Poly-iudicium Politeismo

Everyone had already had their piece on the “Kulo” exhibit hosted by the Cultural Center of the Philippines. As holding on to my principle of “seeing before believing (or commenting)”, I planned to go the CCP last Wednesday night.The main gallery exhibit was closed down by Tuesday due to overwhelming protest. Just great.

Now, I struggle to find pictures over the internet but there were no decent pictures on the whole exhibit. Because of that, I resolve not to talk about the works were blasphemous or not. Although, I still stand by these points:

• Commenting and rallying to the streets without seeing the work of Mideo Cruz first is plain hypocrisy. How can you bear commenting on what you have not seen? True, the major broadsheets and news programs have discussed it and described it in detail but would you pass your judgment to the media?
• Threats to persons and buildings are not the best way to go about the problem. It’s a scary thing to think that just because of a allegedly blasphemous work, people would even consider destroying God’s best creation. Isn’t that a form of blasphemy? Instead, active dialogue of the Church with the artists defending freedom of expression must be commenced. ASAP.
• Freedom of expression has its perks. But then again, no freedom is absolute. The scope of self-expression must be still grounded in responsibility with respect to the community you are in. As jmaki commented in Spot.ph, “What is freedom of expression, really? In the name of performance art, a couple could have sex at a public space for people, including children, to see. Where do we draw the line?”
• Filipinos must be more open-minded and less superficial. We must meet more than what meets the eye, looking into the deeper perspective, placing oneself in the mind of the artist and what he wants to say.
• The Church rallies to demand respect but the Church can’t respect the individuality of people. Frailocracy still rules the country but we can't blame them either since they also have the responsiblity of shaping the morality of their believers.

Dos Bravissimos, UST Singers and APZ Tone Tomšič!

Photo from wix.com

The University of Santo Tomas Singers (UST Singers) and the University of Ljubljana APZ Tone Tomšič made no mistake in choosing the title of “Dos Bravissimos” for their concert last July 25,2011 at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo, Cultural Center of the Philippines. As put in the words of UST Rector Rolando Dela Rosa, it was a celebration, a fusion of the east and west influences of choral music where the audience were deeply enthralled with varied song repertoire of both choirs.

 

I was supposed to post a review of the concert comparing the two choirs but now I end  up appreciating what each choir’s strengths for they really do have their own distinct style and sound that allows you to distinguish one from the other even if your eyes are closed.

My seatmate Kuya Kim, a piano major from the UST Conservatory of Music told me that in a choral concert, a sleeping audience is not taken as a sign of boredom, but rather a compliment since the beauty of the music they make allows the surroundings to be highly conducive for audience to sleep. This may justify my sleepiness and decreased level of consciousness as I sank deeper into my seat in the middle of the concert. To add is the fact that I happen to be a visual person and the thought of watching a still choir onstage in long periods is like slowly injecting a sedative intravenously.

Good thing the numbers with religious classical pieces had been interspersed with the visually stimulating movements of broadway and folk choral numbers. Gabaq-an, performed by the UST Singers, never failed to amuse me everytime I hear it, whether in Youtube or live. For me it’s varied and accelerating tempo engages me in active anticipation of what kind of sound will I hear next. Or maybe it’s the story of the piece by Ruben Federizon about a tribe dispelling evil spirits that gets me interested. For either reason, I still love the song.

Memories of Himig Tomasino 2011 resurfaced when the UST Singers sang Jubilate Deo by Prof.Fidel Calalang, Jr. Aside from the fact that they sang it wayyyy better than us, they also added some percussion beats to it that made it a refreshing treat for us who actually know the piece.

 Philippine’s premier opera singer Maria Rachelle Gerodias also had a single number singing “Ang Maya” with the UST Singers as the chorus. The number was so good that the vibratos started growing on my brain even after the performance that I even needed to perform a brain lavage to remove such powerful performance. A broadway piece Ragtime was also performed which also was one of my favorite numbers that night because of the fun and visually appealing choreography.

Personally, I like the UST Singers’ numbers better since they really are good performers who didn’t even a bit look awkward while doing the choreography. Plus their dynamics range is relatively wider compared to the other choir. I’m not really that familiar with the technical terms in music but there is that “oompphh” factor seen in Filipino artists in general. Probably, the Filipino trait of being mapanlait works wonders for us since once we perform, we see to it thatwe avoid those less appealing things that we see from others. 

Overall, the concert was really superb! Bravo!