Last Saturday we were at the Hagosojos-Monera nuptials. Unfortunately no one brought a camera :and I have to borrow these pictures from other sites to let you see how the church looks like.
Inside the Church
The glorious facade
Inside the Church
The glorious facade
We arrived two hours early. The Church compound is quite similar to St. Joseph's in Las Pinas (Bamboo Organ). It even has an historical marker which says that it was formerly called the church of San Juan del Monte. The Domnican priests of the Most Holy Rosary built this magnificent place of worship from 1602 to 1604. The original church was set on fire during the Chinese uprising of 1639. It was rebuilt in 1641 only to be burned by the British Forces in July of 1763. The present church that you see today was rebuilt in 1774 and it says that it became the refuge of the Katipuneros during the Philippine Revolution.
To set the mood I'm listening to Palestrina's Missa L'homme arme as I'm writing this. It's a typical piece that I would love to sing inside this august Church. Ate Glo had a difficult time picking songs for the ceremony because the church strictly forbade secular music (love songs for that matter) from the entrance of the entourage up to the recessional. It's a good thing that all of us in the group started out as choir members in our parish or else we would be in the same predicament as our good client. I think this was the only church among the many churches we sang as a group that has this policy. I really have no problem with it at all because I believe that the church is a sacred place and it is an edifice that is consecrated to God. I still remember when I was in my early days with the Children and Youth Choir I was reprimanded for singing a Rivermaya song with my guitar inside the church. There was no Mass during that time but the point is that song didn't belong there.
A Catholic wedding in particular is not a social event or private function. Christ raised marriage to the dignity of a sacrament and the wedding ceremony is part of the Sacred Liturgy of the Church. I'm not sure if the CBCP or the Archdiocese of Manila has its own guidelines for music used at weddings but I have a bad feeling that a lot of abuses have already taken place (us included). I shall dedicate my next post towards discussing proper music for weddings.
Now where was I? Oh, by the way before the start of the ceremony the Parish secretary thoughtfully asked us how many microphones do we need? Shiela answered four. However when we went to the designated place for the choir we found only one microphone. I guess they were expecting us to sing acapella? Hehehe. We were left with no other choice but to cram our faces - guitar included - in front of the mic. Despite the awkward setup we still managed to deliver everything beautifully.
Satellite View of Valle Verde 5 Clubhouse
To set the mood I'm listening to Palestrina's Missa L'homme arme as I'm writing this. It's a typical piece that I would love to sing inside this august Church. Ate Glo had a difficult time picking songs for the ceremony because the church strictly forbade secular music (love songs for that matter) from the entrance of the entourage up to the recessional. It's a good thing that all of us in the group started out as choir members in our parish or else we would be in the same predicament as our good client. I think this was the only church among the many churches we sang as a group that has this policy. I really have no problem with it at all because I believe that the church is a sacred place and it is an edifice that is consecrated to God. I still remember when I was in my early days with the Children and Youth Choir I was reprimanded for singing a Rivermaya song with my guitar inside the church. There was no Mass during that time but the point is that song didn't belong there.
A Catholic wedding in particular is not a social event or private function. Christ raised marriage to the dignity of a sacrament and the wedding ceremony is part of the Sacred Liturgy of the Church. I'm not sure if the CBCP or the Archdiocese of Manila has its own guidelines for music used at weddings but I have a bad feeling that a lot of abuses have already taken place (us included). I shall dedicate my next post towards discussing proper music for weddings.
Now where was I? Oh, by the way before the start of the ceremony the Parish secretary thoughtfully asked us how many microphones do we need? Shiela answered four. However when we went to the designated place for the choir we found only one microphone. I guess they were expecting us to sing acapella? Hehehe. We were left with no other choice but to cram our faces - guitar included - in front of the mic. Despite the awkward setup we still managed to deliver everything beautifully.
Satellite View of Valle Verde 5 Clubhouse
The reception took place at the Valle Verde Clubhouse in Pasig. and everybody had a ball. The music we provided was great, the food (Josiah's catering) was awesome and Glo according to Mark gave us a thumbs up. It was a total success through and through. It was one of the rare occasions where most of the guests stayed long even after the program. Congrats and best wishes to the new couple!
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