Kundiman in Media: Media in Kundiman
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3rd International Music and Performing Arts Conference Proceedings (13-15 November 2018) ISBN 978-983-2084-43-3 Kundiman in Media: Media in Kundiman James C. Diaz University of the Philippines, Philippines e-mail: [email protected] Cite this article (APA): James C. Diaz (2018). Kundiman in media: Media in Kundiman. In Mohd Kipli Abdul Rahman, C.S.C. Chan, Zaharul Lailiddin Saidon, C. Augustine & S. Maniam (Eds.), Proceedings of the 3rd International Music and Performing Arts Conference (pp. 84-89). Tanjong Malim: Faculty of Music and Performing Arts, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Malaysia. Abstract The Kundiman has been embedded in Filipino culture as its traditional love songs. But more than a love song, it is an art song where many great Filipino musicians have composed in that genre such as Nicanor Abelardo and Francisco Santiago, among others. The songs speak not only of love of a man for a woman, but more than that, is a song that elicits national fervor; love for the motherland. The original structure since its inception is closely related to the kumintang: a rhythmic pattern that has its roots in Spanish music. In time, the form has been watered down and since then became known as a love song, and very few works have been made. This paper aims to trace the Kundiman that appeared in different media formats such as recordings, both in the vinyl disc and extant 78 rpm shellac records; on the radio and the Television, and in the films as theme songs or musical renditions. A discography of the Kundiman songs that was written and performed for the media, is of primary importance. However, this paper is limited to tracing Kundiman from the late 1940s to the late 1960s performed by different artists. Along with a discography is delving deeper into how the Kundiman have been adapted to fit the different media formats; how songs are selected, and factors in decision making. Search in the archives of the National Library, and recording studios is necessitated, followed by interviews with record owners, publishers, and managers. Introduction The Filipinos are rich in cultural heritage that dates back from the indigenous peoples before the coming of the Spaniards in the middle of the 16th century. With the colonization of the Spaniards, who stayed in the islands for more than three hundred years, the conquistadores influenced the Filipino’s musical heritage tremendously: from instrumental music, to songs and dances, sacred or secular, especially with regard to the elements of rhythm, harmony, and structure, and also as a musical expression. Among the songs that have Western influences, it is the kundiman that stand the test of time regarding its popularity and functionality. It has been embedded in Filipino culture as traditional love songs; some of which are still heard or played in different media until the present times. While the song has been known to laymen as love songs of yesteryears, where the theme is about the passionate love of a man for a woman, the kundiman has, since its inception, had different forms and origin that we shall discuss later. To date, there are no research works done on kundiman, be it masters thesis or doctoral dissertation, from the University of the Philippines College of Music. However, there are two recent dissertations that are found in the college library but were written from two universities in the United States. The first one by Michelle Nicolasora from the University of Memphis; the other, by Quiliano Niñeza Anderson, from the University of Iowa. Nicolasora (2014) analysed and presented the structure of the kundiman as three genres: as folk kundiman, patriotic kundiman, and art kundiman. She then further explains the functionality of the kundiman into the lives of the Filipino people, in the socio-cultural context. Anderson (2015), on the other hand, after explaining the origin of the kundiman and its transformation from folk song to art song, delves deeper into the repertoire as studies in Filipino language: phonetics and performance guides. This paper aims to trace the kundiman, as art songs from the 1920s which later became watered-down love songs in the 1950s to the 1960s which became part of the popular songs, that appeared in different media: from sheet music, to recordings, both in the vinyl disc and extant 78 rpm shellac records, in films, and on the radio and the Television. A discography of the kundiman songs that was written and performed for 84 3rd International Music and Performing Arts Conference Proceedings (13-15 November 2018) ISBN 978-983-2084-43-3 the media, is of primary importance. However, this paper is limited to tracing the kundiman in media from the pre-war years to the late 1960s performed by different artists and as representative samples only as it has to conform to a specific brevity. Along with a discography is understanding, through theoretical approaches/ theories on how media shaped the kundiman in the production process. There are a number of books written on Kundiman. In his book Francisco Santiago: Composer and Pianist Virtuoso, Manuel (1997) delineated different meanings of the song, based from the writings of the renowned “Father of Kundiman”, the composer Santiago no less. During the Spanish period, different dance forms came to the fore, such as the Cuban habanera, Argentinian tango, and Spanish jota. But it was the comintang, the song-dance form which was originally a warrior’s song, that became what we now know as the kundiman; the name was deduced from the words of the song which goes, “hele nang cundiman”. Accordingly, Rizal also wrote a kundiman, but of a different character, which is more of a song that inculcates patriotism or nationalist fervor. Santos (2005) explains intensively the structure of the Kundiman based from the works of another great Filipino composer Nicanor Abelardo (1893-1934). There were mainly two structural materials that the composer based his works from: the kumintang and the kundiman. The former, according to Santos “as a musical expression that Abelardo believed to contain in its pre-Hispanic rhythm formula and modal configuration the oriental sentiment and a deeper aesthetic consciousness of the Filipino psyche” (Ibid, p.10); and the latter, based from a pariotic song hailed as the “kundiman of the revolution”, entitled “Jocelynang Baliwag” (Jocelyna from Baliwag, Bulacan) where Abelardo’s song “Kung Hindi Man” (If it were not so) was patterned rhythmically. The song “Mutya ng Pasig” (The Muse of Pasig River) deemed as one of Abelardo’s finest kundiman, which is a kumintang, has its main motivic rhythmic structure comprised of a quaver and two semi quavers followed by two crotchets. This was also evident in the other works of Abelardo that was built on the kumintang, which include three songs, namely: “Pahiwatig” (A Gesture), “Himutok” (Outburst), “Nasaan ang Aking Puso” (Where is my Heart), and two instrumental works which are the piano concerto and an overture. Moreover, Santos shows the structure of the kumintang as ABA with its tonality shifting from minor to major, as well as the kundiman, although in binary form, has its tonality from a minor key shifting to its parallel major key (Ibid). Another book on kundiman worth mentioning is by Silvestre (1970). He takes pride in giving equal importance on the lyricist of kundiman songs. He featured ten songs, which are the most famous kundiman by different composers, composed accordingly during the “golden age” of Kundiman, which was between 1915 to 1930. The songs he featured make use of structural forms that reinforce the previous bases for the kundiman as explained by Santos, such as the kumintang, danza, and kundiman. The danza, also known as the Cuban habanera, has a rhythmic pattern of dotted quaver and a semi quaver followed by two crotchets, and in duple time, which is the most common of all. It is important at this point to include them here, as majority of the songs are those that have been recorded by artists from the late 1950s to 1960s. Moreover, the ten songs are representative of other composers, not just from Abelardo and Santiago. The songs are as follows. 1. “Anak ng Dalita” (Child of Poverty), 1917. – Lyrics: Deogracias A. Rosario. Music: Francisco Santiago 2. “Kundiman”, c.1919-20. – L: Patricio Mariano, M: - Bonifacio Abdon 3. “Bituing Marikit” (Resplendent Star), n.d., – L: Don Servando de los Angeles, M: Nicanor Abelardo 4. “Nasaan Ka Irog?” (Where are you, My Love?), popularized 1923, – L: Narciso A. Asistio, M: N. Abelardo 5. “Mutya ng Pasig” (The Muse of Pasig), 1925, – L: D. Rosario, M: - N. Abelardo 85 3rd International Music and Performing Arts Conference Proceedings (13-15 November 2018) ISBN 978-983-2084-43-3 6. “Ang Maya” (The Sparrow), 1905, – L: Don Severino Reyes, M: Jose A. Estella. 7. “Bayan ko” (My Country), 1928 – L: Huseng Batute, M: Constancio de Guzman. 8. “Pakiusap” (Plea), 1929 – L: Jose Corazon de Jesus, M: F. Santiago. 9. “Madaling Araw” (Early Morning), 1930 – L: D. Rosario, M: F. Santiago 10. “Lambingan” (Affection), 1930 – L: Huseng Batute, M: Leon Ignacio. The songs listed above also relates to the dissertation of Nicolasora, in that it can be categorized according to the way she studied each kundiman, as mentioned earlier. Song number 6 is a representative of folk kundiman; numbers 1, 2 and 7 are representative of patriotic kundiman; while numbers 3-5, and 8- 10 are art kundiman. In time, the kundiman which was elevated to art songs mainly by Abelardo and Santiago, had been transformed to romantic ballads from the 1950s, yet retaining the kundiman sentiment (CCP Encyclopedia). The younger generation of composers were Restie Umali (1916-1998), Leopoldo Silos (1925-20015), George Canseco (1934-2004), and Ernani Cuenco (1936-1988).