Auditory

&
Performing Arts
What is Auditory Arts?
• The art of arranging sounds in time so as to produce a
continuous, unified, and evocative composition, as
through melody, harmony, rhythm, and timbre.
• Vocal or instrumental sounds possessing a degree of
melody, harmony, or rhythm; Medium of all auditory
arts forms is Sound
• Also known as Timed Arts; just as the medium of visual
art is sight, so the medium of auditory art is sound.
• Two categories : Music & Literature
Auditory Arts: Music
• Composed of tones and silences organized in such a manner to
convey the emotions and ideas conceived
by the composer. The composers work must be interpreted by
another artist-the performer who makes the composers work
come to life.
• is an artful arrangement of sounds across time. Music is part of
virtually every culture on earth, but it varies widely among
cultures in style and structure.
• Music moves through time, thus it is called temporal
• Music appreciation is the acquired ability to listen to music
intelligently
Functions of Music
a) Attempt to imitate nature sounds
b) Release of one’s emotions or feelings
c) Signals in wars
d) Means of worship and rituals
e) Form of entertainment
Physical Properties of Music
• Vibration produces sound
• Regular Vibrations produces Tones or Musical Sounds
• Irregular sounds produces Noise
• Four qualities of sound:
a) Timbre (Quality)
b) Pitch (Relative Highness or Lowness)
c) Duration (Length of time which a sound occupies)
d) Intensity (Loudness or Softness)
Auditory Arts: Literature
• There are sound values in poetry, particularly when
read aloud; but as sound alone, literature would be the
most poverty-stricken of arts:
• Listening to the sounds of a poem or play uttered in an
unfamiliar language gives some idea of the importance
in literature of knowing the meanings of the words.
Auditory Arts in the Philippines
• The kundiman folk music is a popular music form that is unique
to the Philippine islands. It is music that is a combination of
both words and music. Also popular with Filipinos is folk
dancing.
• Maglalatik, a simulated-war dance, is a four part dance which
starts out with mock-fighting and ends with
reconciliation. Initially a depiction of a fight between the
Christians and Moros, it is also performed as a mark of respect
for San Isidro de Labrador, the patron saint of farmers.
• National Artist for Music: Ryan Cayabyab, Levi Celerio, Lucio San
Pablo
• National Artist for Literature: Sionil Jose, Nick Joaquin, Carlos
Romulo
What is Performing Arts?
• Type of artistic production that focuses upon actions,
audiences and specific activities done in a particular
location for a particular time
• The performers communicate their experiences to the
audience through combinations of gesture, speech,
song, music and dance
• A type of art that could not be bought, sold or traded
as a commodity
• The specific place of performance was coined from the
Greek word “thἐatron” which means the seeing place
 Theater versus Drama
• Theater is a deliberate performance
created by live actors and intended for
a live audience, typically making use
of scripted language.
• Refers to the personification of a
drama on stage. It requires space,
individuals who play characters, and
people who see the act (audience).
Theater is a collective effort of many
people, dramatist or a playwright, a
director, actors, and technicians to
make audience believe that whatever
is happening on stage is real.
• Drama is a word that comes from
Greek “dran”, which means to do or
perform; literally means action.
• The act or process of performing a
play in front of an audience is
dramatization.
• Drama can be an episode of life, such
as 9/11, a section in a DVD library or a
library of plays, or it can be a fiction
full of emotions and conflicts.
• Drama is the printed text of a play.
• Drama is one of the genres of theater
where comedy, tragedy, or action may
be other genres.
Performing Arts in the Philippines
• Pre-colonial Time
During the pre-historic times, theater in the Philippines was in
the form of indigenous rituals, verbal jousts or games, or songs
and dances to praise gods. According to early chronicles, pre-
historic dramas consisted of three elements – myth, mimesis,
and spectacle.
These mimetic performances mostly dramatized primitive rituals
and epic poetry about deities and mythical legends, where the
spirit of the deities would seemingly possess a catalonan (priest)
or babaylan (priestess).
During this entranced state, the priest or priestess would
consume the sacrificial offering, which could be in the form of a
pig, chicken, rice, wine, or nuts.
Performing Arts in the Philippines
• Spanish Regime
When the Spaniards reached our shores, they used dramas such as zarzuelas as a
pedagogical tool to influence the pagan tribes and teach them about Christianity and
religion. Another important form of theater popularized during the Spanish colonization
is the comedia, also known as moro-moro, linambay, orarakyo.
Moro-Moro is a secular comedy that dramatizes the war between Christians and
Muslims through the forbidden love between the prince and the princess. The comedy is
resolved with the non-Christian being converted to Christianity, or through his or her
death, immediately followed by his or her resurrection.
Comedias were normally performed in the pueblos or village centers to attract more
people to the foundation of its regime. The comedia can last anywhere from 3 to 15
hours through a series of performances. The first Filipino comedia was performed in Latin
and Spanish by Fr. Vicente Puche in Cebu in 1598.
A zarzuela is a form of musical theater that combines spoken word and song that
celebrates various Catholic liturgical feasts. Jugar Con Fuego by Francisco Asenjo Barbieri
was the first zarzuela introduced in the country in late 1878 or early 1879.
Performing Arts in the Philippines
• American Colonization

Their influence on Philippine theatre is most apparent through

the bodabil (vaudeville) and the plays and dramas staged or translated into
English. In 1898, the first bodabil was produced by the Manila Dramatic Guild
for the sole purpose of entertaining American soldiers and other Americans
residing in Manila. It was also the first theatrical performance since the
revolution.

The bodabil is not a straight-up play. The theatrical performance is, in fact, a
mix of songs, dances, comedy skits, and even magical performances. Local
audiences bought-in and productions soon found themselves becoming
entertainment spectacles that can be transported from one town to the next.

In the 1930s, the country was introduced to Broadway theatre or stage plays
through the westernized education that was provided in most private schools
for privileged children. Shakespearean tragedies and comedies, as well as
western classics, were performed in the original English or English adaptation.
Performing Arts in the Philippines
• The Japanese Occupation
By the 1940s, when the Japanese took over the Philippines from the
Americans, movie actors and actresses could no longer appear in
films, as the Japanese confiscated all film equipment. However,
the comedia, zarzuela, and bodabil remained in the country as forms
of entertainment and expression.
Eventually, the bodabil evolved to become stage shows or variety
shows with a short melodrama at the end to accommodate the
actors and actresses who moved their craft to bodabil and
theatre. Venues such as the Manila Grand Opera House and the
Savoy Theatre became homes of bodabil.
After the war, movies returned to popularity, and the bodabil era
slowly lost its luster. Stage shows became small, cheap performances
held in open-air stages in the provinces. Sadly, the bodabil
deteriorated decades later to become burlesque and strip shows held
in cheap theatres around American military bases.
Performing Arts in the Philippines
• Philippine Theatre as We Know It Today

Theatre was largely performed in English during the time, as

it became a large part of classroom education. Meanwhile,
zarzuelas such as “Ang Kiri,” “Dalagang Bukid,” and “Paglipis
ng Dilim” became well-known beyond their regions.

By the 1950s, theatre had moved out of classrooms and the

concept of paying for a ticket to see a theatrical performance
emerged. This “legitimate” theatre was held in closed
theaters – these became events in themselves, not just mere
parts of a celebration or religious ritual.