereafter, the Filipino Heritage Festival, Inc., jointly with the NCCA and the Tourism Department, has presented religious rituals, indigenous art, music, dance and art competitions all these to create greater unity among Filipinos through their common heritage, and to enhance national pride of place and culture.

The Festival opened in Davao with tribal dances and exhibitions, with fashion using native textiles (Rajo Laurel was guest designer), and tours of heritage sites.

Up to May 8, an old-fashioned country fair will offer goods from various Batangas towns, and a tour of historic Pansipit River and the volcano. Indigenous music and dances will be presented as well as excerpts from Ryan Cayabyab’s Our Lady of Casaysay. Today, May 7, festival organizers will launch the second series of architectural stamps showing bahay na bato ancestral homes e.g., the Agoncillo, Claparols, Ilagan, Guarin and Mercado residences in different parts of the country.

On May 9, a fluvial parade along the Pasig, a show design exhibit, and native games will be featured in Marikina. A concert of native songs will be held in the ancestral home of Capitan Moy, founder of the city’s shoe industry.

Following a seminar-workshop at the Marijah Gallery, Silliman U., Dumaguete, will celebrate terra cotta, a natural resource of Negros, May 13-14.

Through May, one will meet all 45 national artists in an exhibition of their life and works in Rustan Tower, Shangri-la Plaza, along with indigenous designs from private collections and Nayong Pilipino.

The Parian Gate in Intramuros will come alive May 13-15 with martial arts, folk dances, calligraphy and traditional cuisine. A visit to Parian, the original tiangge of pottery and porcelain, silks from Cathay, spices from the Orient is "a journey to the heart of memory". Nightly, there will be martial arts movies and a final display of fireworks.

On May 21, Dez Bautista and the Museum Foundation will conduct a tour of Antipolo Church and the relocated bahay na bato at the De Santos residence. Meeting place: San Antonio Church, Forbes, 7 a.m.

On May 23, the second GSIS painting tilt, in cooperation with the AAP, will mark GSIS’s 68th anniversary. Venue: GSIS Museum.

On May 25, in Hagonoy, Bulacan, a balagtasan contest among school children will infuse new life into an old form. Also on May 25, a tribute to National Artists for Music Levi Celerio and Hernani Cuenco will feature their music interwoven with that of George Canseco, Willy Cruz, Jose Mari Chan and R. Cayabyab. At this CCP concert, the San Miguel Philharmonic Orchestra and the San Miguel Master Chorale will interpret the music.

On May 28 at 6:30 p.m. a book on Ramon Valera’s legacy will be launched at the National Museum. A fund-raising dinner for Heritage will revive the Valera Award for the most promising couturier, highlighted by a fashion show of Valera-inspired gowns.

On May 26, the new Victorias Cultural Center will showcase original Negrense music and dance, with performing groups from Salvador Benedicto, Silay, Manapla, Bago City and San Sebastian.

On May 28 at Rizal Park, a nation-wide tilt sponsored by the National Historical Institute, the AAP and the United Architects will revolve around the brave yet forgotten men and women of the Katipunan. The winning entry will be installed at Rizal Park’s Katipunan Wall of Remembrance.

Closing rites on May 28 at Cebu’s Plaza Independencia will capture timeless traditions and multi-faceted customs. At a shopper’s paradise and flea-market will be delicacies and hand-crafted items.

On May 30, the celebrated international pianist Raul Sunico and the UST wind orchestra will give a concert of religious music and kundimans at Makati St. Peter and Paul Parish Church.

Throughout May, the Intercon, Mandarin, New World, Shangri-la Makati and the Pen hotels will serve regional cuisine from different provinces. In the Festival’s working committee are Bambi Harper, Mita Rufino and Araceli Salas. The ADHOC Committee consists of Ambeth Ocampo, chairman, Mita Rufino, vice-chairman, and members Bambi Harper, A. Salas, Charlie Rufino, Jose Mari Chan, Lourdes Matsura, Jaime Laya, Margie Floirendo and Francis Chua.

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Three relatively unknown Jewish composers – Pavel Haas, Gideon Klein and Viktor Ullman – were introduced to listeners at the CCP auditorium to mark the 60th anniversary of the Holocaust. The highly significant two-day event was initiated by Czech Ambassador Stanislav Slavicky jointly with Israeli Ambassador Yehoshua Sagi. Both gave introductory remarks as did CCP President Nestor Jardin. (The name of CCP chairperson Emily Abrera was inadvertently omitted in my earlier report.)

Dr. Milos Pojar, Prague Museum director, gave biographical sketches of the three composers all of whom perished in the Auschwitz concentration camp. When the national anthems were played, Israeli’s dirge-like anthem reflected the Jews’ tragic history.

Haas’ Scherzo Triste was a contradiction in terms, a paradox, an oxymoron. Literally, a scherzo is a musical joke or jest, rapid and playful. Yet, "triste" evidently means sad. Rendered by the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra under the masterful baton of Eugene Castillo, the fast-paced work sounded lively and spirited – particularly the agitated opening – rather than mournful or lugubrious.

Klein’s avant-garde Partita for String Orchestra, like the Scherzo, had no flowing melodic lines, with the tempo abrupt, the "leaping", cohesive strings strident. Castillo was in his element, capturing the quick changes in tempo and the varied atonalities.

Ullman’s four-movement Concerto engaged the tremendous talent of Israeli pianist Noam Sivan who instantly stunned the audience with his zest, vibrancy and power in the introductory staccatos. A characteristic percussiveness focused on the robust percussion section while underscoring Sivan’s bristling skill that conveyed incredibly marvelous pianistic effects. Again, Castillo reflected both the spirit and rhythmic vigor of the work while establishing total rapport with the pianist.

A common denominator prevailed in the three compositions: a restlessness, a brilliant inventiveness, a riveting brio signifying the Jew’s invincible hope and indestructible optimism even under the most desperate and oppressive circumstances.

In response to thunderous applause, the vastly versatile Sivan played his own composition "Dreams" whose surrealism required the most dazzling technical command of the entire keyboard.