Last Sunday, my brother and sister-in-law treated me to a concert featuring the Music Hub, Bukas Palad Ministry and the Philippine Madrigal Singers. "Laudate Dominum: A Post-Papal Visit Benefit Concert" was held at St. Paul Pasig.
My love affair with Bukas Palad and Madrigal spans more than twenty years. Bukas Palad songs, mostly composed by Fr. Manoling Francisco, have been in our college choir repertoire ever since I can remember, while I first heard and fell in love with the Madz also in college, with national artist in music, Prof. Andrea Veneracion, as conductor.
Despite the length of time I have been singing Bukas Palad songs, I have never heard them sing live until last Sunday. I was pleasantly astounded. I knew they were good but they were even better in person with their charismatic smiles and energy.
The Madz have evolved under different leadership. Honestly, I miss the Veneracion flavor but the excellence is still there with an increase in showmanship.
Watching these two different groups perform made me reflect on my journey as a music minister. Bukas Palad and their songs represent to me friendships rooted in service to God that began twenty five years ago in college and endure to this day.
A one-semester stint with a Madz-inspired choir allowed me to have a deeper appreciation for the technical difficulties involved in singing at the level of excellence which is embodied by the Philippine Madrigal Singers.
But I realized early on that singing secular songs did not give me the joy that singing Christian songs did. Singing is praying twice when directed towards God. And God deserves nothing but our most excellent offering but too much preoccupation with the technicalities of singing can get in the way of worship.
What I found ironic was that the Madz sprung from the bosom of the University of the Philippines, which is supposed to be more for the masses, but their form of singing requires much skill and as a result, is more elitist. It has borne fruit in the form of Madz, et al, which is composed of Madz-inspired choirs headed by Madrigal alumni. This is the beautiful legacy of Veneracion, who envisioned a singing Philippines. There are now more than sixty choirs who are featured in the music festival featuring the Madz and their friends.
On the other hand, Bukas Palad, which is based at the elite Ateneo de Manila, is more universal. "Manoling" songs are sung in every parish and bring life to the liturgy. There is no association of choirs affiliated with the Bukas Palad but the songs they have popularized have become part of the Filipino Catholic psyche.
I never thought these two groups could ever get together but that's exactly what they did for the recently concluded papal visit. Last Sunday's concert featured the choirs first separately and then together singing songs from the papal mass at Luneta.
The unity of the two groups was inspiring. Differences, if any, were set aside, and they just came together in harmony to serve. The Luneta choir had 1000-members from different parishes. And the cream of the crop was at last Sunday's concert. It was a privilege to watch.
Now my musical ministry journey includes the charismatic style of service using songs from Hillsong, Matt Maher, Chris Tomlin, and so much more. It is again a different form. Individual microphones, stage make up, and coordinated outfits are part and parcel of every service rather than a once-a-year-concert-related effort.
At its heart, it is still the same. Serving in the music ministry is directing our hearts toward God in the best way we can, not only in the technical aspect but more importantly on the inside. Because worship is not limited to the stage. Worship is your life--how you serve your family, how you work at your job or school projects, how you are a friend to others. Sometimes this internal worship is made manifest on stage for two hours and contributes to the music of the congregation in a pleasing offering to God. At least we hope it is a pleasing offering.
God hears the true song your heart is singing. Kung merong wala sa tono, baka kailangan ng kaunting confession. Let's hope the song of our lives is always in tune with the will of God so it may be a pleasing offering to him.
Lord, thank you for the gift of music. Thank you for the friendships rooted in you. May more people continue to be blessed by music ministers everywhere, especially by their acts of love off stage. May all of us, whether we are still active music servants or not, continue to lift up our lives as an offering of worship to you.
P.S. One kilig moment for me was that the concert had a late start. I was grateful because I was 17 minutes late (left MOA at 1:30 to reach the 3 pm concert but was delayed by bus stops and an unforeseen period of waiting at Coastal Mall). Thanks to technical difficulties, inabot ko ang umpisa. Thank you, Lord!
My love affair with Bukas Palad and Madrigal spans more than twenty years. Bukas Palad songs, mostly composed by Fr. Manoling Francisco, have been in our college choir repertoire ever since I can remember, while I first heard and fell in love with the Madz also in college, with national artist in music, Prof. Andrea Veneracion, as conductor.
Despite the length of time I have been singing Bukas Palad songs, I have never heard them sing live until last Sunday. I was pleasantly astounded. I knew they were good but they were even better in person with their charismatic smiles and energy.
The Madz have evolved under different leadership. Honestly, I miss the Veneracion flavor but the excellence is still there with an increase in showmanship.
Watching these two different groups perform made me reflect on my journey as a music minister. Bukas Palad and their songs represent to me friendships rooted in service to God that began twenty five years ago in college and endure to this day.
A one-semester stint with a Madz-inspired choir allowed me to have a deeper appreciation for the technical difficulties involved in singing at the level of excellence which is embodied by the Philippine Madrigal Singers.
But I realized early on that singing secular songs did not give me the joy that singing Christian songs did. Singing is praying twice when directed towards God. And God deserves nothing but our most excellent offering but too much preoccupation with the technicalities of singing can get in the way of worship.
What I found ironic was that the Madz sprung from the bosom of the University of the Philippines, which is supposed to be more for the masses, but their form of singing requires much skill and as a result, is more elitist. It has borne fruit in the form of Madz, et al, which is composed of Madz-inspired choirs headed by Madrigal alumni. This is the beautiful legacy of Veneracion, who envisioned a singing Philippines. There are now more than sixty choirs who are featured in the music festival featuring the Madz and their friends.
On the other hand, Bukas Palad, which is based at the elite Ateneo de Manila, is more universal. "Manoling" songs are sung in every parish and bring life to the liturgy. There is no association of choirs affiliated with the Bukas Palad but the songs they have popularized have become part of the Filipino Catholic psyche.
I never thought these two groups could ever get together but that's exactly what they did for the recently concluded papal visit. Last Sunday's concert featured the choirs first separately and then together singing songs from the papal mass at Luneta.
The unity of the two groups was inspiring. Differences, if any, were set aside, and they just came together in harmony to serve. The Luneta choir had 1000-members from different parishes. And the cream of the crop was at last Sunday's concert. It was a privilege to watch.
******
Now my musical ministry journey includes the charismatic style of service using songs from Hillsong, Matt Maher, Chris Tomlin, and so much more. It is again a different form. Individual microphones, stage make up, and coordinated outfits are part and parcel of every service rather than a once-a-year-concert-related effort.
At its heart, it is still the same. Serving in the music ministry is directing our hearts toward God in the best way we can, not only in the technical aspect but more importantly on the inside. Because worship is not limited to the stage. Worship is your life--how you serve your family, how you work at your job or school projects, how you are a friend to others. Sometimes this internal worship is made manifest on stage for two hours and contributes to the music of the congregation in a pleasing offering to God. At least we hope it is a pleasing offering.
God hears the true song your heart is singing. Kung merong wala sa tono, baka kailangan ng kaunting confession. Let's hope the song of our lives is always in tune with the will of God so it may be a pleasing offering to him.
Lord, thank you for the gift of music. Thank you for the friendships rooted in you. May more people continue to be blessed by music ministers everywhere, especially by their acts of love off stage. May all of us, whether we are still active music servants or not, continue to lift up our lives as an offering of worship to you.
P.S. One kilig moment for me was that the concert had a late start. I was grateful because I was 17 minutes late (left MOA at 1:30 to reach the 3 pm concert but was delayed by bus stops and an unforeseen period of waiting at Coastal Mall). Thanks to technical difficulties, inabot ko ang umpisa. Thank you, Lord!
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