MUSIC FOR THE CHRISTMAS SOUL
by Wilhelmina S. Orozco
MUSIC is really a part of our Philippine life.
Everywhere
I go now, I am able to listen to
different
kinds of music that extol the birth
of
Christ, the celebration of Christmas, the
value
of family togetherness, the greatest
event
of the year insofar as the Filipino people
are
concerned. However, there is something
amiss
in the kinds of songs being sung – a
few
only sing of absenteeism of loved ones,
mostly
those who are abroad to make a living
for
their families here in the Philippines. The only song I hear most
often related to that is Pasko
na Sinta Ko which
remains the favorite as its lyrics speak about pining for the absent
beloved.
Neither
does any song mention the loss of a loved one abroad. Perhaps I
should write that one and compose the music for it, in memory of my
son, Eugene who died in Singapore in 2014.
One
event I went to was the concert of the UP Jazz Band KrizzMazz beside
the UP Carillon.
In that UP event I heard two pronunciations of Carillon, that phallic-like tower beside the UP Theatre, housing the many bells. By the way, I went there when I was still in college and had watched Mr. Regalario, the carilloneur then play the UP Naming Mahal and some religious pieces, I think one of them was Ave Maria. The playing was almost sacred -- because the bells sounded as if they were playing for people, both human and spirits, located miles and miles away. However, some of the bells then were quite off tune due to age. At present, they are new, or some might have been fixed, or some are new, straight from Belgium, as an official said.
Going
back to the pronunciation, one set of officials pronounced it as
carilon (American English), while one did it as carilyon (British
English), the way we have been pronouncing it ever since. I think
that pronunciation can take up the social usage of the term. As
alumni of the university, we have always called that iconic music
tower as (carilyon) and it sounds so much Filipino to speak it that
way. We need not be foreign-oriented when pronouncing words that have
been part of us for generations especially as they are akin to our
surroundings.
Nonetheless,
it was a delightful evening except for some quirks. But first, the
music that the band played were a combination of soulful and snappy
pieces; however, the instrumentalists played best when the piece is
swingy. Somehow, I have abstracted that when playing jazz, as I have
also watched international players here during the French Jazz
Festival this year, that jazz has to be played sensuously. As the
black musicians say, they play from their souls and their guts.
Therefore, when the piece is about loneliness, you could really feel
in your heart the pain and ache of the player, or the subject being
played about. So I hope that our jazz people would consider that
suggestion. Immerse youself in the emotions of the songs that you are
playing – find out what the composer had in mind when they were
created. Feel their joys and pains. Now how does one do that? Simply
forget what you are. Forget any rigid philosophy or musical theory
that you cling to and attain transcendence.
Ang
hirap gawin no?
You
see Folks public performance, regardless of the genius, the beauty of
the voices of the singers, is bound to become so-so once the mixer,
the microphone controllers are not aware that their sounds are not
producing the proper volume and do not have that appropriate mixing
of basses and trebles. Once, I watched the concert of two leading
singers of the UP College of Music, Raymond Roldan and Jeannelle
Bihag the singing couple who have now relocated to Bicol. Their
voices came out flat, or parang tunog lata pa at other times. So I
gave a comment to the mixer who then remixed the sounds so that an
auditorium quality came out. And the whole Bahay ng Alumni
reverberated with the angelic voices of the two, who sang to their
hearts' content especially the love songs as they are real lovers on
and off stage.
Do
we ever wonder if the international singers who come over bring with
them their own mixers and people who would work on them? That is
because they want to preserve the integrity of their voices which the
machines could bring down as so-so once the technicians are just too
lazy to get the proper mix. And this is where I think sound-check is
very necessary also before the performance. Performers should not go
onstage if they have not had their voices checked for volume,
amplification and dynamics. Feedback during soundchecks have to be
sought in order to give the best performance of their lives, so to
speak.
Incidentally,
I remember having gone to the Rizal Park Open Air Auditorium way back
the in the late 90's amd I asked the coordinator, how come the volume
was flat; then, we could also not distinguish the different
instruments being played by the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra
which was playing at that time that I had attended? Folks, you know
of course that an orchestra has strings, wind, brass, and percussion
instruments. Then I learned from her that all their mixing
instruments were outdated; the following year, the budget proposal of
the agency handling the place must have asked for a raise as now, the
sound system is excellent at the Park. You must go there Folks, every
performance is free entrance, whether drama, dance, music, singing,
etc, local or international. Our masses are getting the best events,
of high quality, not usually seen on TV nor heard on radio.
I think if the audience is critical enough of how pieces are played, then we could also make our people be discriminating of the songs -- both melody and lyrics -- they hear on air, whether over the radio or tv. Right now, they must be contented with how things are simply because there is really no effort on the part of producers to go above what they have been used to doing. On the other hand, when record producers bring their singers, I notice that their singers get the best mixing equipment; unfortunately, the lyrics of the songs are wanting.
Let me tell you that when I was in Nairobi in 1985 to attend the Celebration of the UN Decade for Women, I came out of our hotel one morning and walked to the venue of the conference. On the way, I saw an African man in the market sweeping the street with "walis tingting." You know guys, he was WHISTLING in tune a native song. Whistling early in the morning. It was a beautiful experience. Then at the end of the conference, I saw three Afro women dressed in their traditional formal costumes, complete with long skirts, and turbans. You know what they did, one started singing a song, and the two others did a second voice. Improvised right there beside the street. What this means is that music runs in their veins, as they cared not how their voices had sounded but that they should express themselves complete with body movements.
Anyway, the best concert that I have heard here recently was the UP CRL Choir rendition of the Gospel Mass at the UP Church of the Risen Lord, not because I am a member of the choir, Folks. The music itself is laudable, composed by Robert Ray, an American. By the way, there is a condition in their score for the public not to xerox the material without havig contributed to their group as this is the only way they could go on composing, which really makes sense. Some of the best artists are not dependent on any institution when creating in order to be able to be truly artistic with only God as the prime motivator.
Gospel
Mass has several parts: Kyrie, Lord Have Mercy; Gloria – Glory to
God in the Highest, Credo, I believe in God, Acclamation –
Hallelujah Praise the Lord, Sanctus – Holy, Holy Lord God of Hosts,
at Agnus Dei- Lamb of God.It is sung by 5 voices – soprano, alto,
basso, tenor and contratenor. It was sung under the baton of
Chris Arceo, assisted by pianist Sara Matsuura with the Choir
supervised by Alexander Cortez. It was played on the 29th of
Novembre 2015 UP Diliman Church of the Risen Lord. I think a DVD of
the performance will be coming out soon. Kindly contact the UP
CRL.'s.
Here
are some of the parts. The word Amen is sung five times, one after
the other, by the Soprano, then the Alto, and so forth and so on.
What is produced is like an echo with different voices, running one
after the other.
The
Choir has many solo singers who really belted it out making you feel
that God is just there listening also to all the pieces. We had
soprano and tenor soiloists, imbued with spiritual values so that
they could express that upifting quality the lyrics contain.
Finally,
may I say that one of the best talents of the Filipino race is that
ability to engage in music which we must really honor and give much
support to. We need to discover more and more talents not only in
singing but also in composition -- unearthing the many abilities to
arrange, to develop new genres, to conduct, to combine indigenous and
western instruments, to make the children find beauty in music, and
so much more.
Our indigenous groups, the Badjao and the Aeta need not come here to beg alms but to showcase their original cultures, including their songs. The dept of social welfare and development or DSWD could merge with the cultural agencies to develop them when they come to MetroManila and give them cultural space, not only inside but also outside of theatres. In this way, they become part of our scenery, part of us in a very enhancing way. The problem with DSWD is that it cannot move quick enough to address issues that have bearing on our identity.
One
way of tackling this is to have many reviewers who can provide
in-depth analyses of programs, not merely focussed on personalities
so we can raise the level of discussions, also. These reviews have to
be aired on radio especially. Unfortunately the news I hear about
culture focus more on which actor is in love with whom, which actress
refused a higher political career in favor of domestic rule, or which
actress who is fading from limelight showed her elitist and
disgusting attitude toward the elderly, when she ordered her guard to
ask an elderly lady to go out of the elevator as she wanted to be the
only one using it. Unfortunately, ( I heard this over DZRH Morley
Alino), the lady happened to be the owner of the building. And so the
actress is now banned from the building altogether despite her being
a regular customer of a spa outfit.
Maybe
there are many dissonant voices in politics and that is because
engaging in music, or even the arts in general lack support. Sadly,
artists are treated as intermission numbers, if not pure
entertainers. It's time to give the muses their rightful places in
our society.
Many have said that music is the language of the soul.So now I say, music is the language of our soul and race.
