Last August 29, 2010, I attended the launch of Bukas Palad's 15th album Christify and I had the chance to interview one of my musical heroes, Fr. Manoling Francisco, SJ. Fr. Manoling is the person behind Bukas Palad's numerous well-loved liturgical or mass songs.
The atmosphere at the launch was pretty concert-like (even if it followed a Eucharistic celebration), with people all over the place and music all over. I was lucky to get a few moments to ask Fr. Manoling about him being an inspiration, his musical influences, and liturgical songwriting in the Philippines. The interview can be heard in the podcast:
I apologize if I fumbled in the Q&A-- it was really a crazy/overwhelming moment.
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I'm really a big fan of Fr. Manoling's work. I was part of a church music ministry when I was in high school and whenever I played the songs that I like, I would often see Fr. Manoling's name credited as the author of the song. So you could imagine how giddy I was to finally meet him.
I was so inspired by the encounter with Fr. Manoling that I took a stab at writing some liturgical music. Here's my very first attempt, a take on "Kordero ng Diyos" (Agnus Dei):
Yeah, I know it's lightyears away any work of Fr. Manoling, but hey, you can't stop an inspired guy from trying, right?
Tags: Bukas Palad
