Christmas concert at Manila Pen soars with fresh talent

In this era of mindless status updates and frenzied “friend-and-unfriend" culture, traditions such as a communal musical celebration is one institution that fosters cohesion. Whether austere or pompous, traditions put on public display are symbolic sites that enable members of a community to interact face-to-face, where nuances of communication are learned and embodied. One such tradition is the annual Christmas concert at The Peninsula Manila. Last December 12, despite the stress-inducing heavy vehicular traffic in the metropolis, music lovers trooped to the hotel’s majestic lobby, which had been transformed into a magnificent concert hall.

The setting evoked long-gone charms of gentility, civility, and understated old-rich elegance. Towering palm trees rose from the marble floor, bestowing a quaint Mediterranean feel to the festive atmosphere. A giant, tastefully trimmed Christmas tree greeted guests at the main entrance. Dubbed “Celebrations: 27 years of Christmas concert at The Pen," the two-hour show did not disappoint hundreds of music lovers, who were joined by scores of toddlers and a significant number of teen-agers. Thanks to the efforts of the Pen Manila General Manager Jonathan Crook, his creative team, and the major sponsors -- notably Zenaida R. Tantoco of Stores Specialists, Irene Martel Francisco of Philippine Tatler, and Country Officer Sanjiv Vohra of Citibank Philippines – the concert was a night to remember for the appreciative audience. “We hold this excellent tradition (music) alive at the Christmas concert at The Pen, in the spirit of sharing and celebrating a joyful Holiday Season and what Christmas truly means to all of us," said Tantoco, who is the president of Stores Specialists. Olivier Ochanine, music director and principal conductor of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO), is immune to deafening bravos when he wields the baton here and abroad. But the French-American conductor’s maiden performance at The Pen’s Christmas concert earned him the first bravo of the evening for his sensitive rendition of “Meditation from Thais" (1894) in solo flute. Ochanine, who studied flute in Germany, the US, and Britain, has wowed jaded concert-goers with his interpretation of Ravel’s “Bolero" together with the PPO. But it was still a big surprise even to those who have been following his budding musical career in the Philippines to see him splendidly playing a solo flute, occasionally backed up by his very own PPO. After a few bars of “Meditation from Thais," the audience’s muffled chatter, clinking of wine glasses, and the din of cutlery went silent magically. All eyes suddenly focused on the solitary figure in a black suit standing on the edge of the second floor lobby, which served as the improvised stage, and playing a weeping solo flute that produced soaring but tormented notes. The performance delighted many non-concert-goers, who only know Ochanine as the dashing PPO conductor they saw on television during the oath-taking ceremonies of President Aquino at the Quirino grandstand. World-class soprano Camille Lopez-Molina’s sparkling sharp take on John Lennon’s and Yoko Ono’s “Happy Christmas/War is Over" (1971), with impressive heavy vocals and choral support from The UST Singers, elicited another round of animated applause. Although Lennon and Ono intended the tune to be a protest song against the Vietnam War, it has been featured on a number of Christmas albums and has become a standard song for the Yuletide season. Mel Torme’s and Robert Wells’ “The Christmas Song" (1945) and Ryan Cayabyab’s “Isang Taong Lumipas" and “Munting Sanggol" were among the numbers performed by Lopez-Molina together with The UST Singers and the PPO. The PPO principal trumpet player Fredeline Parin’s brilliant version of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas," one of the most popular Christmas songs recorded by Bing Crosby, was also a resounding hit too. Parin’s shining trumpet delicately blared out notes, alternately yelling the intense hopes of those distant from their loved ones to be reunited for the holidays, and painfully whispering the shattering sorrow that this will only happen “if only in (their) dreams." Another high point of the concert was “The Prayer" (Carole Bayer Sager and David Foster, 1991) performed by flutist Ochanine, trumpet player Parin, soprano Lopez-Molina, and tenor Jose Mari Rubio of The UST Singers. The score was locally arranged by Naldy A. Rodriquez for the concert. Italian conductor Ruggero Barbieri, a former music director and principal conductor of the PPO until April 2004, flew in to conduct the orchestra for the one-night-only engagement. “I am deeply honored and very happy to be back in the Philippines for The Peninsula Manila’s annual Christmas concert," Barbieri told GMANews.TV in an interview. The PPO, under the baton of Barbieri, showed it deserves to be considered one of the top in the Asia-Pacific region in its performance of “Festive Overture, opus 96" (Dmitri Shostakovich), “Marche Hongroise from La Damnation de Faust" (Hector Berlioz), “Capriccio de Italien, opus 45" (Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky), “Jota no. 2" (Rafael Mendez), and “Radetzky March" (Johann Strauss Sr.). Barbieri is now based in Bergamo, Italy, but he continuously collaborates with Filipino musical artists. On Jan. 5, 2011, he will conduct the Donizetti Orchestra at the Teatro Donizetti featuring Filipina soprano Ena Maria Aldecoa. – YA, GMANews.TV