Their specials guests, the Viva Voce Singers and Ms. Gerphil Flores provided powerful voices to accompany such an enduring and beloved music pieces for this season.
The first part of the concert were selections from the "Messiah" - an Oratorio composed by George Friedrich Handel in 1741. The audiences were given a chance and an opportunity to listen to an oratorio as beautiful and as famous as this one. Oratorios in this part of the world are not as famous as when you to Europe and the other western countries. With this kind of selection, the Filipino audience was given a taste of music that is considered the music of kings. To conclude the first part, the choir together with the orchestra performed the Hallelujah Chorus - the most important and the most famous piece of music in the oratorio.
The moment the first three notes of the Hallelujah Chorus was played, the majority of the audiences stood up to follow an old tradition which dates back during the oratorio's premier in London where King George II stood during the singing of the chorus. Royal protocol would dictate that when a monarch stands, everyone should follow, hence the birth of a tradition. Some alludes this to the fact that King George acknowledged that their is someone higher than him, the "King of Kings" whose kingdom is far beyond and greater than what he has.
The Second part opened with MSO performing familiar Christmas Carols followed by their guests Gerphil Flores and the Viva Voce Singers singing foreign and local holiday tunes.
It was truly a very warm and Christmassy night which filled the theater with the joy and spirit of the holidays. It was a very simple event but the memory would as the music lingers in every ear of the listeners. Indeed the finest gift is the gift of song, of music which praises and glorifies the birth of the savior.
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