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Choirmaster Mark Anthony Carpio

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Philippine Madrigal Singers

Mark Anthony Carpio, choirmaster

A recent international tour of Latin America, ten years of choirmaster Mark Anthony Carpio and the Christmas season were just some of the reasons for celebrating as the Philippine Madrigal Singers staged their concert at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. I was already getting really tired towards the end of this week since this was my fourth concert in as many days but not being able to see the Madz in concert was out of the question. I've seen them recently during the Adonay and the Messiah concerts over at the CCP and UP respectively but they shared the stage with a lot more peformers. And these performances only served to make me want to see the Madz headline a show which really featured this international award winning choir.

Soprano Bianca Camille Lopez

Thankfully, I was able to see them on the first of their two day engagement over at the CCP's Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo. The concert repertoire was a mix of religious/spirituals, secular, Christmas/holiday themed songs and also some numbers that commemorated the milestone of Mark Anthony Carpio's tenth year as choir master. But what I really liked was their selection of songs from Latin/South America which served as a reminder that the choir did tour those continents early in the year. This resulted in a concert that had possibly everything for everybody in the audience. And part of the audience were several former members of the choir during Carpio's tenure. Situated over at the boxes to the left, they joined in the singing while the Madz were still on stage which resulted in an auditory experience akin to a movie theater with multi-channeled speakers. Then things were taken notches higher as the occupants of the other boxes (upper and lower boxes, left and right) joined in as the celebration of a decade of Carpio's reaches its climax. The audience were literally surrounded by choirs singing and it was truly one of the highlights of the evening. I failed to take note which choirs those people were part of but some of them were indeed very young and that among them would be future members of the Madz. So the past, the present and the future of the Madz were given the spotlight during this concert.

The Philippine Madrigal Singers

As expected, Christmas songs were performed and this was when the members of the Madz got a bit loose and showed some humor. For me, some like the 12 Days of Christmas were a bit too over the top for me but majority liked it. I actually preferred more their song Paskong Walang Hanggan which they performed as their encore. And speaking of encores, the choir sang a very spirited No Dejes de Cantar at the lobby after the concert in which they were joined once again by the other choirs who were at the balconies. The night ended in a very celebratory mood as the Madz gamely posed for photos and signed autographs. Thus ended my 2011 concert year and I was glad that it ended on a high note.