I do not like Sunday evenings. Sundays signal the end of the
weekend and tell me that Monday is coming soon. So, it is quite easy to
understand I will take what I can to ease the transition—even if it meant
traveling all the way to Brampton!
A couple of Sunday evenings ago, we caught Bukas Palad’s “Huwag Kang Mangamba (Be Not Afraid)”
show. They had it at the St Marguerite d’Youville parish to help raise funds
for the building expenses of the parish and also to support World Vision. Hubby
was quite excited to go, given that some of the members/writers were his
teachers in school. I was also looking forward to hearing the chorale sing some
of my favourite mass songs. My mom knew some of the songs as well, but the
girls had no clue.
Bukas Palad is a Catholic Filipino music ministry with roots
in the Jesuit Music Ministry of the Ateneo de Manila University. They had
produced over a hundred original songs in almost 30 years. This particular
North American tour was focused on hope and healing.
Doors opened one hour before the show, which started
promptly at 5pm (no Pinoy time here!). It was a sold-out event, but good thing
was, the church had sufficient parking.
At 5pm, recordings of the national anthems of Philippines
and Canada were played. It was on the ear-splitting side, not quite apt for the
wonderful music we were expecting. It was quite reminiscent of catching the
last full show at the cinemas in Manila, sounding like an overplayed and
scratchy vinyl record. Wish these were sung instead by the choir or one of
their soloists. Anyway, there were a couple of opening remarks before the show
went underway.
The group entered in brightly coloured tops singing, “In Him
Alone” and encouraging the audience to join them in sign language. My girls
were in rapt attention. This first song was promptly followed by one of my
favourite songs, “I Will Sing Forever. “ They also sang other crowd favourites
such as Tanging Yaman (loosely translated: My Only Treasure) and Sa ‘yo Lamang
(again loosely translated: Only Yours) as well as new songs.
They had divided the show into several parts with songs
marking God’s promise, our suffering and our hope. There was an intermission
after the first hour where the guest speaker, a former World Vision sponsored
child, spoke about the work of World Vision in the world. Check out their page to see the many
ways to help transform lives of children around the world.
After the intermission, the group came back in more somber
black tops. They sang the rest of the songs with impeccable blending for about
another hour. It helped that the projectors showed the lyrics—allowing the
audience to internalize the wonderful words composed by Bukas Palad, including
Fr. Manoling Francisco SJ.
There was a time for reflection as the audience meditated.
There was also a time for interaction, where the audience sang along to newer
versions of mass songs (“When We Eat This Bread”).
It was a beautiful concert
and the songs were very uplifting. I can’t think of a better way to spend a
Sunday night or a better way to prepare for a Monday. Talagang hindi mangangamba!
No comments:
Post a Comment