The C Majors concert / Belgian art lectures / Sigma Delta a la carte

The "C Majors" concert at the CCP main theater, doubtless a major coup, featured composers whose surnames begin with "C": National Artists Levi Celerio and Ernani Cuenco, Jorge Canseco, Jose Mari Chan, Willie Cruz and, not the least, the highly versatile Ryan Cayab-yab.

The occasion honored the two national artists and the other composers mentioned, with the Heritage Festival concert aiming to highlight our very own music.

The San Miguel Philharmonic Orchestra and the San Miguel Master Chorale were directed by Arnel Feliciano for the first part of the program, and for the second half by Cayabyab who also arranged and orchestrated the evening’s compositions as a tribute to Celerio and Cuenco, and to the rest of his peers. A yeoman’s task, indeed!

All the composers showed a strong lyrical vein, their beautiful melodies consistently surfacing. The songs were similarly structured: a main theme was followed by a secondary one, this returning to a more elaborate first theme.

The SMPO was in fine form, playing with verve, zest and polish, its ensemble work remarkably tight and expressive. The Master Chorale of mixed voices conveyed discipline and cohesion. Both orchestra and chorale rendered Cayabyab’s Liman-dipang Tao, Awit ng Pagsinta, the delightfully amusing Da Coconut Nut – the soloist here was Erik Santos – and the equally humorous Kalesa by Cuenco.

Soprano Rachelle Gerodias was in a class by herself. Having been trained as a classical singer, she demonstrated an entirely different vocal technique and approach. She distanced herself from the microphone, her voice fully controlled, the sustained pianissimos developing to incredibly powerful fortissimos in Cuenco’s Kahit na Magtiis and Celerio’s Pipit, this containing pyro-technics for a coloratura. As always, Gerodias earned resounding applause for her superb performance.

Belting out their songs through a hand microphone, popular entertainers Janet Basco, Pilita Corrales, Dulce, Basil Valdez and Kuh Ledesma charmed listeners, each in his/her distinctive style: Janet in Celerio’s Ikaw ang Mahal Ko and Chan’s Minsan Pa; Pilita gyrating in her inimitable body language – bending forward, backward and sideways – in Cuenco’s Kapantay ay Langit and Paano, the audience wildly applauding.

The SMPO and the SMMC opened the second portion with Cayabyab’s Tuwing Umuulan at Kapiling Ka and Tsismis, Cuenco’s exquisite Gaano Ko Ikaw Kamahal and Bato sa Buhangin, and Cruz’s Never Ever Say Goodbye.

Dulce enthralled the audience in Cruz’s Pangarap na Bituin and Sana’y Wala ng Wakas. Like Dulce, Basil Valdez is a perennial favorite, and he sensitively rendered Canseco’s Salamin ng Buhay and Ngayon. Kuh Ledesma enchanted with her own particular appeal in Dito Ba, also by Cuenco.

In their over-all performance, the popular entertainers did not always pay close attention to diction and enunciation – which is important because the words give meaning and life to the musical component – although, to be sure, their accentuation of notes and musical phrases was meticulously and lovingly observed.

It was Kuh, I believe, who first sang Cuenco’s Ako ay Pilipino during the martial law regime, and she rendered it at concert’s close with the same stirring intensity that made the Filipinos proud indeed not only of their music but also of their customs and traditions. This feeling of pride encapsulated the Heritage Festival’s main objective.

Further, the songs expressed directly or impliedly the Filipino’s aspirations, attitudes, hopes and yes, even his sense of humor, and his yearning for the unattainable. In brief, his soul. The Festival’s working committee members Bambi Harper, Mita Rufino and Araceli Salas have earned another feather in their collective caps.

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Ambassador Christiaan and Gul Tanghe are uniquely celebrating 175 years of Belgian independence by highlighting the remarkable contribution of Belgian painters to the visual arts through lectures by Argentinian Mariano Akerman, art historian, architect and painter who "appreciates Belgian masterpieces from unexpected, innovative perspectives, discussing their style and meaning, aesthetic qualities and raison d’etre".

I attended the first lecture at the Belgian embassy residence, and herewith, I quote Ackerman:

"Did you know that the basic and widely used technique of oil painting was invented by a Belgian painter in the 15th century? His name was Jan Van Eyck. And you surely know that Pieter Breughel the Elder, Pieter Paul Rubens, and René Magritte were all Belgians who each, in his own time; had a decisive influence on the development of Western visual arts? They and other Belgian artists among whom Bosch, De la Pasture, Campin, Metsys, Khnopff, Rops, Ensor, Spilliaert, Horta, Van de Velde, Delvaux and Folon, fostered new artistic styles and articulated what may be the finest questioning of the concept of reality in the history of Western art."

Other lectures are at the UP, "The Marvel of Belgian Art in Renaissance and Modern Times", June 20, 1 to 4 p.m. / at the De La Salle U, "Bosch and Magritte: Imagery of Fantasy and Reality?", June 22, 1 to 2:30 p.m. / at the UST Museum: "Masterpieces of Belgian Art from Van Eyck to Magritte", July 1, 2 to 3:30 p.m. / at the Ateneo Art Gallery: "Suggestive Paradoxes: Symbolism and Surrealism in Belgian Art", July 5, 4:30 to 6 p.m. / at the National Museum for the general public: "Tradition and Innovation in the Visual Arts of Belgium – from Compassion to Provocation?", July 28, 4 to 7 p.m.

A contest "Magritte in 175 Words" will be held for undergraduate students who, in exactly 175 words, must respond to the question "Which reality does Magritte paint?" Winners will be proclaimed at the National Museum on July 28.

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The UP Sigma Delta Phi Alumnae Association, its president Linda C. Gamboa, and working committee members Baby Olivar and Maripaz Chua are inviting art lovers to "Arte a la Carte" which opened at the SM Mega Mall yesterday and will end May 29.

Sorority founder Gloria Lucero Monzon, national artist Napoleon Abueva, glass sculptor Ramon Orlina and the exhibiting artists formally opened the special show of works by Sigma Deltans, Upsilonians and friends: Anita M. Ho, Celia D. Laurel, Lipin R. Eleazar, Kathy Y. Bengzon, Lucy V. Fernando, Offie G. Tequi, Tessie S. Duldulao, Bing C. Labatique, Yolly B. Pajaro, Emily A. Marcelo, Ruth N. Carpio, Janice Revilla, Diedre Labatique, Herman Lazo, Mrs. Custodio, Nonoy Gamboa, Angelo Magno, Jing Uy, Joey Imao, Bart Aguas, Bella Y. Ramirez, Mario Bolonana and Sylvia A. Lazo.