source: Sunday Post
To celebrate the restoration of its 184-year-old pipe organ,
Baclayon Church is hosting a night of classical music on December 6, to be led by celebrated Spanish conductor and composer Cristóbal Halffter, principal guest conductor of the National Orchestra in Madrid and recipient of the Gold Medal for Fine Arts from King Juan Carlos of Spain.
Organized with the support of the Zobel de Ayala family, Ayala Corporation, and Ayala Foundation Inc. (AFI), the concert will feature Halffter, together with acclaimed Spanish pianist Maria Manuela Caro. The concert will feature performances of classical pieces from Europe and the Philippines, and will signal the return of Baclayon’s pipe organ, which fell into disrepair and has not been used for over 60 years.
Among the pieces that will be performed during the concert are George Frideric Handel’s Largo, Antonio de Cabezón’s Tiento del Primer Tono, and Manuel Velez’s Sa Kabukiran.
The Baclayon pipe organ was modified once in 1902, but many of the changes were of poor quality and often unnecessary. Before its restoration earlier this year, the pipe organ had been left covered with thick layers of dust, with several parts missing or damaged. With the support of Patricia Zobel de Ayala, the organ was carefully taken apart and flown to Manila for extensive repair.
The restoration of the pipe organ is just one of the projects that the Zobel de Ayalas and AFI are undertaking in Bohol. Beatriz Susana Zobel de Ayala Jr., for instance, is advocating sustainable community development and the preservation of natural and cultural sites through a business model for social development. Most of these projects are concentrated in the municipalities of Baclayon and Dauis, which are well known not only for their diverse flora and fauna but also for their rich history and tradition.
Developing Dauis and Baclayon through their historical, cultural, and natural sites provided the framework for Bea Zobel Jr.’s projects, which focus on improving and restoring neglected historical sites, creating new infrastructures to generate income for Boholanos, and conducting training and seminars to introduce new skills and update the business proficiency of Bohol’s micro-entrepreneurs.
Meanwhile, on December 5, a day before their performance at Baclayon Church, Halffter will conduct the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra in a benefit concert at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Entitled “Bravo España.†The concert is organized in cooperation with the Spanish Embassy, and will also feature Caro, Filipino pianist Rudolf Golez and the Philippine Madrigal Singers. Among the pieces that will be performed at the concert are several pieces by Spanish composers, including Halffter himself.
Bravo indeed! His Majesty King Juan Carlos is broad minded to re-establishing good relations in this quaint town.