| SUNDRY STROKES By Rosalinda L. Orosa (The Philippine Star) September 25, 2010 |
UST Rector Fr. Rolando V. de la Rosa, prior to the UST Singers’ thanksgiving concert at the CCP Theater, said a foreign ambassador had described the choir as “a national treasure”; using the words of St. Agustine, Fr. De la Rosa described it as “the splendor of order”.
Under conductor Fidel G. Calalang Jr. the singers are also the splendor of incredible discipline, tantalizing versatility and expressivity. Further, Fr. Rector called Calalang a “genius” which he is beyond doubt, devising widely diverse programs that cover every conceivable period and style. Calalang requires his singers to commit them to memory — a feat in itself — and thus to focus and concentrate on each interpretation with the fullest attention to expression and vocal technique or pyro-technique.
The choir’s versatility showed in “exploiting the human voice while portraying an irritating child” in the Luthanian songErzinimal; in approximating various timbers of a wind ensemble for Alleluia; in sounding percussive in E. Paraluan’sGapas; in singing a Monteverdi madrigal of the 17th century; or in rendering “Her Sacred Spirit Soars” in the Renaissance style, or going “full blast” in the Broadway medleys and Ragtime, or in being quietly reverential, then ending rousingly for the “Lord’s Prayer”.
The choir sang in English, Spanish, Tagalog, Ilocano, Visayan, evincing its versatility likewise in imitating virtually anything, animate or inanimate; earthly or unearthly: the howling wind, birds, the ticking of a clock, the incomparable Calalang drawing the maximum interpretative capacity from each singer. Soloists were Noel Azcona whose powerful voice and long-sustained end notes were beyond belief, Ronald Allan Bautista, Juan Alfonso Mendoza, Jemeson Tiburan, Vida Grace Mirang, Marie Adriano, Florencia Kustandi and Pilar Ramos.
Groupings were endlessly innovative and creative; lively movements enhanced vocal delivery, with various numbers ending in riveting, arresting poses.
In many selections, Calalang himself assisted on the piano while maintaining perfect rapport between him and the singers. He also arranged several songs.
The words “Unending Grace, Unending Praise” printed on the program cover aptly applied to the choir which garnered stormy applause after each rendition. The UST Singers, named “Choir of the World” twice in North Wales, UK, has received international awards far too many to mention. This time, the honors are a most valued distinction for UST’s 400 years in 2011.
photos by Mylah Rubio
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