Requiem

Attended a concert tonight presented by The United States Embassy and The Union Church of Manila in memory of victims of terrorism. The timing was appropriate, as it is the eve of September 11.



Tonight's presentation was Mozart's Requiem, with choral performances by the Ateneo Chamber Singers and the Union Church of Manila Chancel Choir. Rachelle Gerodias (S), Agnes Barredo (A), Ervin Lumauag (T), and Rainer Pagcaliwagan (B) were soloists. Accompanying them was the Strings section of the Manila Symphony Orchestra, and Brasses and Woodwinds Sections of the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra. Jonathan Velasco was conductor.

All the drama of Mozart's music came roaring back to life in the one hour it took to perform the entire composition. I find myself marveling at the way such complex musical compositions written more than 250 years ago can still move people today. That's when you've got to hand it to humanity for our ability to preserve our history and the relics of our lost civilizations.

I quite literally felt sad when the performance was over.

Perhaps if enough people show interest, they can perform it again on another evening, so as to maximize the output from all the hours of practice that no doubt went into tonight's performance.