Music of Mindoro

A Southeast Asian Musical Tradition is practiced by those who resisted Spanish—and later
American—Colonial Rule, comprising roughly 10% of the Philippine population. These musical
traditions relate to the social, political and economic life of the people, and are connected to their
spiritual beliefs and their relationship to the natural environment.

Generally, two "types" of Southeast Asian music could be found in the archipelago. A
"northern tradition" found in the Cordillera Mountains in northern Luzon and a "southern
tradition" found in the islands of Mindoro, Palawan, and in Mindanao and the Sulu group of
islands in the extreme south. Northern traditions relate to various music cultures in continental
Southeast Asia while southern traditions relate to the immediate islands in insular Southeast
Asia.

Some of the language groups in the north are the Kalinga, Bontok, Kankana-ey, Ifugao,
Isneg, Ibaloi, Ilonggot, Karao, Isneg and the Tingguian. In Mindanao in the south, Islamic
groups consist of the Maguindanao, Maranao, Yakan, Sangil, Tausug, Sama, Badjao, and
the Jama Mapun. Non-Moslem groups, sometimes referred to collectively by outsiders
as Lumads, consist of the Manobo, Bagobo, Subanun, Tiruray, Tagabili, Mandaya, Mansaka,
the T’boli and the B’laan. The Pala-wan, Tagbanwa and Cuyunin are located in the island of
Palawan, while various groups like the Hanunoo-Mangyan, the Alangan and the Iraya are
collectively called the Mangyanand are located in the island of Mindoro, south of Luzon.

Gong types clearly distinguish between northern and southern traditions. Peoples of the
Cordillera highlands utilize graduated flat gongs (gangsa) that are played in ensembles of six to
eight—or in other cases with other musical instruments like the drum or a pair of iron bars—
utilizing a particular musical structure of interlocking patterns. In the island of Mindanao,
however, bossed gongs of various profiles are played in ensembles, usually led by a row of
gongs (kulintang) and supported or accompanied by other gongs such as, among the
Maguindanao, and the Maranao, the agung, the gandingan and the babandil and a drum,
the dabakan. Among the Tiruray, the agung ensemble is made up of five individual gongs, each
played by one person. Among theBagobo, these gongs of the agung type called tagunggo are
suspended with ropes and played by two, three or more persons. Smaller suspended gongs, on
the other hand, are sometimes called kulintang. Bossed gongs are also found in Palawan and in
Mindoro.

The flat gong traditions in the north relate to similar traditions found among, for instance,
the Mnong Gar of North Vietnam while just the same, similar traditions of bossed gong
ensembles in Mindanao are found in the islands of Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Sumatra, and
elsewhere in the southern archipelago. In both the northern and southern traditions, however,
gongs are associated with important community celebrations such as harvests and rituals.

Aside from gongs, other musical instruments in the north such as nose flutes, bamboo
buzzers, clappers, quill-shaped percussion tubes and brass jew’s harps relate to continental
Southeast Asia, while ring flutes log drums, xylophones, suspended beams, two-stringed boat
lutes and bamboo jew’s harps relate to insular Southeast Asia.
 Another feature that delineates between musical traditions is the rhythmic, speech-like
enunciation that characterizes the singing style of the north, as contrasted by a more melismatic,
long-phrased style in the south. Vocal genres in the north include epics such as
the ullalim among the Kalinga and other songs for various occasions and celebrations as
the ading and the oggayam. The alisiq is sung for curing the sick while the ibillaments the death
of a person. Leader-chorus singing among councils of elders relates to the leadership structure of
northern communities. The ayyeng among the Bontok and the Liwliwa among the Kankana-ey
exemplify leader-chorus type of singing.

In the south, the use of a tense, high-pitched style with complex melismas characterizes solo
singing among the Moslem groups. This style is used in the singing of epics such as the Radya
Indara Patra and theDiwata Kasalipan among the Maguindanao, the bayok a love song among
the Maguindanao and the Maranao, and the Tausug lugu, a solo song sung in Arabic, mostly by
women, for important Islamic ceremonies. A more "relaxed" style in the natural speaking range
with less melisma is used by non-Moslem groups. Among the Manobo, for instance, singing is
accompanied by a two-stringed boat lute and/or a bamboo polychordal zither.

Aside from the northern and southern linguistic groups, the Ayta is found in many parts in
the entire archipelago. Having been traditionally mobile, these groups of Filipino appear to have
syncretized their culture with proximal cultures. For instance, Ayta groups in northern Luzon
utilize a flat gong they refer to as gangha.

While the music of these peoples relate very much to their social and natural environment,
their continuous absorption into the mainstream Philippine culture seems to pose a threat to their
survival and the cultivation of their culture.
 Music of Palawan

The history of Philippine Music prior to 1898 encompasses two main streams of music: the
indigenous and the Spanish influenced music.

Indigenous Music

Indigenous music is that practiced by the ethnic groups found mostly in the highlands of
Luzon and Mindanao as well as in scattered areas in Mindoro, Palawan, Sulu, and the Visayan
islands. These include various vocal and instrumental genres. No written documents about this
prior to 1521 are available. However, some mention of music was included in subsequent reports
found in church and government archives. These sporadic descriptions tally with those made in
succeeding travelogues and anthropological studies which appeared in the 18th and
19th centuries. Much of this music is still practiced today among indigenous groups of people.

Instruments include those made of bamboo/wood and metal (iron,bronze). The former
antedates the gongs. They consist of bamboo flutes, zithers, clappers, buzzers, stamping tubes,
xylophones and stopped pipes; lutes, drums, and jew's harps.

End blown bamboo flutes are widespread throughout the Philippines. Most numerous are the
lip valley notch flutes so called because of the mouthpiece which is obliquely cut and curved at a
slant to follow the contour of the player's lips. The nose flute is found mostly among the
Cordillera highlanders. It is found sporadically in some areas in the south among the Hanunuo,
Batak, and Bukidnon. The Cuyunin of Palawan have large nose flutes with tubes much bigger in
diameter than those found in Luzon. Less common flutes are the ring type and the reed type
found in the southern Philippines.

Polychordal bamboo tube zithers are found in the Cordilleras, in Mindanao, and Palawan.
The strings, etched out of the bamboo body run around the entire tube and number anywhere
from 5 to 11. Another type of tube zither found in northern Luzon, Mindoro, Mindanao, and
Palawan has two strings etched from the tube and set about 5 cm. apart.

The Ifugao hangar is a bamboo clapper used in ritual ceremonies. Buzzers are found among
the Kalinga, Ifugao, Ibaloi, and Tingguian. The stamping tube consisting of a bamboo tube
closed on one end with a node, is found only in northern Philippines.

Bamboo xylophones with blades ranging in number from 3 to 22 are found among the
Yakan, Sama, Tausug, and Palawan. Single xylophone blades called patatag are found among the
Kalinga. Stopped pipes consisting bamboo pipes closed on one end with a node with the open
end held against the lower lip are played by the Kalinga and Bontok either singly or in sets of
graduated pipes numbering from 3 to 6 or 7.

Fretted lutes of the long neck variety with two strings, one acting as the drone and the other
as the melody, are found only in the south- in Mindanao and Palawan.
 Single and double headed drums are found throughout the archipelago. They are usually
combined with other instruments to form different types ensembles. Indigenous vocal genres
include epic singing; songs connected with life cycle events- birth, lullabies, courtship, marriage,
and death; occupational songs; and ritual songs. Writing in 1604, Chirino described songs
handed down through generations and sung from memory while sailing or tilling the fields, while
rejoicing and feasting, and for mourning the dead. They also sung their fabulous genealogies and
recounted the deeds of their gods. Subsequent documents and studies mention lullabies with
specific names such as the Leann pandayroy, the Bilaan yadadang, the Bukidnon paglibay sa
bata, the Dumagat bendolin, the Ibaloi tami, the Ilonggot emaga, the Kalinga owiwi, the
Maguindanao sangel, the Manobo panlibay, and the Maranao bomboman. Most numerous are
various life cycle songs related to courtship, marriage, and death. Occupational songs sung in
connection with farming, fishing, or doing simple chores include harvest songs, planting songs,
thanksgiving songs, hunting songs, and fishing songs. There are no generic terms for these songs
which are given specific names by the different tribes.

Spanish Influenced Music

The Spaniards came in 1521 and for the next three centuries infused a new musical thinking
which was reflected in the para-liturgical and secular genres of music which developed.

The arrival of the different religious orders dispersed throughout the islands resulted in the
establishment of schools in convents and churches where young boys were taught the liturgy and
its accompanying music- canto Ilano (Gregorian Chant) and canto d'organo (polyphony). One
such school was that under Fray Juan de Santa Maria in Lumbang, Laguna established in 1606
where 400 young boys from adjoining towns were taught solfege, Gregorian chant ,and
polyphony. After their training, they returned to their respective towns and taught others what
they had learned. It is not surprising therefore that documents written barely 50 years later speak
of the abundance of skillful singers in towns comparable to choirs in Spain. Writing in 1676,
Fray Sta. Ines commented: "Already all Dane, play instruments and sing in our manner, and use
all the instruments of the Spaniards, and they sing in a way that we do not have any advantage
over them.....musical compositions here can compete with that in some of the cathedrals in
Spain."

Before long, native rituals showed a syncretization of indigenous and Christian practices.
Old mystical rites seeking favors, asking for cures, or expressing thanksgiving for good fortune
invoke God, Mary, the saints, as well as pagan gods, the good and evil spirits. In Cavite such a
ritual is the sanghiyang, while in Bataan a similar ritual is the kagong.

The welding of folk traditions and practices into Catholic rituals and celebrations continued.
This gave rise to many extra-liturgical music genres, many of which were connected to the
church calendar year. Some of these include the Christmas carols and the more elaborate
outdoor-re-enactment of the Holy Couple's search for lodging called the pananawagan,
panunuluyan, or kagharong.

In Lent, the custom of chanting the passion of Jesus is widespread among the lowland
Christians. The narrative on the life and sufferings of Jesus Christ, called the pasyon, appears in
almost all major Philippine languages. It is sung in homes, village, chapels, or even in outdoor
makeshift sheds erected for the purpose. A more extensive and complicated rendition of the life
and passion of Christ takes place outdoors. The passion plays are called senaculo. Versions of
this passion play exist in all major Philippine languages. A special Holy Week outdoor
spectacle takes place in Marinduque called the moriones, the street drama portrays Roman
centurions centered around the legendary one-eyed Longinus whose eyesight was restored at the
crucifixion when a drop of Jesus blood fell on his eye. At Easter, the salubong takes place in the
church plazas re-enacting the Virgin Mary's meeting with her newly risen Son at which all
church bells ring, announcing the end of the Lenten season.

The months of April and May feature celebrations to honor Mary and also to honor various
patron saints of villages and towns. Processions of saints are accompanied by the town bands.
Devotion to Mary include the outdoor santacruzan and the flores de mayo. Other similar type of
celebrations are the pamukaw and theaurora.

A European type of secular music became more pronounced by the 1800's among the
ilustrados or urban elite class who became admirers of European music performed by Filipinos
and visiting artists, organized art societies, patronized operas, or played host to private evening
get-together where poetry and music were rendered.

Aside from the numerous bands that performed at the Luneta, the Plaza Mayor, and the
Calzada, there arose other instrumental ensembles. The rondalla, a plucked string band, was
patterned after the Spanish and Mexican estudiantinas and murzas. They were used to
accompany dances adapted from western forms
calledpandanggo, jota, habanera, danza, polka, mazurka, valse, and rigodon.
 Music of Visayas

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 Piñas 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 19th 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).