Yesterday, the town of Molo in Iloilo celebrated its yearly town fiesta partly in honor of my great grandfather, zarzuela composer, novelist, and journalist Angel Merle Magahum. A 33-member choir, accompanied by an orchestra and organ, sang his Latin mass composition, Misa de 2 o 3 para Canto y Organo, a piece my great grandfather orchestrated for the high mass.

Lolo Angel was a champion of the Hiligaynon dialect, a Filipino language spoken by hundreds of thousands of Filipinos. In 1897, he wrote Benjamin, the first Hiligaynon novel; he was also the editor of the Makinaugalingon newspaper, the longest-running Visayan language newspaper in the Philippines.he also wrote a novel, Isa ka Bihag (The Captive); Euponiya sang Pulong Nga Binisaya (An Euphony of the Visayan Hiligaynon); and Palanganinawan (Reflection). Today, a street at the junction of Locsin-M.H. Del Pilar is named after Angel Magahum.

The Misa de 2 o 3 para Canto y Organo was the only one orchestrated during the fiesta of 13 masses he had actually written. It was first showcased during the Molo town fiesta in 1895, played by Lolo Angel himself. Thanks to the efforts of musicologist Ariel Bordon, the Misa de 2 o 3 para Canto y Organo was heard for the first time after 113 years. (According to my grandmother, it was no easy feat; Mr. Bordon has to reconstruct the libretto from Lolo Angel’s surviving pre-war manuscripts, which were given to him by my great aunt Naysol (Sol Magahum-Dideles), who saved them from the invading Japanese army’s bullets and bombs.

It was absolutely beautiful, based on what my mother said via text message. I’m glad to be his great grandson, and absolutely proud of my heritage. Mabuhay ka, Lolo Angel!

(Acknowledgement to this piece which provides the information for this blog entry.)

Here are other resources on Angel Magahum:

Ethnicity and Nationhood in the Fiction of Angel Magahum by Rosario Cruz Lucero
Ang Sampaguita (A Hiligaynon poem by Angel Magahum), Our Own Voice

A “Twilight” theme for Plurk is now blessing my Plurk page. I developed it with my “Twilight” wife Cathy - I guess this layout makes us “Twihards” now, doesn’t it? - and now it’s up and rather pretty, if I do say so myself. I also recently joined the Flickr Plurk Themes group and uploaded my Plurk “Twilight” theme onto it.

If you’re looking for a Plurk “Twilight” theme, click here to install it into your Plurk page. If you’d like to see it, click on the image above to go to the Flickr page for the image.

(Listen to We Sing Jesus Christ by  Adam Paul Williams. You may also read the  Adam Paul Williams We Sing Jesus Christ lyrics on this post. GannsDeen.com does not offer  Adam Paul Williams mp3’s for free download or paid downloads. If you like what you hear, please leave a comment in the Comments box. Come back to GannsDeen.com for the latest and best in Christian, country, and pop music.)

I learned about Adam Paul Williams when I saw his new single, We Sing Jesus Christ, listed as one of last week’s gainers on RadioandRecords.com’s Inspo chart. After I visited his MySpace page, I was struck by the pureness and range of his voice. What I found even more impressive is that Adam Paul Williams dared take on my favorite worship song of all time, Unrestrained, and, for the most part, holds his own against the versions of vocal powerhouses Calvin Nowell, Myron Butler, and Mandisa. (I’m sorry, but the countrified version of Tony Sutherland, co-writer of Unrestrained, doesn’t do it for me.)

Williams has a Hymns album, but it’s not clear to me right now whether or not We Sing Jesus Christ is on that album. Nevertheless, it’s a straight-to-the-point worship song in the vein of Don Moen, with shades of Sandy Patti and Twila Paris. We Sing Jesus Christ has the makes of a classic song tailor-made for Inspo, and is perfect for that market.

Listen to  Adam Paul Williams We Sing Jesus Christ mp3
Lyrics to We Sing Jesus Christ by Adam Paul Williams after the jump. Read more

GannsDeen.com is now on Plurk. Come and join the fun!

Estelle Getty is dead. Goodbye, Sophia. You will always be my favorite Golden Girl.

(Listen to The Right Thing by Mandisa off the original sountrack album of Big Idea’s The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything. You may also read the Mandisa The Right Thing lyrics on this post. GannsDeen.com does not offer Mandisa mp3’s for free download or paid downloads. If you like what you hear, please leave a comment in the Comments box. Come back to GannsDeen.com for the latest and best in Christian, country, and pop music.)

I am a huge Mandisa fan, and when I heard that Mandisa was going to sing a Matthew West-penned song for the VeggieTales movie The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything, I basically flipped out. I love Mandisa, I love Matthew West, and I love VeggieTales, so this is my dream come true! (Kulang na lang, Avalon singing backup!) Months later, I finally grab hold of a copy of The Right Thing, and it is everything I dreamed it would be. It’s got a message of positivity and faith that Jesus Christ can provide the strength we need to do the right thing. The Right Thing has got a killer sing-along chorus and an awesome vocal delivery. Mandisa delivered the goods yet again, and my homeboy Mathwesta (long story here) has penned yet another home run! Two thumbs and ten toes dancing!

Listen to Mandisa The Right Thing mp3
Lyrics to The Right Thing by Mandisa after the jump. Read more

I have been using Wordpress as a blogging tool for quite some time, so when I heard that the Mindanao bloggers were organizing WordCamp Philippines 2008, I was quite excited. However, I told myself I probably couldn’t go because I’m way too busy. But when Sarah said she was going, I told myself, hey, if Sarah can go, I should be able to, also. After all, what we learn can benefit the church!

So, I’m going!

Here are the details:
What: WordCamp Philippines 2008
When: Sept 6 2008
Where: College of St. Benilde Taft Ave., Manila
Registration fee: FREE

Thanks to the following for helping make WordCamp Philippines 2008 a reality:

• i.PH: the Domain for Individuals
• Free Online Flash Games
• Wazzup Manila Philippines
• Real Estate CRM
• Real Estate Website Designers
• Orange County Real Estate
• Auto Insurance Quotes
• Lane Systems Inc.
• RedMedia

See you there! Fil-Christian EB!