Music of the Lowlands of Luzon 1

Liturgy and Devotional Music

What is a Liturgical Music?

 Its music originated as a part of religious ceremony, and includes a number of
traditions, both ancient and modern.
 Liturgy - is a fixed set of ceremonies, words, etc., that are used during public
worship in a religion
 And a Devotional Music? A devotional song is a hymn which accompanies
religious observances and rituals.

 A Mass- is a form of sacred musical composition.

 These are prayers that are sung in a Mass
 Kirie-Lord Have Mercy; Gloria-Glory to God; Credo-Creed; Sanctus – Holy;
Agnus Dei- Lamb of God.
 “Gloria from Pequena Misa Solemnis
It was composed by a Filipino, Marcelo Adonay,- the greatest composer of
original liturgical music during the Spanish period
 And during this period, young boys used to sing for the mass and they were
called …
 Tiples - which means All Boys Choir
Canticorum Jubilol/Da Pacem Domine (performed by Tiples de Sto. Domingo,
CCP)
 Pastores- is a Christmas season folk dance.
 The Pastores (shepherds) recounts the story of the shepherds who visited the
child Jesus in a manger through a song.
 They go house to house to sing daygon (worship).

 Moro-moro/ Komedya - is a colorful theatrical tradition in the Philippines that

describes the conflicts between the Muslims and the Christians.
 It was used by the Spaniards as a method to spread Christianity in the
country.
 Types of Komedya:
 Secular Komedya is performed at the local fiestas.
 Moro-Moro is a type of Secular Komedya which portrays the clash between the
Muslims and the Christians where the forbidden romance between the prince and
the princess is settled by having the non-Christian be converted to christianity or
by his or her death followed by a resurrection through divine intervention.
 Tibag or arakya is a popular secular komedya which is featured during the
annual Santacruzan.
 The story evolves on the search for the Holy Cross by Queen Elena and her
son, Emperor Constantino.
 The Religious Komedya is also called Komedya de Santo centers on the life of
Christ or of any saint.
 It usually seen during church celebrations. The actors move in a stylized way,
have extravagant costumes and elaborately choreographed war scenes.
 Sinakulo/Senakulo- is a Lenten play that is a dramatic presentation of the
Passion of Jesus Christ -- his trial, suffering and death

 The senakulo is performed during Holy Week in the Philippines.

 It takes eight nights -- from Palm Sunday to Easter
 The Pasyón is a Philippine narrative of
the Passion, Death,and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
 In stanzas of five lines of eight syllables each, the standard elements of
poetry are interwoven with a colorful, dramatic theme.
 The entirety of the text is chanted during the Lenten season and
particularly Holy Week, and is a popular Filipino Catholic devotion.

 Salubong is an Easter Sunday pre-dawn ritual that reenacts the Risen Christ's
meeting with His mother.

 It is performed in the churchyard under a specially prepared arch where the

veiled image of the Virgin Mary has been placed.
 A child dressed as an angel is lowered by ropes from a high platform to lift
the mourning veil of the grieving Mother. The church bells are rung, and there
is a procession of the images of Christ and his mother that ends up inside the
church.
 The participants in the procession are segregated by gender.
 The men and boys follow the image of Jesus Christ, while women and girls
follow the image of Mary.
 The procession ends with the two groups meeting in the church, where Mass
is held.
 Flores De Mayo- is a fiesta in the Philippines and celebrated during the Month of
May to honor the Virgin Mary.
 The Santacruzan is a popular religious festival held in many towns and cities
throughout the Philippines as the highlight of the month-long celebration of Flores
de Mayo during the month of May.

 It is usually celebrated with a parade of decorated floats and elaborately

dressed characters, representing various aspects of the Virgin Mary and other
figures.
 The festival was introduced to the country during the Spanish period and
continues to be celebrated by Filipinos all over the world.

 The Las Piñas Bamboo Organ in St. Joseph Parish Church is a 19th-century
church organ with unique organ pipes; they are made almost entirely of bamboo.
After eight long years of construction, Father Diego Cera finally finished his organ
in 1824, the builder of the town's stone church and its first resident Catholic
parish priest.
 For decades, it produced beautiful music until three earthquakes and a
typhoon came which severely damaged the instrument.
 It became unplayable for almost a century.
 A European contractors came and restored it.
 Our bamboo organ became a favorite destination of Filipinos and tourists
alike.
Secular Music of the Lowlands of Luzon 2 & 3
(Spanish, American & Japanese influence)

 Folk Music of the Lowlands of Luzon

 Vocal Music – Harana
 Kumintang( song of varied topics)
 Polka (Leron-Leron Sinta, Pamulinawen)
 Instrumental Music
* Pandanggo (Pangasinan)
* Polka (Tagalog, Ilocano)
 Rondalla Cultural Context (History and Traditions) – Spanish colonisation,
Catholic religion
 Composition – Kundiman (art songs)

 Instrumental Music Social Functions:

 Music for Festivities and Recreation,
 Work (Planting and Farming),
 Courtship,
 Social Commentary and
 Performance Styles / Techniques : Use of the Plectrum
 Harana (Spanish ‘jarana’) – serenade, traditionally sung by a young man to a
young woman underneath her window at night to profess his love to her. It is
usually accompanied by a guitar.
• Kumintang- originally a war song, in triple time It may be about love, resentment,
or a social commentary. It can also be a dance or a combination of song and
dance in this style.
• Kundiman (kung hindi man) – an art song about the love of a man for a woman
but can also be about patriotic sentiments, the woman as an object of love and
sacrifice of the man representing the Philippines whose countrymen are willing to
do sacrifices for freedom. It usually starts in a minor key and then goes to the
major key.

Instrumental Music
 Polka- a lively dance in duple time.
 Pandanggo- is a Philippine folk dance which has become popular in the rural
areas of the Philippines. The dance evolved from Fandango, a Spanish folk
dance, which arrived in the Philippines during the Hispanic period. Usually,
dancers use accessories such as hats and lighted candle in a glass.

Rondalla- an ensemble of plucked instruments and sometimes with percussion.

 Bandurria- 14-stringed pear-shaped lute with a round sound hole and played with
a plectrum, it plays the melody in the rondalla ensemble.
 Laud- 14-stringed pear-shaped lute with f-shaped sound holes and played with a
plectrum, it plays the alto part or counter melody in the rondalla ensemble. It is
bigger than the bandurria.
 Octavina- 14-stringed lute which is shaped like a small guitar and played with a
plectrum, it plays a counter melody or harmony fill-in in the rondalla ensemble.
 Bajo de Uñas- a bass guitar which looks like a big guitar and is played by a
plectrum. It plays the bass part and serves as a rhythmic support.

 Angklung, the Bamboo Shaker

 The popular and most indigenous Southeast Asian bamboo idiophone.
 The easiest instrument to play: you just shake it.
 It is a pair (or more) of bamboo tubes mounted on a bamboo frame.
 The tubes are in different lengths and are cut halves at the upper two-thirds.
Pangkat Kawayan, popularly known as the “Singing Bamboos of the Philippines,” is an
orchestra that plays music using nontraditional bamboo instruments. Founded in 1966.
These instruments include the bamboo tube (bumbong), the bamboo marimba
(talungating), the bamboo piano (tipangklung), the bamboo flute (tulali), the bamboo
knockers (kalatok) and bamboo musical rattles, as well as drums, cymbals, gongs and
triangles made of baThe Philippine Constabulary Band

The Philippine Constabulary Band was a symphonic band formed in 1901 by Lt. Walter
Loving of the US Army’s 48th Volunteer Infantry. On October 15, 1902, US Civil
Governor General William Taft formally approved the band, originally composed of 400
volunteer male vocalists.
Since its first public performance on May 20, 1903, the band has brought the country
international fame through its participation in international competitions, including the
1904 St. Louis Exposition in the USA, where the band placed second, despite the power
blackout that occurred during one of its performances.
The band also represented the country in the 1915 Panama Canal Exposition in
the USA. There, John Philip Sousa, known as the “king of marches,” cited the band as
among the world’s greatest. The band also participated at the 1937 Golden Gate
International Exposition, and played during the 1909 inauguration of US President
William Howard Taft.
Unfortunately, the band was disbanded during World War II, where most of its members
were killed and instruments were lost. Lt. Loving was also killed during the 1945 Battle
of Manila. The band was reorganized in 1946, and placed under the service of the
Philippine Army. It was led by Col. Antonino Buenaventura.
Buenaventura, who was the leader of the band for 16 years, was named a National
Artist for Music in 1988. The band, later renamed the Philippine Army Band, became the
country’s leading military band.

Musiko Bumbong

Founded in 1896

- is D’ Original Malabon Musikong Bumbong and was organized since 1896 mostly
composed of Katipuneros from Tonsuya, Malabon. And is now under the
leadership of Col. Gilbert M. Ramos (Ret). Regular performer @ CF-Airport,
Pavillion & Hyatt.
- D’ Original Malabon Musikong Bumbong started as a plain “Banda de Boca”
(meaning “bibig “or mouth) in the 1890’s. Music or sound was produced by one’s
voice controlled with a piece of leaf or paper placed between the lips.

In 1896, the band was organized at Barrio Tonsuya in Malabon, Rizal (now Malabon
City) by Felix Ramos, the founder and inventor of the bamboo instruments and leader,
Juan De Silva, Gregorio Kilala, Anacleto Topacio, Tomas Gonzales and Delfin
Borromeo. Musikong Bumbong took on its name because of the passion for music by its
founder and members and the inspiration that they got from the Filipino ethnic
instruments like the bamboo flute of the Igorots. From there, they invented their own
bamboo musical instruments.

Originally consisting of 28 members, the founder and the first player were all
Katipuneros who used their unique talents to entertain their comrades and enliven their
musical activities.

During the early part of the American occupation, the group was temporarily disbanded.
In 1921, under the leadership of Marcelo De Silva, the group was again reorganized
and was renamed “Banda Filipina”.

The bamboo instruments also deteriorated because of the natural process of wood
drying and termites (bukbok) infestation. Cracks also developed when the instruments
were accidentally dropped or mishandled. It was Magno Ramos, the son of Felix
Ramos, the founder and inventor of the bamboo instruments who took on the role of
repairman and maintainer of the bamboo instruments.

Because of the love and passion of the members for their art, some members who died
were buried in their Musikong Bumbong uniform together with their instruments.