Wings

UP Manila just had its first face-to-face Recognition Rites since the COVID pandemic last July 26, 2022, and to the delight of both students and members of the faculty, the venue was no less than the newly renovated Manila Metropolitan Theater.

The Manila Metropolitan Theater is a Philippine National Treasure, the oldest existing Philippine theater, characterized by its Art Deco designs and structure. According to its architect, Juan Arellano, the building was inspired by Felix Mendelssohn’s On Wings of Song. Indeed, its façade attests well to that statement: topped by a segmental arch, each segment defined by tapering pinnacles that resemble oriental stupas, two identical wings, each bordered horizontally by a frieze with stylized shell patterns with their inner rounded corners radiant with tile mosaic in Javanese patterns framing the main façade. (Eric Zerrudo)

Mendelssohn’s On Wings of Song has been one of my favorite musical pieces since grade school. I was enrolled back then in Fernandez Piano School, along Cortez Street (now Bonifacio Street) in Davao, and there I learned to play the second of Felix Mendelssohn’s Six songs for Voice and Piano (Opus 34-2, 1834). It is a setting of the poem Auf Flügeln des Gesanges by the German poet Heinrich Heine published in his Buch der Lieder in 1827. In a warm, alluring A flat key, Mendelssohn’s sweet piano piece continues to be a basic in musical instruction and playlists.

Established in 1950, Fernandez Piano School was the brainchild of Encarnita Fernandez, chief instructress of the school and mentor to dozens of pianists who graced the local music scene, mainly daughters of elite families in the city. The best tribute for its founder is that most of the leading instructors of piano schools in Davao today are former students of Fernandez Piano School or are second-generation musicians taught by pioneering students from the piano institute.

May the splendid architectural design of the Manila Metropolitan Theater, as well as the timeless lyricism of Mendelssohn’s On Wings of Song continue to inspire our graduates to pursue their dreams. May art sustain and inspire them to create platforms for growth, pursue heritage conservation advocacies, and promote pride of place and identity. May they indeed have wings.

“Be winged. Be the father of all flying horses,” roared Aslan in a voice that shook the ground. “Your name is Fledge.” The horse shied, just as it might have shied in the old, miserable days when it pulled a hansom. Then it roared. It strained its neck back as if there were a fly biting its shoulders and it wanted to scratch them. And then, just as the beasts had burst out of the earth, there burst out from the shoulders of Fledge wings that spread and grew, larger than eagles’, larger than swans’, larger than angels’ wings in church windows. The feathers shone chestnut color and copper color. He gave a great sweep with them and leapt into the air.” ― C.S. Lewis, The Magician’s Nephew