Westernized Musical Traditions in the Philippines

JONAS BAES

Westernized folk traditions in the Philippines root from the Spanish Colonial Period of
roughly three hundred years from 1521 to 1898. The creation of a colonial state and
economic system as well as the influence of Roman Catholicism shaped what was to be the
mainstream, "lowland-Christian" Filipino society.

A major part of the cultural experience of the people centered on religious or Christian
subjects. At the beginning, Western music was introduced by way of the Spanish friars who
taught Gregorian Chant for masses and other Christian services. In Lumbang, Laguna, for
instance, Fray Juan de Santa Marta in 1606 gathered about four hundred boys from various
places and trained them in singing and instrumental playing. Moreover, in 1742, a singing
school was established at the Manila Cathedral. At about this period, baroque pipe organs
were constructed of which the one at the San Agustin Church (restored in 1998) in Manila
and the famous Bamboo Organ of Las Pi�as survive today.

Para-liturgical rituals and folk rites developed as indigenous traditions were

transformed to utilize Christian symbols. Music in these rites progressed to dialectically
combine Westernized forms with native/indigenous style. The sanghiyang of Cavite,
the subli of Batangas and the turumba of Laguna exemplify the syncretism of folk religion
and Catholicism. Probably the most widespread among these is the Pasyon, a chanted epic-
like singing of the life of Christ performed during the Lenten season.

Secular entertainment and theatrical forms would also have Christian elements. These
include the moro-moro which depicts the Muslim-Christian wars, the cenaculo, a play on
the passion of Christ, the duplo, a literary musical form associated with a nine-day series of
prayers and the carillo, a shadow play. The Catholic Church has incorporated some of these
para-liturgical rites into the regular liturgy in forms of feasts, devotions to the Virgin Mary
(like the Flores de Mayo) as well as to other saints.

Other genres which may have developed from older native forms include the dalit, a
long prayer or litany to the Virgin Mary, the tagulaylay, a recitative lament also used in the
context of the pasyon, the awit, a chanted story. The word awit in today�s Filipino
language stands for the word �song�. The kumintang is a war song while
the kundiman is a love song. The latter developed into a counterpart of the German
�lied� at the latter part of the 19 th and into the 20th Century.

Filipino dance music was patterned after Spanish and European dance forms. These
include the carinosa,the balitao, the pandanggo, polka, dansa and the
rigodon. Perhaps connected to these is the development of the rondalla, an ensemble of
plucked string instruments that include the banduria, the laud, the octavina, the gitara,
and the bajo. These instruments are adaptations of European instruments.

The latter part of the 19th Century saw the creation of a native intelligentsia or
the illustrados. This new privileged and educated class cultivated a Euro-Hispanic culture
of aristocracy and carried with them the ideals of cosmopolitanism. From this social class
would emerge concert artists, pianists, vocalists, violinists as well as composers.

Famous artists include the pianists Antonio Garcia (1865-1919), Hipolito Rivera (1866-
1900), and Ramon Valdez (d. 1902); violinists Andres Dancel (1870-1898) and Cayetano
Jacobe (fl.1893). The Composers include Jose Canseco Jr. (1843-1912), Simplicio Solis
(1864-1903), Fulgencio Tolentino (fl. 1887) and Bonifacio Abdon (1876-1944).

During the American Invasion and Pacification at turn of the twentieth century,
Hispanized Filipino music symbolized the nationalist sentiment that was suppressed by the
new colonial regime. The zarzuela, another theatrical form adapted from Spain became an
important genre that transmitted these nationalist sentiments, so powerful that the
Americans considered these musical plays seditious.

After the "pacification" of the Philippines by America�as various social and economic
institutions were established�training in the European musical tradition could be acquired
mainly through the educational system. Conservatories did not only provide musical
training, but served as buffers so that Filipinos could acquire further musical studies in
Europe and America. A tradition of utilizing folk, Hispanized musical elements and styles
emerged from composers who have acquired formal musical training like Nicanor Abelardo
(1893-1934) and Francisco Santiago (1889-1947).

Art music forms in Philippine music consist of locally composed works that have used
standard formats of Western music. These forms evolved through the introduction and
assimilation of European classical music which includes both religious and secular
compositions. Before the American colonial regime, Filipino musicians who received their
musical training mostly from the clergy, produced masses, hymns and vespers for use in
the liturgical services. Some of these works were quite elaborate, some with orchestral
accompaniment.

Some of the Early secular forms of entertainment are the awit and kurido, which
replaced some of the ancient epics of communities that had been converted to Christianity.
These metrical romances written in octosyllabic and dodecasyllabic quatrains told of saintly
and heroic tales in medieval Europe, and the crusades against the Moors. Local versions
were written and performed by local playwrights and artists and flourished in the Tagalog,
Ilokano, Pampango, Bikol and Ilongo.

The Spanish comedia was the early form of theater that was introduced to the people
in the late 16th century. The first comedias were religious dramas. In the 18 th century
more and more comedias were about the lives of kings and nobles as well as their battle
against the infidels. In the Philippines, the thematic plot of the conflict between Christians
and the Moros gave birth to the comedias called moro-moro. In the 19th century,
thekomedya was totally adopted by the Filipinos, with the plots based on the printed
"corridos". They spread to the different regions and became a popular form of
entertainment until the advent of a much more sophisticated form of musical theater: the
Spanish zarzuela. The zarzuela was introduced in the Philippines in the late 19 th century
with the arrival of foreign productions, until even local singers and conductors were trained
and contracted to perform. The first Filipino sarswela were written in the 1890's. At the turn
of the century, the regional sarswelas emerged in Northern Luzon, Bikol and the Visayas.
During the American regime, the Filipinosarswela served as a medium of political protest
and criticism of the colonial rule. At the same time, the form represented the high quality of
music-literary creativity of the Filipinos in that their popularity was partly the result of
collaborations between well-known playwrights and composers.

The Filipino opera is likewise an off-shoot of the introduction of the European opera.,
the first presentation being dated in the 1960's. Because of the availability of local singers,
instrumentalists, and conductors, the opera did not take long to be adopted by the Filipinos.
The first Filipino opera was composed in 1902 entitled "Sandugong Panaginip". Composers
who wrote important works in this medium include Gavino Carluen, Felipe Padilla De Leon,
Alfredo Buenaventura, and Eliseo Pajaro.

The establishment of formal music schools during the early American colonial regime
produce highly trained musicians. Most of the composers began to write in the major
western classical forms such as the concerto, symphony, the suite, the concertino, the
rhapsody the concert overture, and the symphonic poem. The latter two were not only
written for the symphony orchestra, but the symphonic band as well, since a number of
Filipino composers received their initial musical training in local town musicians. The band
literature also includes hymns and marches. Works for chamber ensembles (quintets,
quartets, trios) and solo instruments were also written, especially character pieces for the
piano. Santiago's String Quartet in G in 1924 is considered a forerunner, followed by
Molina's String Quartet en D Mayor, and Trio in F.

A great deal of the major works are programmatic in nature and are of religious or
nationalist in character. The first group of art music composers include Juan Hernandez,
Nicanor Abelardo, Francisco Buencamino and Antoni Molina. Some of these major works are
Abelardo's Piano Concerto of 1923, Santiago's "Tagailog"Symphony, Molina's
"Batingaw" "Choral Symphony", "Mayon", "Piano Concerto" by Francisco Buencamino.

The following generation of composers consists of Antonio Buenaventura who

composed the famous tone poems By the Hillside and Youth and Hilarion Rubio who
wrote "Pilipinas Kong Mahal" Symphonic Overture and Symphony for Greatness.
Rodolfo Cornejo, who is also highly proficient on the keyboard, composed Symphony- "The
Allies" and "Dedication" Symphony. Ramon Tapales, a violinist of note, contributed some
major works like Philippine Suite and Ave Liberator to honor the liberation of the
Philippines at the end of the 2nd World War. Another contemporary Lucino Sacramento wrote
the highly romantic twin piano concertos "Maharlika" and "Bituin". This generation was
followed by Felipe Padilla De Leon who wrote the monumental operas Noli Me
Tangere and El Filibusterismo, and Lucio San Pedro with his symphonic poems Lahing
Kayumanggi and Concerto for Violin and Orchestra.

In the field of vocal music, the Tagalog kundiman, a song of unrequitted love was
developed by these composers as an art song genre, composing pieces on texts of high
poetic value. The character and structural elements of the kundiman is derived from an
earlier Tagalog tune called comintang. The kundiman starts in the minor key and ends in
the parallel major. It is in moderate 3/4 time. The immortal kundimans include
Abelardo'sNasaan Ka Irog and Kundiman ng Luha and Santiago's Madaling Araw.
Other song forms which were used by the composers are the balitaw which is of lighter
character and the danza, a dance form in duple time which is similar to a tango.

The idiom of the early art music works was very much influenced by the music of the
European romantic composers, such as Franz Liszt, Richard Wagner, Peter Tchaikowshy,
Guiseppe Verdi, Giacchomo Puccini, and Gaetano Donizetti.

Works that show the influence of early twentieth century European idiom were written
by Eliseo Pajaro, Lucresia Kasilag, Rosendo Santos, Amada Santos-Ocampo, Alfredo
Buenaventura, and Jerry Dadap. This group of composers may be considered as neo-
classicists, fusing Filipino musical elements, mostly folk melodies, with the harmonies,
rhythms and textures found in the works of the European and American neo-classic
composers.
Art music form

Art music forms in Philippine music consist of locally composed works that have used
standard formats of Western music. These forms evolved through the introduction and
assimilation of European classical music which includes both religious and secular
compositions. Before the American colonial regime, Filipino musicians who received their
musical training mostly from the clergy, produced masses, hymns and vespers for use in
the liturgical services. Some of these works were quite elaborate, some with orchestral
accompaniment.

Some of the Early secular forms of entertainment are the awit and kurido, which
replaced some of the ancient epics of communities that had been converted to Christianity.
These metrical romances written in octosyllabic and dodecasyllabic quatrains told of saintly
and heroic tales in medieval Europe, and the crusades against the Moors. Local versions
were written and performed by local playwrights and artists and flourished in the Tagalog,
Ilokano, Pampango, Bikol and Ilongo.

The Spanish comedia was the early form of theater that was introduced to the people
in the late 16th century. The first comedias were religious dramas. In the 18 th century
more and more comedias were about the lives of kings and nobles as well as their battle
against the infidels. In the Philippines, the thematic plot of the conflict between Christians
and the Moros gave birth to the comedias called moro-moro. In the 19th century,
thekomedya was totally adopted by the Filipinos, with the plots based on the printed
"corridos". They spread to the different regions and became a popular form of
entertainment until the advent of a much more sophisticated form of musical theater: the
Spanish zarzuela. The zarzuela was introduced in the Philippines in the late 19 th century
with the arrival of foreign productions, until even local singers and conductors were trained
and contracted to perform. The first Filipino sarswela were written in the 1890's. At the turn
of the century, the regional sarswelas emerged in Northern Luzon, Bikol and the Visayas.
During the American regime, the Filipinosarswela served as a medium of political protest
and criticism of the colonial rule. At the same time, the form represented the high quality of
music-literary creativity of the Filipinos in that their popularity was partly the result of
collaborations between well-known playwrights and composers.

The Filipino opera is likewise an off-shoot of the introduction of the European opera.,
the first presentation being dated in the 1960's. Because of the availability of local singers,
instrumentalists, and conductors, the opera did not take long to be adopted by the Filipinos.
The first Filipino opera was composed in 1902 entitled "Sandugong Panaginip". Composers
who wrote important works in this medium include Gavino Carluen, Felipe Padilla De Leon,
Alfredo Buenaventura, and Eliseo Pajaro.

The establishment of formal music schools during the early American colonial regime
produce highly trained musicians. Most of the composers began to write in the major
western classical forms such as the concerto, symphony, the suite, the concertino, the
rhapsody the concert overture, and the symphonic poem. The latter two were not only
written for the symphony orchestra, but the symphonic band as well, since a number of
Filipino composers received their initial musical training in local town musicians. The band
literature also includes hymns and marches. Works for chamber ensembles (quintets,
quartets, trios) and solo instruments were also written, especially character pieces for the
piano. Santiago's String Quartet in G in 1924 is considered a forerunner, followed by
Molina's String Quartet en D Mayor, and Trio in F.

A great deal of the major works are programmatic in nature and are of religious or
nationalist in character. The first group of art music composers include Juan Hernandez,
Nicanor Abelardo, Francisco Buencamino and Antoni Molina. Some of these major works are
Abelardo's Piano Concerto of 1923, Santiago's "Tagailog"Symphony, Molina's
"Batingaw" "Choral Symphony", "Mayon", "Piano Concerto" by Francisco Buencamino.

The following generation of composers consists of Antonio Buenaventura who

composed the famous tone poems By the Hillside and Youth and Hilarion Rubio who
wrote "Pilipinas Kong Mahal" Symphonic Overture and Symphony for Greatness.
Rodolfo Cornejo, who is also highly proficient on the keyboard, composed Symphony- "The
Allies" and "Dedication" Symphony. Ramon Tapales, a violinist of note, contributed some
major works like Philippine Suite and Ave Liberator to honor the liberation of the
Philippines at the end of the 2nd World War. Another contemporary Lucino Sacramento wrote
the highly romantic twin piano concertos "Maharlika" and "Bituin". This generation was
followed by Felipe Padilla De Leon who wrote the monumental operas Noli Me
Tangere and El Filibusterismo, and Lucio San Pedro with his symphonic poems Lahing
Kayumanggi and Concerto for Violin and Orchestra.

In the field of vocal music, the Tagalog kundiman, a song of unrequitted love was
developed by these composers as an art song genre, composing pieces on texts of high
poetic value. The character and structural elements of the kundiman is derived from an
earlier Tagalog tune called comintang. The kundiman starts in the minor key and ends in
the parallel major. It is in moderate 3/4 time. The immortal kundimans include
Abelardo'sNasaan Ka Irog and Kundiman ng Luha and Santiago's Madaling Araw.
Other song forms which were used by the composers are the balitaw which is of lighter
character and the danza, a dance form in duple time which is similar to a tango.

The idiom of the early art music works was very much influenced by the music of the
European romantic composers, such as Franz Liszt, Richard Wagner, Peter Tchaikowshy,
Guiseppe Verdi, Giacchomo Puccini, and Gaetano Donizetti.

Works that show the influence of early twentieth century European idiom were written
by Eliseo Pajaro, Lucresia Kasilag, Rosendo Santos, Amada Santos-Ocampo, Alfredo
Buenaventura, and Jerry Dadap. This group of composers may be considered as neo-
classicists, fusing Filipino musical elements, mostly folk melodies, with the harmonies,
rhythms and textures found in the works of the European and American neo-classic
composers.