Frozen and Silent No Longer—the Holy Society of King David at “One World, One Love”

Stephanie Grace Matela

They are silent moments frozen in time, tangible and multi-faceted like photographs will never be, and those made of porcelain especially draw you in, telling your eye stories of soft skin and silk but your touch revealing them to be hard and cold.

For years Lladró has been making these intricate porcelain figurines, and for the 30^th anniversary of the Imperial House of Furniture, another one of these sculptures was commissioned. Fashioned by the skilled hands of Spanish sculptor Ernest Massuet, the “Cupid of Love” was unveiled at the cultural-variety show “One World, One Love” last week, the 5^th of November, 2011.

To lend voices and movement to these silent sculptures, a program was held and performers invited. What made this event special was the participation of our very own Cathedral of the King Holy Society of King David in the program, as requested by the host of the event, Ms. Rebecca Chuansu.

The King David part of the program opened with a stirring rendition of “Seize the Day”, a song written by Abp Loren Hines, Fr Nelson Tantoco, Fr Dino Jorvina, and Dcn Solomon Espina. Fr Dino himself accompanied on piano, and as the choir sang, the Banner ministry in striking red, woke up the audience with their interpretation of the song in movement.

What followed was an offering of “Rejoice” from Handel’s Messiah, to be put into dance by our Dance Ministry with the concept of the ten virgins in the parable. Unfortunately, technical difficulties occurred, and our lovely ladies had to stop their number and give way to the next one. Needless to say their poise was admirable, their pose flawless, and their ballerina smiles beautifully composed—all already a job well done, if this writer may say so.

To liven up the stage once again, our Drama ministry moved to the music of “O Clap Your Hands”, from John Rutter’s Gloria. Their movements were measured but expressive, and it effectively drew the attention of the audience to them.

A dazzling six minutes of wild but graceful movement followed as the Dance Ministry presented their second number, “O Sifuni Mungu” by First Call. It was a long but impressive six minutes, and the audience was captivated, their eyes open at every second. Even the sculptor, Massuet, could not help but glance over a few times as he demonstrated his piece in his corner a few feet by the stage.

Finally, to close the King David program, the choir ministered to the audience with the powerful “All Life is Sacred”, written cooperatively by husband and wife team, Lalaine Chriselle Espina and Dcn Solomon Espina. Once again, Fr Dino Jorvina provided the piano accompaniment.

Outside of the King David program, a special number had been requested by Ms. Rebecca herself, and Via Tantoco of our Dance Ministry obliged with an interpretation of Javier Colon’s Angel, holding the audience spellbound as she glided on stage.

The event lasted from 3:00 pm ‘til around 7:00 in the evening. Ernest Massuet finished his Cherub of Love on the spot, a frozen and silent reminder of the purity of love, as expressed in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church, carrying with it the music and movement of the many people who performed on stage that afternoon, and hopefully King David’s message of Life.