Marilag Odtohan

I thought I was an ‘outsider’ until Arthur Espiritu’s kundiman concert slowly let me in

Entering the MiraNila Heritage House and Library, I felt like an outsider. Yet when renowned tenor Arthur Espiritu, soprano Stefanie Quintin-Avila, and pianist Najib Ismail stepped into center stage, the evening slowly let me in.

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ABS-CBN News

<p>Entering the Gallery MiraNila, I felt like an outsider.</p><p>Foreign faces drifted across the halls, while the soft crunch of stone beneath the grassy garden walkway heightened my sense of unfamiliarity. Beneath the stillness of the Commonwealth-era estate, I walked toward the performance hall where guests gathered in anticipation for <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/lifestyle/people-culture-events/2026/4/23/tenor-arthur-espiritu-returns-home-for-first-all-kundiman-concert-1618" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&quot;Mga Awit ng Pag-ibig at Kundiman,&quot;</a> a one-night, all-kundiman concert.</p><p>Yet when renowned tenor Arthur Espiritu, soprano Stefanie Quintin-Avila, and pianist Najib Ismail stepped into center stage, the evening slowly let me in.</p><p>From the first number, Espiritu displayed remarkable vocal control and expressive phrasing, allowing the melancholy, longing, and transcendent love embedded in the kundiman to resonate fully across the room. But beyond romance, there was also patriotism woven into the repertoire, the quiet but persistent nationalism that has always defined the form.</p><div><br/></div><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1778828424864656283338_18096238751059278_4568124004548278974_n.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/></div><p>In kundiman, love for a person and love for country often mirror one another; longing becomes resistance, devotion becomes remembrance.</p><p>Espiritu opened the concert with a solo performance — his tenor ringing with warmth, authority, and astonishing elasticity. His voice possessed that rare operatic quality capable of both filling the hall and drawing listeners inward.</p><p>Throughout these performances, Ismail&#x27;s piano accompaniment never merely supported; it conversed. His playing mirrored every swell of emotion, restrained ache, and moment of release.</p><p>The evening&#x27;s first duet between Espiritu and Quintin-Avila of &quot;Anak Dalita&quot; proved among the concert&#x27;s most affecting moments. Composed by Francisco Santiago with lyrics by Deogracias Rosario, the song speaks of a child yearning for a better life while confronting listeners with the realities of inequality and hardship.</p><p>Their voices intertwined with operatic precision yet retained the emotional urgency that kundiman demands. They illuminated the social conscience beating beneath many kundiman compositions — that even in songs of love, there exists grief for the nation and compassion for the marginalized.</p><p>At such a young age, I grew up in a household where binge-listening to the radio was almost an everyday ritual. Music became an integral part of daily life, eventually nurturing my love for singing until my elementary school teacher encouraged me to join a choir group. Among all genres, the kundiman remained closest to my heart.</p><p>That is perhaps why Espiritu&#x27;s performances resonated with me so deeply. They brought me back to the first time I encountered the kundiman — those early moments when music taught me that longing could be beautiful, and sorrow could still carry hope.</p><p>Among the evening&#x27;s 14-piece repertoire, &quot;Iyo Kailan Pa Man&quot; touched me most profoundly. I once had the opportunity to sing the piece during choir rehearsals, and I remember immediately falling in love with how Levi Celerio transformed emotional devastation into poetry.</p><p>Having written more than 4,000 songs, Celerio possessed an unmatched gift for bridging melody and emotion through lyrical simplicity that cuts straight to the heart. Espiritu understood this completely and more than his magnificent tenor voice, he revealed himself as a storyteller.</p><p>Quintin-Avila, meanwhile, emerged as an equally compelling presence. Her soprano carried richness and stability, complementing Espiritu&#x27;s tenor with grace. She understood when to soar and when to soften, allowing the emotional core of each piece to breathe naturally.</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177882911663720260514_122252838_iOS.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Arthur Espiritu and Stefanie Quintin-Avila performed &quot;Maalaala Mo Kaya&quot; during the &quot;Mga Awit ng Pag-ibig at Kundiman&quot; at Gallery MiraNila in Quezon City.</span></span></span></div><p>Her final duet with Espiritu of &quot;Maalaala Mo Kaya&quot; became one of the night&#x27;s undeniable highlights. And though not officially part of the repertoire, &quot;Gaano Ko Ikaw Kamahal&quot; transformed the hall into a communal act of remembrance and affection as audience members softly sang along.</p><p>Equally deserving of praise was Ismail, whose pianistic prowess anchored the entire concert. His accompaniment emphasized not only the technical brilliance of Espiritu and Quintin-Avila, but also the emotional architecture of kundiman itself. Every progression, pause, and crescendo felt intentional. He became the connective tissue of the evening — the steady force that allowed love, longing, resistance, and nostalgia to fully emerge from each composition.</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177883078067220260514_123105812_iOS.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">(From left to right) Najib Ismail, Stefanie Quintin-Avila, and Arthur Espiritu headlined the all-kundiman concert at MiraNila House in Quezon City on May 14, 2026. </span></span></span></div><p>For one night, the storied halls of MiraNila became a stage for another kind of history — one carried through music, memory, and the enduring language of kundiman.</p><p>In a time marked by division, uncertainty, and exhaustion, the kundiman reminds us that Filipinos have always endured through love — for another person, for memory, and above all, for the country. These songs preserve not only our capacity for longing, but also our stubborn hopefulness: the belief that even amid grief and chaos, there remains something worth protecting, something worth singing for.</p><p>If the kundiman continues to survive in spaces like MiraNila, then perhaps there is still hope that the tenderness and patriotism embedded within our culture will endure too — unwavering, unwithering, and carried forward by every generation willing to listen.</p>

<p>Entering the MiraNila Heritage House and Library, I felt like an outsider. Yet when renowned tenor Arthur Espiritu, soprano Stefanie Quintin-Avila, and pianist Najib Ismail stepped into center stage, the evening slowly let me in. </p>

Review: I thought I was an ‘outsider’ until Arthur Espiritu’s kundiman concert slowly let me in

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Review: I thought I was an ‘outsider’ until Arthur Espiritu’s kundiman concert slowly let me in

Marilag Odtohan,

ABS-CBN News

Published May 15, 2026 04:07 PM PHT

Read More:

Arthur Espiritu

Stefanie Quintin-Avila

Najib Ismail

Kundiman

Concert

Opera

MiraNila Heritage House & Library

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