Featuring:
Rachelle Gerodias, soprano
Byeong-In Park, baritone
Philippine Madrigal Singers, et al
Mark Anthony
Carpio, choir master
Philippine Madrigal Singers Alumni
UE Chorale
Anna Piquero,
choir master
UP Choral Class
Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra
Olivier Ochanine, conductor
Programme:
Herminigildo Ranera
Philippine
Symphonic Folksongs
Johannes Brahms
Ein Deutsches
Requiem, Op. 45
As his stint as outgoing principal conductor/music director
of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra nears its end, Olivier Ochanine drew
another ace from his sleeve with the Philippine premiere performance of
Johannes Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem, Op. 45. With a choir of at least a
hundred members and soloists Rachelle Gerodies (soprano) and Byeong-In Park
(baritone) joining the orchestra, the Brahms performance proved to be a feast
not just for the ears but for the eyes as well.
But first, the concert opened with Herminigildo Ranera’s
Philippine Symphonic Folksongs. This was just the second time this piece has
been performed since its debut by the Orchestra Nipponica Tokyo for the
Japan-Philippines Contemporary Music Festival held in February 2013. With this
short work steeped in folk idiom, the PPO took the audience on a musical
journey of the Philippines’ three main islands: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
Each island/movement had a distinct orchestral color with Luzon having only the
winds, brass and percussion section playing, Visayas just the strings and harp,
while Mindanao had the full orchestral complement.
Then it was off to the evening’s main work: the Brahms
German Requiem. The combined forces of the Philippine Madrigal Singers, Alumni, et al
with choir master Mark Anthony Carpio, the UE Chorale with choir master Anna
Piquero, and the UP Choral Class were expected to produce a wall of sound and
they did. More impressive were the deft handling of the softer passages with
the entire choir sounding as if their voices were just mists hovering/floating
above the ground. But it was during the fugues that the choir truly shone and
that’s something coming from me who isn’t too keen on fugues. It is interesting
to note the presence in the choir of a handful of countertenors who sang the
alto parts which is something I don’t see very often.
For the audience members who weren’t familiar with the
Brahms piece, they were let down when they realized how brief the parts of
Rachelle Gerodias and Byeong-In Park were. Byeong-In was imposing and firm,
quite a contrast with the delicate solo of Rachelle. Being husband and wife, I
wouldn’t be surprised that some expected a duet between the two, but none was
written for this Requiem. No wonder that the talk at the lobby after the concert
was wishing to hear more from the two of them. Personally, I wish the Olivier
conducted this with a more glacial pace but doing that would’ve added at least five more minutes to the
program. And that is five minutes more that the choir had to endure standing at
the risers.
I admit that during this concert, it was very difficult for
me to keep my eyes from the choir and the soloists during the Requiem. If not
for the Philippine Symphonic Folksongs, I would’ve probably ignored the
orchestra altogether. Well, not quite since I did savor the harp parts and also
the low strings passages that opened the Brahms.
It is a remarkable coincidence that the last PPO concert
that featured a huge choir happened exactly five years before and that the
piece back then was also a Requiem albeit the one by Giuseppe Verdi.
I think that the concerts seeming to go full circle serve as a reminder for
everyone that Olivier Ochanine’s term with the PPO is about to wrap up and that next month's concert will be his last.
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