Guitar Concert Critique
From Left to Right: Danica Rae Espiritu, Jerico S. Dela Cruz, Darla Denielle R. Felizardo, April Jane B. Luna, Judith D. Domingo, Angelo Gabriel I. Manila Last February 14, a guitar concert took place at the University of the Philippines Los Banos. The concert held in NCAS auditorium was entitled 12 strings with Nobel Queano and Franco Maigne as the artists. I. General Reaction a. Physical Setup Upon entering the auditorium, you will already feel the classy ambiance of the whole venue which matches perfectly with the music being played in the venue. Some members of the group have also some insights about the venue.
According to Darla, the setup was stunning. She was impressed with the design of curtains and the lights. She also said that the dominance of the color red in the setup added to the Valentines ambiance, giving the audience that romantic and lovely feeling along with the sweet harmony and melody of the two guitars. For Jerico, he was also grateful with the lights in the event but for him, he suggested that it will be better if the lights will be in sync with the rhythm of the music. For April, she felt that the venue was very sophisticated and made her feel at home. The lights also made the venue extra-special.
Angelo felt that the stage was too rigid for some movements. The whole group agreed that the sound system was very good because there were no faulty errors on the whole duration of the concert. b. Personal Reaction Overall, it was really a great show. Although some students find it boring, majority in our group find the concert to be enjoyable and interesting. For Darla, she said that she definitely did not waste her 100 pesos for the ticket because the setup was beautiful, the artists were great, and the music being played was so relaxing. She also said that it was a good stress-reliever after a long day in class.
For Angelo, he thought that the concert would be continuous with no breaks and that the artists would not be able to have some talking to the audience, but they did. He also said that the set of classical songs are so good that he almost felt the feeling of the one that composed the pieces. He also added that the addition of modern songs in the set list is great because it matches the audience’s genre. Danica was so amazed with how the artists play and handle the guitar but she felt that it was little boring to listen because she didn’t know most of the songs that were played. c. Repertoire
In terms of the artists’ set list, our group also agrees that they have a good set of songs. Although most of the songs played were not familiar, they really made an effort to make their pieces to be appreciated. According to Danica, you can really feel the love of the two artists to Spanish Music through their setlist. She also said that it was a good line up actually, because it was a combination of slow and upbeat music. She said that it was clearly a good picture for students like us what classical music really mean. For Jerico, he liked the set list because the artists included an opm which really made him appreciate the concert more.
For Darla, although she didn’t know most of the songs that they played, she liked how the artists arranged their pieces and she felt like she was going through a timeline of music. II. One Favorite Composition Majority of the members in our group liked the “Super Mario Medley” which was composed by Koji Kondo for the game “Mario”. They liked it because of the arrangement done by the artists and even the little effects were given emphasize such as the melody when Mario shoots, when he grows, and when he shrink back to his original size. They felt that it was amusing and heartwarming and they left the audience craving for more.
They also noticed that the elements of music such as melody, harmony, and rhythm changes accordingly to the parts of the medley they played. Also, even though they made their own arrangement for it, the people still recognized that it was the Super Mario theme. Overall, it was executed in a perfect way. Jerico on the other hand has a different favorite composition. His favorite composition was “Sana Maulit Muli” which was composed, arranged and sang by Mr. Gary Valenciano. He liked the sound of the song because of its varying dynamics.
The harmony and the melody of the song makes it more appealing to the mass. Angelo also has another favorite; his favorite was “Love Story” which was sang by Taylor Swift. . He liked it because it is polyphony and it emphasizes fast tempo and repetitive melodic patterns. III. Performance a. Artists’ Skill in Playing the Instrument There is no doubt that the artists were really good. They play the instruments really really well. They handled the guitar almost perfectly that it seems that it was very easy and light to play. The displayed their talents in a very awesome way that they left the audience in awe.
They were so good in playing the guitars since the classical songs that they played were made for piano and orchestra, yet they managed to play those pieces perfectly. We were also amazed when they told us that the other one plays with his left hand while the other one plays with his right hand. Amazing indeed! Seeing them play makes us want to learn how to play the guitar as brilliant as them. b. Stage Presence and Audience Rapport In terms of stage presence, our group agreed that the artists have great stage presence. The crowd went crazy when they play familiar songs and the crowd often sings with the music and clap at each piece.
The introduction of the song before they play it creates a connection between the audience and the artists making the audience really tuned into their performance. It is also good that they played two popular songs towards the end. They made sure that the audience can relate and sing along to the pieces that they performed. All in all, the concert was a great performance indeed. Love Story, which was the last song for that night was really perfect for Valentine’s Day. Overall, it was really and inspiring show. By watching the concert we learned to appreciate guitar and classical music even more.
