The University of the Philippines Madrigal Singers
Encyclopedia
The University of the Philippines Madrigal
Singers (UPMS), also known as the Philippine Madrigal Singers or simply Madz, is one of the major cultural groups based in the University of the Philippines, Diliman
. Its current conductor and musical director is Mark Anthony Carpio
. They are the first choir in the world to win the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing
twice (in 1997 and in 2007).
. The Madz is mostly composed of students, faculty and alumni from the University of the Philippines. The group's trademark performance stance, singing in a semicircle without a conductor, is instantly recognizable. A standard Madz performance clearly exhibits the seamless fusion of their musical virtuosity, technical proficiency and soulful singing. Their highly eclectic repertoire spans the breadth and length of vocal music: from Renaissance madrigals to the avant-garde, from Filipino and international folksongs to the latest pop hits, even from the most cerebral choral masterpieces to the most humorous of novelty numbers. This world-class choir can honestly sing anything with authenticity and professionalism while keeping their audience thoroughly entertained.
The group performs a variety of styles and forms but it specializes in the Madrigal, a polyphonic and challenging musical style popular during the Renaissance period where singers and guests would gather around the table during a banquet to sight-sing and make music together. This served as the inspiration for their unique style of singing - singing seated in a semicircle without a conductor. As Philippine ambassador of culture and goodwill, the Madz has had the pleasure and privilege of giving command performances for royalty and heads of state. These include Pope Paul VI
, Pope John Paul II
, Presidents Gerald Ford
and Richard Nixon
, Queen Sofia of Spain
, King Juan Carlos I of Spain and Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew
.
This choral institution has produced more than 200 choral and vocal pedagogues from its ranks, actively and constantly shaping the local and international choral landscape. Madz alumni are much sought-after as singers, conductors, arrangers and music educators. Its corps of composers and musical arrangers continue to produce new compositions and choral settings of Philippine music, thus contributing to the global growth of choral literature.
As resident artists of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, outreach concerts have taken the Madz to far-flung areas seldom reached by most performing artists. Averaging two international concert tours per year, the Madz relentlessly engages in the promotion of Philippine music and the Filipino Artist globally.
Presently under the masterful leadership of Madz alumnus Mark Anthony A. Carpio, the Philippine Madrigal Singers continues to set new standards of excellence at a global level. Since their humble beginnings as a university-based chamber ensemble throughout their legendary rise as international choral champions, this 47-year old cultural icon known as the Philippine Madrigal Singers has irreversibly cemented its stature as one of world's best choirs of all time. On 17 April 2011, the Singers were honored to be featured with the historic and Grammy winning Mormon Tabernacle Choir
on their weekly broadcast - Music and the Spoken Word
.
Most chorale groups perform standing. A trademark of this choral group is performing while in sitting position.
in 1969. This concert welcomed them to the international choral community, eventually paving their way to joining the most distinguished international choral competitions - Spittal
, Austria; Arezzo and Gorizia, Italy; Neuchâtel, Switzerland; Debrecen, Hungary; Varna, Bulgaria; Tolosa, Spain; and Marktoberdorf
in Germany, and winning all the top prizes.
In June 1997, the Philippine Madrigal Singers came home from their ninth world concert tour, winning the grand prize in the Grand Prix European de Chant Choral Competition
in Tours, France, besting five other grand prize winners of the most prestigious choral competition in Europe: Guido d'Arezzo, Italy; Debrecen
, Hungary
; Varna
, Bulgaria; Gorizia
, Italy; and Tolosa, Spain
. The Madz displayed a virtuoso performance so moving one juror had to describe the group's music as the "most beautiful sound on earth".
In July 2006, the Madz won the grand prize (Grand Prix de la Ville de Tours
) at the Florilege de Tours choral competition in France, making them eligible for the 2007 European Choral Grand Prix (to be held in Arezzo
, Italy). In the same competition, the Madz were also awarded the first prize for Category III (mixed vocal ensemble), first prize for Category IV (free program) and the Prix University François Rabelais for best interpretation of a Renaissance
number.
On August 26, 2007, the Philippine Madrigal Singers won, for the second time, the grand prize in the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing
in Arezzo
, Italy. This victory makes them the first of the only two choirs in the world to win the grand prize twice. (The other is A.P.Z. Tone Tomšič, which won its second European Grand Prix the succeeding year.) The European Grand Prix is widely understood to be the Olympics of the choral circuit.
On July 27, 2009, UNESCO
honored the Madz and designated the group as UNESCO Artist for Peace
. This title is given to celebrity
advocates charged with the mission of embodying and raising awareness in the UNESCO
ideals, which include peace, security, fundamental human rights and freedom.
On September 19, 2010, the Philippine Madrigal Singers was conferred the prestigious Guidoneum Award 2010 by the Fondazione Guido d’Arezzo in Italy. Foundation President Francesco Lusi, said during the awarding that the foundation "followed attentively and with great pleasure the fruitful activities of the Madrigal Singers and are grateful for all that the Philippine Madrigal Singers have done for the choral world”. He further stressed that "the foundation honored the Madrigal Singers “for the artistic and choral promotion activity that they carried out after they won the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing in 2007.”
Madrigal (music)
A madrigal is a secular vocal music composition, usually a partsong, of the Renaissance and early Baroque eras. Traditionally, polyphonic madrigals are unaccompanied; the number of voices varies from two to eight, and most frequently from three to six....
Singers (UPMS), also known as the Philippine Madrigal Singers or simply Madz, is one of the major cultural groups based in the University of the Philippines, Diliman
University of the Philippines, Diliman
The University of the Philippines Diliman , is a coeducational and public research university located in Quezon City, Philippines. It is the flagship university, seat of administration, and the fourth oldest constituent university of the University of the Philippines System...
. Its current conductor and musical director is Mark Anthony Carpio
Mark Anthony Carpio
Mark Anthony Carpio is a choral conductor who is the present choirmaster of the Philippine Madrigal Singers, Kilyawan Boys Choir and Pansol Choir...
. They are the first choir in the world to win the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing
European Grand Prix for Choral Singing
The European Grand Prix for Choral Singing is an annual choral competition between the winners of six European choral competitions...
twice (in 1997 and in 2007).
History
The Philippine Madrigal Singers (affectionately known as the "Madz") was founded in 1963 by National Artist for Music, Professor Andrea O. VeneracionAndrea Veneracion
Andrea Ofilada Veneracion , is a Filipino choral conductor and a recipient of the 1999 National Artist for Music award. She founded the Philippine Madrigal Singers in 1963...
. The Madz is mostly composed of students, faculty and alumni from the University of the Philippines. The group's trademark performance stance, singing in a semicircle without a conductor, is instantly recognizable. A standard Madz performance clearly exhibits the seamless fusion of their musical virtuosity, technical proficiency and soulful singing. Their highly eclectic repertoire spans the breadth and length of vocal music: from Renaissance madrigals to the avant-garde, from Filipino and international folksongs to the latest pop hits, even from the most cerebral choral masterpieces to the most humorous of novelty numbers. This world-class choir can honestly sing anything with authenticity and professionalism while keeping their audience thoroughly entertained.
The group performs a variety of styles and forms but it specializes in the Madrigal, a polyphonic and challenging musical style popular during the Renaissance period where singers and guests would gather around the table during a banquet to sight-sing and make music together. This served as the inspiration for their unique style of singing - singing seated in a semicircle without a conductor. As Philippine ambassador of culture and goodwill, the Madz has had the pleasure and privilege of giving command performances for royalty and heads of state. These include Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI
Paul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...
, Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
, Presidents Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
and Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
, Queen Sofia of Spain
Queen Sofía of Spain
Queen Sofía of Spain is the wife of King Juan Carlos I of Spain.-Early life and family:Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark was born in Psychiko, Athens, Greece on 2 November 1938, the eldest child of the King Paul of Greece and his wife, Queen Frederika , a former princess of Hanover...
, King Juan Carlos I of Spain and Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew, GCMG, CH is a Singaporean statesman. He was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, governing for three decades...
.
This choral institution has produced more than 200 choral and vocal pedagogues from its ranks, actively and constantly shaping the local and international choral landscape. Madz alumni are much sought-after as singers, conductors, arrangers and music educators. Its corps of composers and musical arrangers continue to produce new compositions and choral settings of Philippine music, thus contributing to the global growth of choral literature.
As resident artists of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, outreach concerts have taken the Madz to far-flung areas seldom reached by most performing artists. Averaging two international concert tours per year, the Madz relentlessly engages in the promotion of Philippine music and the Filipino Artist globally.
Presently under the masterful leadership of Madz alumnus Mark Anthony A. Carpio, the Philippine Madrigal Singers continues to set new standards of excellence at a global level. Since their humble beginnings as a university-based chamber ensemble throughout their legendary rise as international choral champions, this 47-year old cultural icon known as the Philippine Madrigal Singers has irreversibly cemented its stature as one of world's best choirs of all time. On 17 April 2011, the Singers were honored to be featured with the historic and Grammy winning Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Mormon Tabernacle Choir
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, sometimes colloquially referred to as MoTab, is a Grammy and Emmy Award winning, 360-member, all-volunteer choir. The choir is part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . However, the choir is completely self-funded, traveling and producing albums to...
on their weekly broadcast - Music and the Spoken Word
Music and the Spoken Word
Music and the Spoken Word is a weekly 30-minute radio and television program of inspiring messages and music produced by Bonneville Communications with music performed by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir .The radio program is distributed by the CBS Radio Network and its broadcast center is KSL...
.
Most chorale groups perform standing. A trademark of this choral group is performing while in sitting position.
Awards
The Madrigal Singers first earned critical acclaim during their performance in the First Choruses of the World Festival at the Lincoln Center in New YorkNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1969. This concert welcomed them to the international choral community, eventually paving their way to joining the most distinguished international choral competitions - Spittal
Spittal an der Drau
Spittal an der Drau is located in the western part of the Austrian federal state of Carinthia and the administrative centre of the federal state's second largest district, Spittal an der Drau. It lies between the Lurnfeld area and the Lower Drava Valley. The city consists of the seven...
, Austria; Arezzo and Gorizia, Italy; Neuchâtel, Switzerland; Debrecen, Hungary; Varna, Bulgaria; Tolosa, Spain; and Marktoberdorf
Marktoberdorf
Marktoberdorf is the capital of the Bavarian district of Ostallgäu in the Regierungsbezirk of Swabia.Marktoberdorf is near Kempten, Füssen, known for the castle Neuschwanstein, Bad Wörishofen, and Schongau. The nearest larger city is Kaufbeuren, eleven kilometers away.Marktoberdorf plays host to a...
in Germany, and winning all the top prizes.
In June 1997, the Philippine Madrigal Singers came home from their ninth world concert tour, winning the grand prize in the Grand Prix European de Chant Choral Competition
European Grand Prix for Choral Singing
The European Grand Prix for Choral Singing is an annual choral competition between the winners of six European choral competitions...
in Tours, France, besting five other grand prize winners of the most prestigious choral competition in Europe: Guido d'Arezzo, Italy; Debrecen
Debrecen
Debrecen , is the second largest city in Hungary after Budapest. Debrecen is the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar county.- Name :...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
; Varna
Varna
Varna is the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and third-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv, with a population of 334,870 inhabitants according to Census 2011...
, Bulgaria; Gorizia
Gorizia
Gorizia is a town and comune in northeastern Italy, in the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. It is located at the foot of the Julian Alps, bordering Slovenia. It is the capital of the Province of Gorizia, and it is a local center of tourism, industry, and commerce. Since 1947, a twin...
, Italy; and Tolosa, Spain
Tolosa, Spain
Tolosa is a town and municipality to the south of Donostia-San Sebastián in the Basque province of Gipuzkoa, Spain. It is located in a valley of the river Oria and overlooked by Uzturre, a white cross-topped mountain.-Famous people from Tolosa:...
. The Madz displayed a virtuoso performance so moving one juror had to describe the group's music as the "most beautiful sound on earth".
In July 2006, the Madz won the grand prize (Grand Prix de la Ville de Tours
Tours
Tours is a city in central France, the capital of the Indre-et-Loire department.It is located on the lower reaches of the river Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. Touraine, the region around Tours, is known for its wines, the alleged perfection of its local spoken French, and for the...
) at the Florilege de Tours choral competition in France, making them eligible for the 2007 European Choral Grand Prix (to be held in Arezzo
Arezzo
Arezzo is a city and comune in Central Italy, capital of the province of the same name, located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about 80 km southeast of Florence, at an elevation of 296 m above sea level. In 2011 the population was about 100,000....
, Italy). In the same competition, the Madz were also awarded the first prize for Category III (mixed vocal ensemble), first prize for Category IV (free program) and the Prix University François Rabelais for best interpretation of a Renaissance
Renaissance music
Renaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance. Defining the beginning of the musical era is difficult, given that its defining characteristics were adopted only gradually; musicologists have placed its beginnings from as early as 1300 to as late as the 1470s.Literally meaning...
number.
On August 26, 2007, the Philippine Madrigal Singers won, for the second time, the grand prize in the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing
European Grand Prix for Choral Singing
The European Grand Prix for Choral Singing is an annual choral competition between the winners of six European choral competitions...
in Arezzo
Arezzo
Arezzo is a city and comune in Central Italy, capital of the province of the same name, located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about 80 km southeast of Florence, at an elevation of 296 m above sea level. In 2011 the population was about 100,000....
, Italy. This victory makes them the first of the only two choirs in the world to win the grand prize twice. (The other is A.P.Z. Tone Tomšič, which won its second European Grand Prix the succeeding year.) The European Grand Prix is widely understood to be the Olympics of the choral circuit.
On July 27, 2009, UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
honored the Madz and designated the group as UNESCO Artist for Peace
UNESCO Artist for Peace
UNESCO Artists for Peace are international celebrity advocates for the United Nations agency UNESCO. This category of advocate is intended to heighten public awareness in addition to the categories UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, UNESCO Special Envoy and UNESCO Champion for Sport...
. This title is given to celebrity
Celebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
advocates charged with the mission of embodying and raising awareness in the UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
ideals, which include peace, security, fundamental human rights and freedom.
On September 19, 2010, the Philippine Madrigal Singers was conferred the prestigious Guidoneum Award 2010 by the Fondazione Guido d’Arezzo in Italy. Foundation President Francesco Lusi, said during the awarding that the foundation "followed attentively and with great pleasure the fruitful activities of the Madrigal Singers and are grateful for all that the Philippine Madrigal Singers have done for the choral world”. He further stressed that "the foundation honored the Madrigal Singers “for the artistic and choral promotion activity that they carried out after they won the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing in 2007.”
Discography
- Joy: A Choral Celebration of Christmas (1997)
- Bayan Ko, Aawitan Kita (1998)
- Madz in Love (1999)
- Madz Around the World (2000)
- Acclamation (2006)
- Love, Joy and Inspiration (2006) - a special edition compilation containing the CDs Joy, Madz in Love and Acclamation
- Maior Caritas Op. 5 (2008)
- Madz in Love Continues... (2009)
Choirmasters
- Founding Choirmaster - Andrea VeneracionAndrea VeneracionAndrea Ofilada Veneracion , is a Filipino choral conductor and a recipient of the 1999 National Artist for Music award. She founded the Philippine Madrigal Singers in 1963...
(1963–2001, retired) - Current Choirmaster - Mark Anthony CarpioMark Anthony CarpioMark Anthony Carpio is a choral conductor who is the present choirmaster of the Philippine Madrigal Singers, Kilyawan Boys Choir and Pansol Choir...
(2001–present)