1,000 angelic voices drown political noise

HEAVEN ON EARTH Some 1,000 choir members from top choral groups conducted by maestro Ryan Cayabyab give Filipinos a glimpse of heaven in their weekend concert. ARNOLD ALMACEN

In a week of high political drama generated by the arrest of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, a welcome respite came on Saturday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum—a thousand voices singing like angels to usher in the Christmas season.

And what better way to mark the night than for the thousand choir members to sing Filipino Yuletide carols, to the accompaniment of the 60-piece Manila Symphony Orchestra.

Conducting the music was maestro Ryan Cayabyab, who only a few months ago, when asked about the one thing he had never done before, had intimitated  he was “dreaming” of such a  fantasy.

The highly respected composer, arranger and conductor got the surprise of his life when Judy Araneta-Roxas, vice chair of the Araneta Group, offered to make his wish a reality by mounting the Big Dome production as a free concert for Araneta employees.

Cayabyab said that ABS-CBN came in as a partner by providing technical assistance and lending several of its performing talents.

41 groups

The choir members—some belonging to award-winning groups like the Philippine Madrigal Singers, University of the Philippines (UP) Concert Chorus, UP Singing Ambassadors and Ateneo Chamber Singers—came from 41 of the country’s chorales under the Philippine Choral Directors Association.

Cayabyab told the Inquirer that all of the choral groups, especially those from the provinces, had spent for their trip to Manila, including their board and lodging, just to be part of the event.

Cayabyab told the audience that one group, the Silliman University Gratitude & Goodwill Ambassadors, initially missed their flight to Manila and had to divert to Cebu to make it to the concert.

The show, dubbed “Maestro Ryan Cayabyab at ’Sang Libo’t Isang Tinig ng Pasko,”  was hosted by two beauty queens, Venus Raj and Shamcey Supsup—2010 Miss Universe fourth runner-up and 2011 Miss Universe third runner-up, respectively.

It also featured topnotch singers led by Rachel Gerodias, Lea Salonga, Jed Madela and Ariel Rivera, as well as young talent search winners Angeline Quinto and Marcelito Pomoy.

Heartthrob Piolo Pascual and actress-singer KC Concepcion had separate  numbers.

For his repertoire, Cayabyab dug into his own collection of Christmas tunes, plus several classics and new songs by young composers.

“Being happy is a choice,” Concepcion said after singing “Heto Na Naman ang Pasko,” by Jose Javier Reyes.

One of the things that makes Filipinos happy during Christmas, she said, is the peculiar smell of food cooked only for the holidays, as what the song’s lyrics implied: “May ibang amoy mula sa kusina/Iba’t-ibang bango ng mga hinahanda…”

Blue Christmas

But Christmas is also about feeling blue in the absence of a loved one—an experience recounted by three performers.

Pomoy was wildly cheered as he sang the 1970s hit by Susan Fuentes, “Miss Kita Kung Christmas,” in his patented dual male-and-female voice. Quinto was warmly applauded for her rendition of Francis Dandan’s “Pasko Na Sinta Ko.” Loud clapping greeted Rivera  when he sang his own “Sana Ngayong Pasko.”

The cheers intensified when another batch of singers—known for their remarkable vocal range—went onstage one after the other: Gerodias interpreting Felipe de Leon’s “Payapang Daigdig”; Madela doing Cayabyab’s “Munting Sanggol”; and Salonga singing the Cayabyab-Reyes collaboration, “Paskong Walang Hanggan.”

Hysterics greeted Pascual with his rendition of another Cayabyab-Reyes team-up, “Isang Taong Lumipas.”

In between those numbers were the classic pieces—“Kampana ng Simbahan,” “Namamasko,” “Noche Buena,” “Sa Paskong Darating,” “Mano Po Ninong,” “Pasko Na Naman” and “Ang Pasko ay Sumapit.”

The sound of 1,000 voices gave everyone a glimpse of heaven on earth.