De[note]d memory: Filipino compositions at the Conservatory

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By John Anthony S. Estolloso

For most audiences and even among the most avid fans of classical music, the canon of work by Filipino composers remains as obscura. In recitals or concerts, the occasional Abelardo or Molina composition would surface, sometimes played as an encore in the programme – and that is all of it. To most of us unperceptive ones, there is even the tendency to misidentify some of these as works by Western musicians.

But the University of San Agustin’s Conservatory of Music had something to offer as response to this: the evening of May 16 heard these obscure compositions resounding in the confined chamber of the conservatory’s choir room. As the college’s participation in the celebration of National Heritage Month and in partnership with the local chapter of the Piano Teachers’ Guild of the Philippines, the programme offered a selection of songs and piano works by Filipino composers: Nicanor Abelardo, Francisco Buencamino, Sr., Levi Celerio, Nitoy Gonzales, Dolores Paterno, Lucio San Pedro, Francisco Santiago, Leopoldo Silos, and Ernesto Vallejo.

Aptly titled ‘Awit at Alaala’, the evening’s repertoire evoked both heritage and memory – but what exactly is remembered and celebrated between the notes? If the answer to this would be the Filipino’s penchant and good taste in music, then this tasteful sentiment was not lost to the evening’s performers.

There was much potential among the singers. Oliver Partosa’s heartfelt delivery of Celerio’s Saan Ka Man Naroroon’ was intense yet mellow enough not to lose the shades of romance in the lines. Sopranos Ivory Nicole Bedia and Daevie Lorraine Iligan would do well on the operatic stage – or perhaps, the lieder? There was something of the dramatic in their singing and the vigor of their performances hinted on up-and-coming possibilities.

Fresh from his PASUC competition win, Arqzaend Andrade’s take on Abelardo’s Cavatina put the tension between technical mastery and emotional pull: a promising nod to the musician, if maintained with much practice and dedication in future recitals. His accompaniment to Demmie Nicolette Maza’s Ave Maria (Buencamino) gave the Marian prayer a soulful intensity that verged on the operatic, and albeit on a secondary role, who did not sense the maturity and depth of Micah Perez’s accompaniment on the piano? Safe to say, the three have gone a long way from their musical comfort zones.

Perhaps the unexpected highlight of that evening was Samantha Faith Servano’s performance on the instrument. Buencamino’s compositions were her pièces de resistance: a cautious ‘Sonrisa’, a lilting ‘Hiyas sa Nayon’, and a thunderous ‘La Bella Filipina’. Granted, there were the hesitations at the onset, the insipid flavor of some phrases, and the abrasive chords on occasion – but there was much honest sentiment and confidence in the delivery. Cut in the conservatory’s tradition of musical excellence, there is a virtuoso hidden somewhere in her. We look forward to hearing more.

Guitarist Jofranz Ambubuyog’s solo rendition of Paterno’s art song ‘Sampaguita’ reimagined its odic lyricism with much whimsy and jocund verve. There were timid passages, but the habanera’s sharp rhythms and accents were clearly felt in the subdued strumming. The composer would not have complained.

Intimate and brief, the evening’s repertoire lent itself to both consummate performance and reflective appreciation of our musical treasures. If one is to subject the music to the ubiquitous questions of culture and identity, we are faced with the same interrogatory points surrounding any art form. Indeed, the concert is a lovely expression and celebration of national heritage; yet we are also invited to examine what exactly is Filipino between the melodies and harmonies.

Our kundimans and nocturnes cannot seem to escape the romanticism of Chopin, Schubert, and Liszt. In the lyric delivery of songs, there is the vestige of the German lieder and the Italian opera. The formal titles of our composers’ works mirror the technical forms of sonata, symphony, and concerto. Nor is that limited to the classical either: listen to any OPM song and try to delineate what is truly Filipino other than the language of its singing. Perceived or not, our musical heritage does not wrench itself from colonial or contemporary influence, and for better or otherwise, it has added to the stock and taste of our musical sensibilities.

There is memory kept between the notes, in the masterful composition and performance, in the subtle technique and nuance – but what exactly are we remembering?

(The writer is a history and humanities teacher in one of the private schools of the city. The photos are from Dr. Gerardo Muyuela.)