Marco Carvalho
In a rare, but increasingly common moment of union, the five main religions in Macau joined forces and celebrated together the 22nd anniversary of the transfer of sovereignty of Macau from Portugal to the People’s Republic of China. The anniversary was commemorated last Sunday with a concert of sacred and religious music.
The recital, which took place in the Broadway Theatre at Broadway Macau and had the support of local gaming operator Galaxy Entertainment Group, was jointly organized by the Macau Catholic Culture Association (MCCA), the Buddhist Association of Macau, the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Macau, Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Missionary Area of Macau and the Macau Taoist Association.
Among the audience – and in addition to Macau’s main religious leaders – were former Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau Wah, acting as Vice-President of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Fu Tiesheng, Director-General of the Coordination Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao Special
Administrative Region and Mok Ian Ian, President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau.
In the speech he made on the occasion, Bishop Stephen Lee Bun-sang recalled that music is truly a universal language, one with the power to bring people together, regardless of nationality, race or religious faith. The Catholic leader, who is also the Chairman of the Macau Catholic Culture Association, expressed his satisfaction with the reinforcement of dialogue and religious exchange between the five religions. Bishop Lee guaranteed that the Catholic Church remains open to similar initiatives.
Seven different choirs and ensembles performed a total of 19 musical compositions on the stage of the Broadway Theatre. The Diocesan Choir and the “Cathedral Schola” Choir represented the local Catholic Church in the inaugural edition of the Five Religions Concert, the executive director of the Macau Catholic Culture Association, Mary Joni Cheng, told O CLARIM: “The Macao Catholic Culture Association specially invited the ‘Cathedral Schola’ and the ‘Diocesan Choir’ to jointly perform five classic sacred music pieces. Sacred music is music written specifically for the liturgy. The repertoire included songs in Latin, English and Cantonese, covering traditional polyphonic and modern hymns,” the Association’s leader explains. The performances included “Jesus, I trust in You” by Fr. Tadeu Tang Is-Yan, and “My Spirit Desires for God,” which was performed for the first time in Macau. As it is now the Advent season, it also included a Christmas hymn “In the Bleak Midwinter,” which brought a little Christmas atmosphere to the audience in advance,” Joni Cheng added.
In addition to the two Catholic choirs, Buddhist and Taoist groups, a Bahá’í ensemble and two Anglican choirs also took part in the recital. Music, Ms. Cheng claims, is an excellent way to speak to the heart of people and draw them closer to God: “Sacred music builds bridges to bring people close to supernatural things. St. Augustine said: “He who sings, prays twice.” This is why the Catholic Church is also committed to promoting traditional and Chinese sacred music, praising the Lord through singing, and spreading the gospel message with the beauty and power of music,” the executive director of MCCA avowed. “Through this occasion, the Macao Catholic Culture Association hopes to share Catholic sacred music of the modern times with the general public in order to build a foundation for mutual understanding from a cultural perspective, continuously promoting Sino-Western exchanges, and thus contributing to the future of Macau’s society,” Mary Joni Cheng concluded. (Photo by Ivan Leong.)
Follow
