Poverty Requiem Performed on October 17, Noel Cabangon and GCAP Organizes Philippine Performance
The Quezon Memorial Circle was filled with chant, music and a song which echoes the aspiration against poverty of people around the world. The Philippines together with other countries celebrating the World Poverty and Eradication Day performed the Requiem under the conduct of Malou Matute in a mood which touches the soul and the emotions. It features about a hundred individuals including children, youth and adults. The Requiem was organized for the Philippine performance in Quezon Memorial Circle by GCAP-Philippine and singer, Noel Cabangon.The Poverty Requiem is a vocal piece, composed in the language of world music. The work is made up of five movements elaborating on the different ways in which poverty impacts on people. The suffering, the anger, the mourning, the humour and the hope.
GCAP-Philippines succeeded in ehancing the performance with the integration of local sounds and instruments like the bamboo strings and the kumintang among others. Local ethnic sounds are also introduced to the piece, as well as some ethnic sounds which makes it really appealing to the Filipino people.
The requiem is indeed made this way according to the Stand Up and official Poverty Requiem Website. It provides for democracy in creating the sound and music as long as the basic and original contexts are there. It aims to capture the local poverty setting in the place where it would be performed.
"The global song against poverty is taken from the Poverty Requiem which I wrote together with composer Peter Maissan. Dance was designed for it by le Grand Cru. We expect it to be performed in twenty countries. In the Netherlands it will be performed outside parliament, and in Maastricht and Heereveen, there with a choir of more than 700 people! Last Friday we just heard that the global song will be done in sixteen places in India!" says Sylvia Borren one of the three co-chairs of GCAP, together with Kumi Naidoo and Ana Agostino.The Poverty Requiem is very moving, and connects the audience at an emotional level to the daily realities of poverty. And even more important: anyone can sing it, and anyone who does can’t get the music and the lyrics out of their head.
Composer and conductor Peter Maissan wrote the music for the Poverty Requiem. Oxfam Novib’s general director Sylvia Borren wrote the lyrics.The Poverty Requiem is meant for a choir of an unlimited numbers of singers, two soloists, several percussionists and dancers. This choir exists out of:
- a children’s choir
- a scratch choir
- an experienced choir
- a male choir
Poverty Requiem performed for the first time at the CIVICUS World Forum in Glasgow's SECC
To know more about the POVERTY REQUIEM CLICK HERE.. you can also download the song.
