By Kent A Ugalde
“God more than any.”
This is what’s in the mind of Fray Alejandro Tobón Gonzales of the Order of Discalced Carmelites, a member of the world-renowned Gregorian Choir of Paris during a performance-lecture at the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church of Xavier University, February 25, Wednesday.
More than 300 faculty members, staff, students and guests filled in the church to listen to their angelic music. The ensemble’s performance-lecture forms part of their Philippine tour in celebration of the 450th anniversary of the Augustinian presence in the country (1565-2015) and the 5th centenary of the Christian evangelization of the country.
“I am very moved because, as a Colombian, the history of the Philippines reminds me of the history of my country. It’s the same history of our place. Spaniards came, but more importantly it’s Christ who came at the same time,” says Gonzales when asked how he feels singing in front of the Filipino audience for the said celebration. Gonzales has been a member of the GCP since 2002.
For the Philippine tour, the prestigious ensemble is composed of 26 choristers from different countries: France, Germany, Czech Republic, Russia, Slovak Republic, Colombia, Madagascar and South Korea.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) endorsed the tour which brings a spiritual and sacred message: “The world needs a form of silence that resembles a Gregorian chant.”
An international choir based in Paris, GCP was established in 1974 to preserve the tradition and disseminate the sacred music of the Gregorian chant. The group only accepted female choristers in 1994.
Gregorian chants are plainsongs accompanied by single line melody called monophony using specific modes and patterns of whole and half steps.
Scholars said that Carolingian rulers developed it around 750 from a blend of Roman and Gallican chants. The chant was named after Pope Gregory the Great as he was portrayed saying chants inspired by a dove representing the Holy Spirit.
'Simplicity, joy and sense of welcoming'
Louis-Marie Vigne, co-founder of the ensemble, facilitated the performance-lecture while speaking in French and interpreted by Elisabeth B Nerio, director of XU - Office of International Cooperation and Networking (OICN).
The performance-lecture was divided into two parts: history of Gregorian chant and Gregorian chant as a way to translate mass songs globally.
The GCP performed 12 clips of songs: 8 for first part and 4 for the second part. Vigne explained first what the song is all about, and then the choristers sang few lines from each song.
On the first part, the choristers sang Rorate coeli desuper (developed during the time of Catholic Counter-Reformation in the 17th century), Ave Regina coelorum (a chant during the end of Middle Ages), Ave maria stella (Carolignan chant in the 9th century) and Dominus vobiscum (dialogue of the preamble during the 2nd to 3rd century) to name a few.
On the second part, the GCP featured the songs Rorate for mass introduction which is “to sing is to create unanimity” and Christus factum est for mass gradual which means “to sing is to eat.” On their 11th song, Charles Barbier, GCP member invited the audience to sing along with the choristers which the XU community gleefully did.
Gonzales said that “simplicity, joy and sense of welcoming” make Filipinos different from their other audiences around the world.
Gift of music
“Looking at the notes given to us, they sang really well despite how difficult [the language] is,” said Crisanti Salde, one of the many spectators during their performance.
XU president Fr Roberto C Yap SJ expressed his gratitude to GCP in his speech: “Thank you for your gift of music. Thank you for teaching us what the Gregorian chant is all about. And thank you for singing for God.”
Gonzales, in his message to the Filipinos: “Never forget [the] treasures of your face. Face is the root of your life. We can only be joyous or happy when we know God. God is not a concept. God is someone we can meet; we can fall in love with. We are going to be filled up by the fire of God.”
As we celebrate February as the National Arts Month (NAM), the ensemble’s lecture-performance formed part of the Panaghugpong 7: Xavier Arts Festival organized by the Xavier Center for Culture and the Arts (XCCA).
The Gregorian Choir of Paris also had a performance at Centrio-Ayala Mall and Nazareno Church, supported by the Alliance Française de Manille, the French Embassy, Etihad Airways, Cebu Pacific, Seda Hotel, InterContinental Manila and The Philippine Star.