Lecture in music (Contemporary Philippine Music and 20th traditional composers)

Contemporary Music - refers to compositions that have adopted ideas and elements from 20th century
art music in the west, as well as the latest trends and musical styles in the entertainment industry.

Francisco Buencamino founded the Centro Escolar de Señoritas, Conservatory of Music. He also created
the Buencamino Music Academy in 1930. Nicanor Abelardo was one of his students. Expanding his
career, Buencamino also ventured into musical direction and scoring, composing music for Sampaguita
Pictures, LVN, and Excelsior. He also wrote several zarzuelas and kundiman.

Francisco Santiago is known as the “Father of the Kundiman” and belongs to the “Triumvirate of
Filipino Composers.”

Nicanor Abelardo developed a style that combined European romanticism with chromaticism. He
belongs to the “Triumvirate of Filipino Composers” together with Francisco Santiago and Antonio
Molina. The Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (Main Theater) of the Cultural Center of the Philippines and
the Abelardo Hall of the College of Music, University of the Philippines are named after him.

Antonio Molina came to be known as the “Father of Philippine Impressionist Music “

Lucio San Pedro integrated indigenous musical forms , conventions and instruments in his works in the
modern nationalistic style.

Hilarion Rubio wa a Filipino composer, music teacher, conductor and clarinettist. His name was closely
identified with his works for the orchestra, conductor for opera, ballet, dance recitals, and music for
movies.

Col. Antonino Buenaventura promoted Philippine music by extensively using folk materials in his
works. He recorded folk and dance music around the country with Ramon Tolentino and National Artist
for Dance Francisca Reyes Aquino. Buenaventura composed the music and did the notations for the folk
dances as researched by Aquino.

Rodolfo S. Cornejo was considered “the first Filipino composer who received an honory degree from a
government recognized music school in the United States.” He was known for his “pianistic and
compositional talent” by extemporizing a piano composition at the spur of the moment.

Felipe P. de Leon wrote piano compositions, hymns, marches, art songs, chamber music, symphonic
poems, overtures, band muic, school songs, orchestral works, operas, kundimans and zarsuelas. He was
known as a nationalist composer who expressed the Philippines' cultural identity through his
compositions

Lucio San Pedro is known as a “romantic nationalist.” He incorporated Philippine folk elements in his
compositions with Western forms and harmony. His chords have a rich expressive tonality, as
represented in his well-loved Sa Ugoy ng Duyan, a lullaby melody sung by his mother.

Rosendo Santos Jr. is listed in the “New Groves Dictionary of Music and Musicians.” A prolific
composer, his works include concerti, sonatas, symphonies, symphonic poems, five operas in Philippine
dialect, numerous band overtures, and more than 200 marches. He wrote 50 masses in Latin and 20 in
English. He has more than 1,000 musical compositions in the library of the University of the Philippines.
Alfredo Buenaventura is among the few composers in the Philippines who composed five full-length
operas. He has his own set of ideas about music and composition. He created a combination of
contemporary and conventional, kept his melodies simple and understandable, but he used
contemporary harmonies to suit the intellectuals. Contemporary composer and conductor.

Ryan Cayabyab spans both popular and classical worlds with his pop, ballads, operas, zarzuela,
orchestral, and choral compositions

Jose Maceda’s musical style shifted when he encountered the music of the indigenous tribes of Mindoro
in 1953. He then embarked on his life’s work, dedicated to the understanding and preservation of
Filipino traditional music. His extensive research and fieldwork resulted in an immense collection of
recorded music taken from the remote mountain villages and far-flung inland communities in the
Philippines.

Lucrecia Kasilag’s compositional style demonstrated a fusion of Eastern and Western styles in using
instruments, melody, harmony, and rhythm. She is particularly known for incorporating indigenous
Filipino instruments into orchestral productions.

Ramon Santos’ compositional style features chromaticism, music seria, and electronic components,
combined with indigenous Philippine music elements.

Fr. Manuel Maramba OSB, one of the most accomplished musicians in the Philippines, is best known as
a liturgical composer whose body of works lean towards religious figures and events. His versatility as a
pianist, composer, arranger, theorist, and teacher is widely recognized in the local musical scene.

Jerry Dadap, the first Filipino composer to conduct his own works at the Carnegie Recital Hall in New
York City,

Francisco Feliciano is one of Asia’s leading figures in liturgical music, having composed hundreds of
liturgical pieces, mass settings, hymns, and songs for worship. At the Asian Institute for Liturgy and
Music, a school for church musicians which he founded, he supervised the publication of a new Asian
hymnal containing mostly works of Asian composers.

Josefino Toledo is the founding music director of the Metro Manila Community Orchestra, the UP
Festival Orchestra, and the Crosswave Symphony Orchestra. He is noted for conducting the premiere
performances of the works of Filipino composers as well as other Asian composers. His own music has
been performed by well-known international artists and ensembles.

Jonas Baes, Associate Professor in Composition and Theory, ethnomusicologist, cultural activist, and
writer, has explored innovative territories and unusual musical treatments in his works.

Levi Celerio made it to the Guinness Book of World Records for being the only person to make music
with aleaf. He received numerous awards for his musical achievements in film.

Constancio de Guzman was acknowledged as the “Dean of Filipino movie composers and musical
directors.” He is the composer of the nationalistic song Bayan Ko.

Mike Velarde Jr. was a composer, conductor, and musical director. He composed the popular song Dahil
Sa Iyo in 1938. In 1975 the Philippine Government Cultural Association awarded him the Cultural
Achievement Award in Popular Music. He received the Gawad CCP Para Sa Sining in 1986.
Ernani Cuenco was a composer, film scorer, musical director, and music teacher. He was hailed as a
National Artist in Music in 1999. His works embody the Filipino sense of musicality. The classical sound
of the kundiman is evident in some of his ballads. Up to this day, his compositions are popular and well-
loved.

Restie Umali was a composer, teacher, and musical arranger. He arranged the Philippine national
anthem and the local classic Kataka-taka for the Boston Pops Orchestra when it performed for the
Philippine Independence Night in Boston in 1972. He wrote a total of more or less120 movie theme
songs. He composed more than 250 scores for movies which was capped by a Universal Pictures
production of No Man Is An Island starred by Jeffrey Hunter and Barbara Perez.

George Canseco was considered “a nationally acclaimed composer of numerous popular Filipino
classics.” He composed songs for Filipino singers and movie stars.

Angel Peña is a classical and jazz composer, musical arranger, and bass player. He is widely considered
by modern Filipino jazz musicians as “one of the founders of traditional jazz in the Philippines.”

Leopoldo Silos Sr. was a composer, singer, and musical arranger. He composed and recorded
romantically soulful songs. He was the award winning musical director of the television musical Aawitan
Kita.

Santiago Suarez was an accomplished composer of traditional Filipino love songs. His popular works
include Dungawin Mo Hirang, Bakya Mo Neneng, Caprichosa, Sa Libis ng Nayon, and Kataka-taka.

Composers and their compositions

Antonio Molina - Hatinggabi, Misa Antoniana, Grand Festival Mass,Ang Batingaw, Kundiman-
Kundangan; String Quartet, Kung sa Iyong Gunita, Pandangguhan, Amihan,Awit ni Maria Clara, Larawan
Nitong Pilipina

Lucio San Pedro - Sa Ugoy ng Duyan, Suite Pastorale, Lahing Kayumanggi

Ryan Cayabyab - Misa, Four Poems for Soprano and Piano, Te Deum, Kay Ganda ng Ating Musika,
Limang Dipang Tao, Da Coconut Nut, Alikabok, Spoliarium, Kumukuti-kutitap

Col. Antonino Buenaventura - Minuet, Mindanao Sketches, Divertimento for Piano and Orchestra,
Variations and Fugue, and Greetings, Pandanggo sa Ilaw, Princesa ng Kumintang, Pandanggo ni Neneng

Alfredo Buenaventura - Maria Makiling (1961), Diego Silang(1966), Prinsesa Urduha (1969); Ang Ating
Watawat (1965), Pasko ng Barangay (1964); Dakilang Lahi (1971), Gomburza (1981), and Rizal, the Great
Malayan Antagonist (1990.

Rodolfo Cornejo - A la Juventud Filipina, Bailes de Ayer, Caprice on a Folksong, Cello Sonata, Cello
Sonata, Ibong Adarna, Kandingan, Malakas at Maganda Overture, Okaka, Oriental Fantasy, Ibong
Adarna, Piano Concerto Nos. 1,2,3, Ruby, Song of the Miners,

Hilarion Rubio - Bulaklaken, Dance of the Nymphs Rondo, Florente at Laura, Halik, Danza, Ang
Konsyerto (ballet), Ang Magsasaka, Bukang Liwayway, Concertino in C (Marimba and piano), Filipinas
Kong Mahal, Hatulan Mo Ako, Ginintuang Araw, In a Tropcal Sea, Filipino Youth, Nela, Light, Narra,
Mutya ng Silangan
Rosendo Santos Jr. Melinda’s Masquerade

Nicanor Abelardo - Nasaan Ka Irog?, Bituing Marikit, Mutya ng Pasig, Paskong Anong Saya, Cavatina,
Kundiman ng Luha, Magbalik Ka Hirang

Francisco Santiago- Kundiman (Anak Dalita), Himutok, Pakiusap, Madaling Araw, Sakali Man, Pilipinas
Kong Mahal, Ano Kaya ang Kapalaran?

Felipe de Leon Sr. - Bulaklak Alitaptap, Bagong Lipunan, Payapang Daigdig, Pasko na Naman, Noche
Buena, Kay Tamis ng Buhay, Sapagkat Mahal Kita

Francisco Buencamino - Harana, Pandanggo ni Neneng, Collar de Sampaguita, Dulces las Horas, Mayon
(Fantasia de Concierto), My Soul’s Lament, Larawan, Mazurka, Boholana, Mi Bandera, Princesa ng
Kumintang, Maligayang Bati, Ang Bukang Liwayway, Pandanggo ni Neneng, Ang Bagong Balitaw, Himig
ng Nayon, Damdamin (Romance),and Pizzicato Caprice.