Let us RECALL…Jose Maceda’s musical style shifted when he encountered the music of the indigenoustribes 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.

Ramon Santos’ compositional style features chromaticism, music seria, and electroniccomponents, 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 religiousfigures and events. His versatility as a pianist, composer, arranger, theorist, and teacheris widely recognized in the local musical scene

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.

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

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 Asiancomposers.

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, culturalactivist, and writer, has explored innovative territories and unusual musical treatments inhis works.

SONG COMPOSERS

By: ANDREW GABIONZALNHS

Prolific lyricist and composer Levi Celerio was namedNational Artist for Music and Literature in 1997. Also a violinist, he had written the lyrics for over 4,000 songs inhis lifetime, including many for film. LEVI CELERIO

(1910 – 2002)National Artist for Literature and Music

A great number ofkundimans and Filipino love songs have lyrics written byhim, most notable of which are Dahil sa Iyo, Buhat, andAng Pasko ay Sumapit.

Celerio was born in Tondo on April 30, 1910. He studied at the Academy of Music in Manila under a scholarship.

Later, he went on to join the Manila Symphony Orchestra.

Aside from writing his own lyrics, he also translated and re-wrote the lyrics of folksongsto traditional melodies like Maliwanag Na Buwan from Ilocos, Ako ay May Singsingfrom Pampanga, and Alibangbang from the Visayas.

Guinness Book of World Records for being theonly person to make music with a mouth-blown leaf

CONSTANCIO DE GUZMAN(1903 – 1982)

Born on November 11, 1903 in Guiguinto, Bulacan. He grew up in Manila where he studied piano and composition under Nicanor Abelardo.

He went to law school but switched to pursue and finish a BS Commerce degree at Jose Rizal College in 1928.

He passed the certified public accountants (CPA) board examinations in 1932. After he took the CPA board exam, hestarted working for the movies.

“Dean of Filipino Movie Composers and Musical Directors,”

Music director of movie production companies like Sampaguita, LVN, Royal,Excelsior, Lea, and Tagalog Ilang-Ilang Productions. His “unexpected” hit music, Panaginip, paved the way for him to record hundreds of songs, principally under Villar and Columbia Records

“Dean of Filipino Movie Composers andMusical Directors,” De Guzman became the music director of movie production companies like Sampaguita, LVN, Royal, Excelsior, Lea, and Tagalog Ilang-Ilang Productions. His “unexpected” hit music,Panaginip, paved the way for him to record hundreds of songs, principally under Villarand Columbia Records

In 1948, his song Ang Bayan Ko and Kung Kita’y Kapiling won the gold medal at the Paris International Fair. Bayan Ko was later adopted as the symbolic song of the People Power Movement of 1986.

The same song won for him the Awit Award for Best Filipino Lyricist.

Some of De Guzman’s notable compositions include Babalik Ka Rin, Ang Tangi Kong Pag-ibig, Birheng Walang Dambana, Maalaala Mo Kaya, and Sa Piling Mo. De Guzman passed away on August 16, 1982.

MIGUEL “MIKE” VELARDE JR.(1913 – 1986)

Composer, conductor, movie actor, and musicaldirector was born in Manila on October 23, 1913

His exposure to the unaffected and unpretentious environment of Basilan and Zamboanga had influenced his creative imagination, mainly nurtured by his mother who became his first music teacherin piano and violin when he was six years old.SchoolZamboanga Normal School and graduated as valedictorian.He pursue medicine University of the Philippines. He learned the basics of harmony and composition from Antonio Molina and Ariston Avelino as he further deepened his musical knowledge through self-study.

Velarde created his own style as he composed highly melodious and romantic songs such as Ikaw, Lahat ng Araw, Habang Buhay,Minamahal Kita , Ikaw ay Akin, andDahil Sa Iyo. In 1970, he won the Best Conductor award at the First International

Popular Song Contest in Japan with his composition As Long as Forever. He received the Cultural Achievement Award in Popular Music from the Philippine Government

Cultural Association in 1975 and the Gawad CCP Para Sa Sining in 1986. His other compositions include Buhat, Ikaw, Bituing Marikit, Minamahal Kita, Dating Sumpaan,Dalisay, Eternally Yours, and

SANTIAGO SUAREZ(1901 – 1964)

born in Sampaloc, Manila. He learned how to play the piano fromhis grandmother who was also a competent harpist, while his grandfather played the flute.

He attended the Conservatory of Music, University of the Philippines and the Ateneo de Manila in Intramuros. He took private music lessons from Caetano Jacobe, PedroFloriaga, and Nicanor Abelardo.

Suarez’s compositions are a mixture of the soulful kundiman style and the lively strains of the countryside.

The melodies are tonal and catchy, while the rhythms follow the regular meter with minimal tempo changes.

His harmonies follow the traditional classical progression, making his compositions easy to understand without the complexities of form and structure.

Some of his works are quite popular and heard even with today’s classical singers, pop singers, and choral groups. They include the following: Ligaya Ko, Pandanggo ni Neneng, Dungawin mo Hirang, Bakya Mo Neneng, Caprichosa, Sa Libis ng Nayon, Harana, Kataka-taka, Labandera Ko, Lakambini, Kamia, Ikaw ang BuhayKo!, Kay Lungkot nitong Hating-Gabi, and Mutya Niyaring Puso. Suarez passed awayin 1964

RESTITUTO “RESTIE” UMALI(1916 – 1998)

Restituto Aquino Umali was born in Paco, Manila on June 16, 1916. His early exposure to music was due to the influence of his father who taught him violin as well as his exposure to the regular family rondalla.

He also taught solfeggio and score reading at the Mapa High School where he became an active member of the school glee club andorchestra.

He can play the E-flat horn, trombone, and tuba (University of Santo Tomas) Band. He also taught choral arranging and orchestration at the UST Conservatory of Music. He majored in Composition and Conducting at the Conservatory of Music, University of the Philippines (UP) and Commerce at the Jose Rizal College.He even passed an electrician’s course at the Philippine School of Arts and Trades before embarking on a rewarding career as musical scorer for movies.

Among Umali’s most popular songs are Saan Ka Man Naroroon, Alaala ng Lumipas, Ang Pangarap Ko’y Ikaw, Sa Libis ng Barrio, Di Ka Nag-iisa, and Paano Kita Lilimutin.He had arranged the performance of Maestro Federico Elizalde’s Manila Little Symphony aired on radio stations DZRH and DZPI, apart from his stint as musical director for Sampaguita Pictures.

ANGEL PEÑA(1921 – 2014)

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

born on April 22, 1921 to a musical family.Peña learned solfeggio from his mother Rosario Velarde Matias.

Peña auditioned for the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra. He was immediately accepted as bassist and later as arranger in 1969. He would spend the next 28 years in Hawaii, where he continued to write his own music. As farewell homage, the Manila SymphonyOrchestra performed hisConcerto for Double Bass and Orchestra. In 1981 on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of Filipino presence in Hawaii, the Honolulu Symphony premiered his Concerto for Jazz Quartet and Orchestra with an all-star Filipino jazz quartet.

In 1998, a House Resolution from the State of Hawaii’s House of Representatives was passed to honor Peña for his contributions in the field of music as a world renowned jazzmusician, musical arranger, and Hawaii’s own living classical composer.

The Jazz Society of the Philippines-USA further gave him a Lifetime Achievement Award at the ThirdAnnual Fil-Am Jazz Festival in Hollywood. Pena passed away on December 22, 2014.

ERNANI CUENCO(1936 – 1988)

National Artist for Music

composer, film scorer, musicaldirector and music teacher, was conferred the National ArtistAward for Music in 1999.

His works embody a Filipino senseof musicality that contain the classical sound of the kundiman.Cuenco was born on May 10, 1936 in Malolos, Bulacan. As aboy, he was encouraged to learn the violin

He was mentored by his mother, his godmother Doña Belen Aldaba Bautista, and his first teacher, Jovita Tantoco.

He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Music, major in Piano at the UST Conservatory of Music in 1956. A UST scholarship grant in the same year enabled him to study the cello under Professor Modesto Marquiz, which he finished inHis career as a musical director began in 1960 when he was discovered by then actor Joseph Estrada while he was playing as part of a band he had formed with friends at an exclusive restaurant in Makati. In 1963, Cuenco was sent as a delegate to the International Music Conference in Tokyo, Japan. Aside from being a composer and musical director,he was also a faculty member at the UST Conservatory of Music until his death on July11, 1988.

GEORGE CANSECO(1934 – 2004)

George Masangkay Canseco was born on April 23, 1934 in Naic, Cavite.

He graduated with a Liberal Arts degree at theUniversity of the East. After graduation, he worked for the Philippines Herald and the Associated Press as a journalist. Healso worked as a “free-lance scriptwriter for hire” in Manila.

“a nationally acclaimed composerof numerous popular classics.”

One of his best-known compositions was Child, the English-language version of Freddie Aguilar’s signature song Anák.

He wrote songs for the country’s top popular singerssuch as Sharon Cuneta, Basil Valdez, Regine Velasquez, Zsa Zsa Padilla, Pilita Corrales, Martin Nievera, and Kuh Ledesma.

His legacy as a composer include approximately 120 song titles including Ikaw, Kailangan Kita, Dito Ba, Hiram, Tubig at Langis, Hanggang sa Dulo ng Walang Hanggan, Sinasamba Kita, Kastilyong Buhangin, Minsan Pa Nating Hagkan ang Nakaraan, Ngayon at Kailanman, Saan Darating ang Umaga, Sana Bukas Pa ang Kahapon, Dear Heart, Gaano Kadalas ang Minsan, Paano kita Mapapasalamatan, and Kahapon Lamang.

He passed away on November 19, 2004 in Manila.

LEOPOLDO SILOS Sr.(1925 – 2015)

Leopoldo Silos Sr.was born on March 6, 1925.

He was a composer, singer, and arranger. Hecomposed and recorded a number of romantic songs, the most famous of which were two of his well known hits, Dahil Sa Isang Bulaklak (Because Of One Flower) and Hindi Kita Malimot (I Can’t Forget You). He was also the award-winning musical director of the longrunning television musical program, Aawitan Kita, which starred Armida Siguion-Reyna.

Accordingly, the music of Silos touches the sentiment quite deeply.

His lyrical melodies are complemented by exotic harmonies. His melodies were made more appealing throughtheir extended chords, diminished intervals, and secondary dominants

Thus, that enriched the otherwise basic chordal patterns accompanying a tonal melody.