HARANA

Harana is an old Filipino courtship tradition of serenading women. It is mostly practiced in rural
areas and small towns. The man, usually accompanied by his close friends, goes to the house of
the woman he is courting and plays music and sings love songs to her.
BALITAW
Balitaw is a song that is usually a topical debate genre performed between a male and female, the
original form believed to be derived from pre-Hispanic courtship genres mentioned above.
In the Visayas, Balitaw is both a song and dance using lyrics which are ideally humorous and
performed spontaneously to a preconceived theme, similar in ways to calypso singing on
Trinidad. Most balitaw now, however, are sung to memorized verse using a standard melody and
chord progression.
Musically, the balitaw has evolved over time, incorporating melodic variants; even popular
melodies can be substituted for traditional melodies in performance.
KUNDIMAN
Kundiman is a genre of traditional Filipino love songs. The lyrics of the Kundiman are written in
Tagalog. The melody is characterized by a smooth, flowing and gentle rhythm with dramatic
intervals. Kundiman was the traditional means of serenade in the Philippines.
The Kundiman came around to be an art song at the end of the nineteenth century and by the
early part of the twentieth century, its musical structure was formalised by Filipino composers
such as Francisco Santiago and Nicanor Abelardo (February 7, 1893-March 21, 1934); they
sought poetry for their lyrics, blending verse and music in equal parts.
NATIONALISTIC SONG
Musical nationalism refers to the use of musical ideas or motifs that are identified with a specific
country, region, or ethnicity, such as folk tunes and melodies, rhythms, and harmonies inspired
by them.
INSTRUMENTAL
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics, or singing, although it
might include some inarticulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by
musical instruments.
In a song that is otherwise sung, a section not sung but played with instruments can be called an
instrumental interlude. If the instruments are percussion instruments, the interlude can be called a
percussion interlude. These interludes are a form of break in the song.

PROMINENT FILIPINO COMPOSERS

NICANOR STA. ANA ABELARDO
Nicanor Sta. Ana Abelardo (February 7, 1893 March 21, 1934) was a Filipino composer known
for his Kundiman songs, especially before the Second World War.
Nicanor Abelardo was born in San Miguel de Mayumo, Bulacan. His mother belonged to a
family of artists in Guagua, the Henson. He was introduced to music when he was five years old
when his father taught him the solfeggio and the banduria. Abelardo completed his first
composition, a waltz entitled "Ang Unang Buko" dedicated to his grandmother, at the age of
eight. By the age of thirteen, he was playing at saloons and cabarets in Manila, and by fifteen, he
was teaching at barrio schools in San Ildefonso and San Miguel in Bulacan.

1937 - Nasaan ka, Irog (music)

FRANCISCO SANTIAGO
Francisco Santiago (January 29, 1889 September 28, 1947), was a Filipino musician,
sometimes called The Father of Kundiman Art Song.
Santiago was born in Santa Maria, Bulacan, Philippines, to musically-minded peasant parents,
Felipe Santiago and Maria Santiago. In 1908, his first composition, Purita, was dedicated to the
first Carnival Queen, Pura Villanueva, who later married the distinguished scholar Teodoro
Kalaw.

Sakali Man

FRANCISCO BUENCAMINO, SR.

Francisco Beltran Buencamino (born 1883- died 1952), is a Filipino composer who performed as
concert pianist during the American colonial period.
Born on November 5, 1883 in Bulacan, Buencamino, Sr. is a son of a musically inclined couple,
Fortunato Buencamino, a church organist and a band master and Luisa Beltran, a singer.
He studied music composition and harmony at Liceo de Manila which unfortunately, he was not
able to finish. He also taught at the Ateneo de Manila and Centro Escolar de Seoritas. At
Centro Escolar de Seoritas, he founded its Conservatory of Music. He also created the
Buencamino Music Academy in 1930. Nicanor Abelardo was one of his students. Expanding his
career, he also ventured into musical direction and scoring, composing music for Sampaguita
Pictures, LVN, and Excelsior. He also wrote several sarswela and kundiman. He died on October
16, 1952.

Ang Ibong Adarna

ANTONIO BUENAVENTURA
Antonio Buenaventura also known as Colonel Antonio Buenaventura, was born on 4 May 1904
in Baliuag, Bulacan. He inherited his interest in music and military from his father, Lucino
Buenaventura. He was born to a family of musicians and actively involved in the band.
He had formal music lessons in Solfeggio when he was in grade IV. He learned how the band
instruments sounded through observation and experimentation. He organized a seven piece
school orchestra, a children's group in his school.
In 1922, he composed two pieces, a march and a foxtrot entitled "Only You". He was admitted as
clarinetist to the University of the Philippines Symphony Orchestra. He was a student in
composition and conducting and the captain of cadet corps of the university when he organized
the first student orchestra, the UP Junior Orchestra.

Akoy Isang Diwata (Habanera)

ANTONIO J. MOLINA
Antonio J. Molina (26 December 1894 29 January 1980) was a Filipino composer, conductor
and music administrator. He was named a National Artist of the Philippines for his services to
music. He was also known as the Claude Debussy of the Philippines due to his use of
impressionism in music.

Kung sa Iyong Gunita, Pandangguhan;

LUCIO D. SAN PEDRO

Lucio D. San Pedro (February 11, 1913 March 31, 2002) was a Filipino composer and teacher.
San Pedro came from a family with musical roots and he began his career early. When he was
still in his late teens, he succeeded his deceased grandfather as the local church organist. By then,
he had already composed songs, hymns and two complete masses for voices and orchestra. After
studying with several prominent musicians in the Philippines, he took advanced composition
training with Bernard Wagenaar of the Netherlands. He also studied harmony and orchestration
under Vittorio Giannini and took classes at Juilliard in 1947.

Sa ugoy ng duyan

RODOLFO S. BUENAVENTURA
Rodolfo S. Buenaventura is the first Filipino composer who received an honory degree from a
government recognized music school in the United States. He is also remarkable for his pianistic
and compositional know-how by extemporizing a piano composition at the spur of the moment.
He was born on 15 May 1909 in Singalong, Manila. At the age of six, he had his formal piano
lessons. After 2 years, he played fourteen pieces and six encores for his recital.In that same year,

he became the organist of the Pasay Catholic Church when they moved in. When he was ten, he
composed a piano piece entitled, "Glissando Waltz". He became so keen and inspired about
music by his mother's genuine support. At 13, he composed the "Salute", a military march that
was also published. At 14, twenty-six of his compositions were listed by the United Publishing
Company Inc.

A la Juventud Filipina

JULIN FELIPE
Julin Felipe (January 28, 1861 October 2, 1944), was the composer of the music of the
Philippine national anthem, formerly known as "Marcha Nacional Magdalo", now known as
Lupang Hinirang.

1898

Lupang Hinirang (National Anthem, Philippines)

Vocal Music

JUAN F. NAKPIL
Juan F. Nakpil (May 26, 1899 May 7, 1986) was a Filipino architect, teacher and a community
leader. In 1973, he was named one of the National Artists for architecture, and tapped as the
Dean of Filipino Architects.

Kundiman

LUCRECIA ROCES KASILAG

Lucrecia Roces Kasilag (31 August 1918 - 16 August 2008)[1] was a Filipino composer and
pianist.
Lucrecia Roces Kasilag was born in San Fernando, La Union, Philippines, the third of the six
children of Marcial Kasilag, Sr., a civil engineer, and his wife Asuncion Roces Kasilag, a
violinist and a violin teacher.:8788 She was the first solfeggio teacher of Kasilag. The second
teacher of Kasilag was Doa Concha Cuervo, who was a strict Spanish woman. Afterwards,
Kasilag studied under Doa Pura Villanueva. It was during this time that Kasilag performed her
first public piece, Felix Mendelssohn's May Breezes, at a student recital when she was ten years
old.

Legend of the Sarimanok