I was still reeling from the unexpected delight of Philippine Opera Company’s Ang Bagong Harana, the reboot of their standard musical revue of Filipino favorites under the direction of the immensely talented Floy Quintos, when–only a week later–I was made to reel once again from the unexpected majesty of the young Enzo Medel’s piano concert.
And yet, all things considered, these were only to be expected. Both shows opened the 50th cultural season of Silliman University, effectively marking the beginning of the celebration of the golden anniversary of the university’s culture and arts arm, the Cultural Affairs Committee. But the CAC has always had a storied history of showcasing the best of local, national, and international artistry, ever since its founding in 1962 under the chairmanship of Prof. Miriam G. Palmore. Since then, it has come into its own as one of the primary movers of culture in Negros Oriental.
In 1975, the Luce Auditorium became the CAC’s permanent home and performance space, and the first cultural show it presented was Felix Mendelssohn’s oratorio, Elijah, which–by counting among its soloists a nun from nearby St. Paul’s College, the Catholic foil to Silliman’s Protestantism–effectively ended decades of religious friction in Dumaguete and ushered in the age of ecumenicalism. That oratorio, directed by Isabel Dimaya Vistas, will have its reprise with the same musical director fifty years after it was first presented, in September 2012, marking a significant “handulantaw”–a sense of looking forward and looking back–for culture in Silliman University and Dumaguete.
In the meantime, we move forward. Last June 29 and 30, the Philippine Opera Company–together with the Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group–regaled Dumaguete audiences with its twist on the traditional harana, effectively making the musical tradition dedicated to romantic love become a paean to a love of country. As director Quintos put it: “Ang Bagong Harana is more than just a selection of well-loved Filipino love songs. Our Harana is a love letter to the Pinoy–to our history, our ideals, our lost past, and the values that we must take with us as we journey, as a nation, into the future. Past musical revues showcasing Filipino music have always classified songs and music according to region–Cordillera, Mindanao, Rural, Maria Clara… This Bagong Harana looks to the values, the experiences, the shared history as the basis for song groupings and suites. For isn’t it time that we start to re-evaluate our culture to find what is shared, what is the common experience that links us as Filipinos and as human beings? That is why this Harana is different. That is why we call this show Ang Bagong Harana. More than just a love song, this show is a love letter to all the best things that the Filipino can be.”
It did so with several suites of mostly love songs that somehow put into center stage the matter of national heart. And effectively so. Who didn’t cry when that final “Panatang Makabayan,” which led to the company’s finale, became a chorus that approached a kind of promise from all of us, to love the country more, to think of what we can do more for it? And yet, in the hands of Mr. Quintos, this nationalistic bent never amounted to saccharine ewwww-ness, which is perhaps a shining testament to the performing artists’ tastes.
And then there was Enzo Medel. Who knew? I didn’t exactly know, even when he began the program with a sustained sense of being in Beethoven’s Sonata in F minor Op. 57, No. 23 (Appassionata).
But who would have thought this young man was capable of bewitchment? Four standing ovations, with four encores! And he’s only 16 years old!
Truth to tell, his concert last July 6 and 7 at the Luce was probably the best one that Dumaguete has seen in many, many years–and we qualify that to include so many legendary (and older) pianists who have graced our stage recently.
Mr. Medel may be young but I think he has learned to use his age to an advantage. Sure, there is a certain (and perhaps) well-deserved teenage cockiness with which he approaches his music. This, however, he translates to a brand of energy that becomes a fascinating dexterity in his fingers, which ultimately becomes a kind of awesome breathless.
He followed the Beethoven with Chopin’s Scherzo in C sharp minor Op. 39, then Molina’s Malikmata, then Debussy’s Feux d’artifice (Fireworks), then a series of Liszt–Etude in G sharp minor S.141 No. 3 (La Campanella, then Konzert-Etude in D Flat Major S. 144 No. 3 (Un Sospiro), and finally Hungarian Rhapsody in D Flat Major S. 244 No. 6. All of them difficult pieces that would even the most consummate older pianist. But to Mr. Medel, these became a kind of adventure, and I think that sense of play and mastery was sensed by even the uninitiated among the audience.
Why? Because Mr. Medel strikes anyone as the master of graceful anticipation. I was holding my breath all the time, surrendering to the knowledge that this boy knew his musical structure well. He knew how to communicate his form: he held a story, he knew his moments of restraint and bombast, and ultimately he held a peculiar kind of magic that went beyond technique. This was most evident in his encore pieces, Santiago’s Souvenir de Filipinas and Buencamino’s Mayon.
“The only thing I could wish for as I grow deeper into my craft,” he told us later in the after-concert reception in Cafe Antonio, “is to make my music sound even more natural.” That sounds like an even bigger promise–and I simply cannot wait when he gets older, and gets even deeper into his music.
The 50th anniversary season celebrates Silliman’s contributions to the world of arts, including the National Writers Workshop founded by Edilberto Tiempo and National Artist for Literature Edith Tiempo, the Men’s Glee Club founded by Albert Louis Faurot, Kwerdas and the Silliman University Campus Choristers founded by Priscilla Magdamo-Abraham (the latter co-founded with Emmy Luague and Ruth Imperial-Pfeiffer), the Silliman Young Singers and the Luce Choral Society founded by Isabel Dimaya-Vista, the Silliman Dance Troupe (now the Kahayag Dance Company) founded by Lucy Jumawan-Sauer and Shona Mactavish, Musika Sacra founded by Elmo Makil, the Portal Players founded by Amiel Y. Leonardia, among others. Other notable alumni include National Artist for Film Eddie Romero.
Among its planned roster of shows starting June include concerts and performances with Ballet Philippines, Octava Choral Society, the Loboc Children’s Choir, PETA, the Kabayao Family Quintet, Symphony Sin Arco, and others.
