TASK 1.39. PE.

JASSEIN OPPUS
HARANA AND KUNDIMAN
EXAMPLE 1
Title: “Dungawin Mo,” “Hirang” (“Look Out the WIndow, My Love)

Background:
In this song, the man is asking the woman to at least give him a glance. The song’s
composer is Santiago S. Suarez and the singer heard below is Ruben Tagalog. The first line is
also frequently changed to Irog ko’y pakinggan. The word hirang in the song’s title refers to a
“love” or object of affection. It’s a lesser known meaning for that word. More common
synonyms include irog and giliw.

About the writer:

EXAMPLE 2
Title: “Ano Kaya Ang Kapalaran,” which translates to “What Fate Lies Ahead”.

Background:
This is a perfect example of a kundiman that people over the years have mistakenly
sung as a love song. This song was composed in 1938 by Dr. Francisco Santiago, the
“Father of Kundiman” or according to Castro, the “Father of Philippine Nationalism in
Music.
The first time I came across this “Ano Kaya ang Kapalaran”, I was confused if I am
to sing both the Tagalog and Spanish text because repeat signs of the sections are missing.
Though the texts do not translate equally, both carry the same idea that “Happiness is not
necessarily about finding one’s beloved but being free to sing his or own melody”
(Anderson, 2015, p.56). In this case, the freedom in singing in their Tagalog language:
“walang kasing tamis gaya ng umawit ng sariling himig. Bawat taginting ang wika’y
pagibig.”, “there is nothing more pleasant than to sing one’s own melody. With every
sound, the language is love”. The Spanish text explains further, “It is more than the song of
the heart, it is the Philippine lyre”. The song quickly changes it’s mood in the second
section, which goes into the parallel major. The Tagalog text of this section ends a bit
pessimistic, “Expect not fortune, you will receive bitterness”. But, the Spanish text of the
same section ends a bit more hopeful, “And if the pain is so great, the song sings the smile
of the wounded heart…what you will achieve if you have hope. Happy you will be!”.
Thought the Tagalog text satirically plays along the melody of this piece, the Spanish text
amplifies the hopeful melody.
 BALLAD
EXAMPLE 1
Title: Hindi Tayo Pwede By The Juans

Background:
This song states that there are things that no matter how much you like it, you do not
want it. There are things that [you] choose but does not chose you. There is really a time in life
that you have to accept that we cannot have them.

EXAMPLE 2
Title: Imahe by Magnus Haven

Background:
The bassist group Rey Maestro recounted that the song was inspired by his long-distance
relationship, which lasted for 2 years.
“He is in Kuwait, I am in the Philippines. I flirted with him while he was abroad, ”Maestro said.
Maestro himself allegedly broke up with the bride when he felt that the two of them were having
a difficult relationship.
"I have to let go for him to be happy because I feel he is no longer happy with me, because I can
no longer give everything I want to give," he explained.

CHAMBER
EXAMPLE 1
Title: Awit ng Paghahangad (2006)

Background:
The University of the Philippines Madrigal Singers was organized in 1963 by National
Artist Professor Andrea O. Veneracion. The group is composed of students, faculty and alumni
from the different colleges of the University of the Philippines (UP). The choir is one of the
world’s most awarded, having consistently won all the top prizes in most of the world’s
prestigious choral competitions: Concorso Polifónico Guido d’Arezzo (Arezzo, Italy); Concorso
e Festival Internazionale Di Canto Corale “Seghizzi” (Gorizia, Italy); International Chamber
Choir Competition (Marktoberdorf, Germany); International Chorwettbewerb (Spittal, Austria);
Festival Choral International de Neuchatel (Neuchatel, Switzerland); Florilège Vocal de Tours
(Tours, France); International May Choir Competition Prof. G. Dimitrov (Varna, Bulgaria); Béla
Bartók International Choir Competition (Debrecen, Hungary); Festival Internacional de Música
de Cantonigròs (Cantonigros, Spain), Certamen Coral de Tolosa (Tolosa, Basque Country,
Spain) and Certamen Internacional de Habaneras y Polifonia (Torrevieja, Spain). They hold the
distinction of being the first choir in the world to win the European Grand Prix for Choral
Singing twice(1997 and 2007).

EXAMPLE 2
Title: KAILAN PA MAN
Words and Music by N. Arnel De Pano

Background:
This song is a prayer for strength and hope, an affirmation of God’s promise and a
testament to God’s unending grace.
“Throughout our own journeys in life, we are reminded that God will never leave us nor
forsake us.”
- Jules Noveras

CHORAL MUSIC
EXAMPLE 1
Title: Vespro della Beata Vergine (Vespers for the Blessed Virgin)

Background:
It is a musical setting by Claudio Monteverdi of the evening vespers on Marian feasts,
scored for soloists, choirs, and orchestra. It is an ambitious work in scope and in its variety of
style and scoring, and has a duration of around 90 minutes. Published in Venice (with a
dedication to Pope Paul V dated 1 September 1610) as Sanctissimae Virgini Missa senis vocibus
ac Vesperae pluribus decantandae, cum nonnullis sacris concentibus, ad Sacella sive Principum
Cubicula accommodata ("Mass for the Most Holy Virgin for six voices, and Vespers for several
voices with some sacred songs, suitable for chapels and ducal chambers"), it is sometimes called
Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610.
EXAMPLE 2
Title: Hear My Prayer by Purcell

Background:
Anthem by Henry Purcell
Language English
Composed c. 1682
Scoring SSAATTBB choir, optional continuo

The composition is thought to have been intended to be part of a longer work, indicated
by several blank pages following it in the autograph, which is held by the Fitzwilliam Museum in
Cambridge.[2] The lyrics of the extant music are the first verse of Psalm 102: "Hear my prayer,
O Lord, and let my crying come unto thee." (Psalms 102:1). Purcell set it for an a cappella choir
consisting of eight voice parts: two soprano parts, two altos, two tenors and two basses
(SSAATTBB). The anthem is 34 measures long, and is written in the key of C minor. Some
arrangements include a continuo instrumental accompaniment. Musicologist and historian
Franklin B. Zimmerman designated the anthem as "Z. 15" in his catalogue of Purcell's works.[1]
The duration of performances and recordings of this work varies considerably, from about two
minutes to over three minutes in length.[3][4][2]
 OPERA
EXAMPLE 1
Title: L'Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi Mantua, Italy, c1607
Background:
With a mythological musician as hero, L'Orfeo ranks as the first great opera. Monteverdi
was the "founding father" of operatic form.
Euridice dies from a snake bite. The sorrowful Orpheus, through his music, tries to save
her from the Underworld. A popular operatic subject (Gluck, Jaques Offenbach, Philip Glass),
L'Orfeo is emotional, melancholy and transcendent.

EXAMPLE 2
Title: Giulio Cesare (Julius Caesar) by George Frideric Handel London, UK, 1724
Background:
An epic of love and war often considered Handel's finest work, Giulio Cesare has a richly
intricate plot and the bonus of a brilliantly characterised and outrageously seductive Cleopatra
(see Glyndebourne's Opus Arte DVD with the dancing Danielle de Niese as Cleo). Caesar,
written for castrato, is often sung by a countertenor. Other good Handel: Rinaldo, Radamisto,
Tamerlano, Rodelinda, Ariodante, Alcina.

POP MUSIC
EXAMPLE 1
Title: Sign of the Times by Harry Styles

Background:
Harry Styles has opened up about the meaning behind the lyrics to his debut solo single
‘Sign Of The Times’ – revealing that it was inspired by a mother dying after childbirth.
The One Direction turned solo star launched the single earlier this month before announcing the
details of his self-titled solo album – due for release on May 12. Discussing the lyrics of the
album, Styles has revealed that he was inspired by ‘fundamentals’, and that ‘Sign Of The Times’
deals with a young mother being told that she has five minutes left to live. “Most of the stuff that
hurts me about what’s going on at the moment is not politics, it’s fundamentals,” he told Rolling
Stone. “Equal rights. For everyone, all races, sexes, everything…” He continued; “‘Sign of the
Times’ came from ‘This isn’t the first time we’ve been in a hard time, and it’s not going to be the
last time’. The song is written from a point of view as if a mother was giving birth to a child and
there’s a complication. The mother is told, ‘The child is fine, but you’re not going to make it.’
The mother has five minutes to tell the child, ‘Go forth and conquer.'”
EXAMPLE 2
Title: Paubaya by Moira Dela Torre

Background:
Moira is loved for her sad love songs and recently, she released the last track of the
Patawad album entitled “Paubaya”. This has caught social media attention and broke countless of
hearts. Upon listening, many people recalled their heartbreaking experiences in love and shared
it online to release what they’re feeling.
The song is seemingly about a person who is in love with this someone who doesn’t love him
back. It talks about being the right person but staying with the wrong one only to have no other
way but to let that person go for it surely won’t work out. Surely, everyone can relate to the
utmost pain of letting go someone you held on to for long, you built dreams with, and loved for
like forever.

PROTEST SONG
EXAMPLE 1
Title: Strange Fruit by Billie Holiday

Background:
First recorded by the famous jazz singer Billie Holiday, ‘Strange Fruit’ is a song about
the lynching of black people in Southern America in the first half of the 20th Century. It was first
written as a poem by teacher Abel Meerpol and was then was published in 1937. Abel Meerpol
was a white Jewish man who belonged to the American Communist Party, and he wrote the song
after seeing a gruesome picture of a lynching of black men. In the 1930s, lynching had reached a
high peak in the South of US. By conservative estimates there were around 4,000 lynchings in
the half century before 1940, the vast majority in the South, with most of the victims black.

The song has simple lyrics, that carry a huge strength, and haunt you even when the song is over.
The juxtaposition of the beautiful landscape, the scents of flowers and fruits, with the blood and
broken bones of human beings brutally beaten gives a powerful and poignant feeling to the song.
The song exposes the brutality of racism in America, and doesn’t leave any room for more
words. When the meaning of the song is fully grasped, one remains shocked, angry and disgusted
by the imagery portrayed.

When Holiday first performed the song at Cafe Society in 1939 she said that singing it made her
fearful of retaliation but, because its imagery reminded her of her father, she continued to sing
the piece, making it a regular part of her live performances. The song was so powerful that a rule
was set that she could only close a show with it; the barmen would have to close off service and
darken the room. The show would end with Billie Holiday, with her powerful voice, singing in
the dark with a light shining on her. Even the way it was performed reflected the compelling
origin of the song and its lyrics.

It was not easy to record the song, as most recording companies were afraid of gaining a bad
reputation with the anti-communists and southern racists in America, which at the time
dominated the political scene. However, when it was finally recorded by Commodore in 1939, it
quickly became famous. It attracted the attention of the more politically aware park of society;
intellectuals, artists, teachers and journalists. In October of that year, a journalist of the New
York Post described the song as the anthem and the anger of the exploited people of the south, if
they ever got to voice it.

At a time when political protest was not often expressed in musical form, the song was
revolutionary. It was seldom played on the radio. This was a period in which the segregationist
Southern Dixiecrats played a leading role in the Democratic Party as well as the Roosevelt
administration. It would take a mass movement to finally dismantle the apartheid system that
played a key role in setting the stage for lynching.

The song, is said to be the original protest song.

EXAMPLE 2
Title: Mississippi Goddam

Background:
"Mississippi Goddam" is a song written and performed by American singer and pianist
Nina Simone, who later announced the anthem to be her "first civil rights song".[1] The song
was released on her album Nina Simone in Concert in 1964, which was based on recordings of
three concerts she gave at Carnegie Hall earlier that year. The album was her first release for the
Dutch label Philips Records and is indicative of the more political turn her recorded music took
during this period.

Simone composed "Mississippi Goddam" in less than an hour. Together with the songs
"Ain't Got No, I Got Life", "Four Women" and "To Be Young, Gifted and Black", it is one of her
most famous protest songs and self-written compositions. In 2019, "Mississippi Goddam" was
selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being
"culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[2]