Music

• The Philippines had come a long way by the time the 20th century arrived, being occupied by Spain and the United States
• The country has since then experienced significant changes in culture and was opened up to many new trends in literature, art, politics, and especially music.
• Abelardo was born on February 7, 1893, in San Miguel de Mayumo, Bulacan.
• He was first introduced to music at the age of 5 when his father taught him solfeggio and bandurria
• At the age of eight, he had already written his first composition, a waltz entitled, “Ang Unang Buko” — dedicated to his grandmother.
• Abelardo At 13, he was already playing in cabarets and saloons in Manila
• During this time, he was also under the guidance of Francisco Buencamino, the piano player of Cinematografo Filipino.
• Buencamino first heard about Abelardo’s talents and eventually employed him as a substitute to play piano accompaniment to silent films.
• Although he was known to write symphonies and concertos, Abelardo is more famous for writing kundiman and other nationalistic songs such as “Ang Aking Bayan”.
• Abelardo was also called the “Father of Filipino Sonatas” for his works “Sonata in G Major” (1921) and “Sonata for String Quartet” (1932).
• He entered the conservatory in the University of the Philippines in 1916 where he also wrote the music for a march called “UP Naming Mahal”. He eventually became a teacher of theory and composition at the same university.
• Nasaan ka irog

  This song is one of the examples of Abelardo’s kundiman songs. Like a typical kundiman, the song is in triple time and contains a modulation that gives the song a triumphant second half by modulating from the minor key to the parallel major key.
• Santiago was born on January 29, 1889, in Santa Maria, Bulacan. His parents, Felipe and Maria Santiago, were both musically-inclined but suffered poverty.
• Though poor Santiago, he was not stopped from pursuing music. At the age of 7, he learned to play the piano from a private tutor, and throughout his educational life, he supported himself financially.
• In 1916 Santiago, when the Conservatory of Music was founded in the University of the Philippines, he was hired as a piano instructor
• In 1924, Santiago got his masters in music from the University of Chicago and then his doctorate from the Chicago Music School.
• Molina was born on December 26, 1894, in Quiapo, Manila.
• Molina was a composer, conductor, teacher and music historian — earning him the nickname the “Dean of Filipino Composers.”