Kundiman
Encyclopedia
Kundiman is a genre of traditional Filipino
love song
s. The lyrics
of the Kundiman are written in Tagalog
. The melody
is characterized by a smooth, flowing and gentle rhythm with dramatic intervals. Kundiman was the traditional means of serenade
in the Philippines.
The Kundiman came around to be an art song
at the end of the nineteenth century and by the early part of the twentieth century, its musical structure was formalised by Filipino composers such as Francisco Santiago
and Nicanor Abelardo
(February 7, 1893-March 21, 1934); they sought poetry for their lyrics, blending verse and music in equal parts.
Scholars and historians believed that the Kundiman originated from the Tagalog town of Balayan, Batangas
. http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=philamer;cc=philamer;idno=aeg8734.0001.001;q1=kundiman;size=l;frm=frameset;seq=39;page=root;view=image Dr. Francisco Santiago
(1889–1947), the "Father of the Kundiman Art Song", briefly explains in his scholarly work "The Development of Music in the Philippines" the reason why this Tagalog song is called Kundiman is because the first stanza of this song begun thus:
In 1872, the illustrious Franciscan Tagalist and poet, Joaquín de Coria wrote the "Nueva Gramática Tagalog Teorica-Práctica" which, besides treating grammar, also enumerates the characteristics of Tagalog language
, and discusses Tagalog poetry.http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=philamer;cc=philamer;rgn=full%20text;idno=AEG8734.0001.001;didno=AEG8734.0001.001;view=image;seq=00000089 In this book, Coria also listed the names of the most important songs of the Tagalogs
. They are:
The Spanish scholar V.M. Avella described the Kundiman in his 1874 work "Manual de la Conversación Familiar Español-Tagalog" as the "canción indígena" (native song) of the Tagalogs
and characterized its melody as "something pathetic but not without some pleasant feeling." http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=philamer;cc=philamer;rgn=full%20text;idno=ACK4656.0001.001;didno=ACK4656.0001.001;view=image;seq=00000128
In his 1883 book "Cuentos Filipinos", Don José Montero y Vidal recorded in Spanish the sad lyrics of a "popular" Kundiman of the "Tagalas" or Tagalogs
:http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=philamer;cc=philamer;rgn=full%20text;idno=AGM3478.0001.001;didno=AGM3478.0001.001;view=image;seq=00000116
The Spanish writer and historian Wenceslao E. Retana recorded in 1888 the lyrics of a popular Kundiman in Batangas. The melancholic lyrics in the Tagalog original as recorded in Retana's book "El Indio Batangueño" reads: http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=philamer;cc=philamer;rgn=full%20text;idno=ABW7511.0001.001;didno=ABW7511.0001.001;view=image;seq=00000030
In 1916, Dr. Juan V. Pagaspas, a doctor of philosophy from Indiana University and a much beloved educator in Tanauan, Batangas described the Kundiman as "a pure Tagalog song which is usually very sentimental, so sentimental that if one should listen to it carefully watching the tenor of words and the way the voice is conducted to express the real meaning of the verses, he cannot but be conquered by a feeling of pity even so far as to shed tears." [J.Pagaspas, "Native Amusements in the Province of Batangas"]
Dr. Francisco Santiago, the "Father of Filipino Musical Nationalism" declared in 1931 that the Kundiman "is the love song par excellence of the Filipinos, the plaintive song which goes deepest into their hearts, song which brings them untold emotions." [F. Santiago, "The Development of Music in the Philippines"]
The melody and sentiment of the Kundiman tends not only toward the melancholy but also the cheerful http://www.univie.ac.at/Voelkerkunde/apsis/aufi/aurel/novara/nov1340.htm#condiman, and the commitment of the heart to passion is celebrated in every piece. The singer of the kundiman expresses the pain and beauty of love felt by every listener, for the kundiman is not merely entertainment but an embodiment of collective emotion.
Endowed with such power, the Kundiman naturally came to serve as a vehicle for veiled patriotism in times of colonial oppression, in which the undying love for a woman symbolized the love of country and desire for freedom.
José Rizal, leader of the Propaganda movement and the Philippine national hero, has consecrated the Kundiman in his social novel “Noli Me Tangere”. Not only this but he himself wrote a Kundiman which is not of the elegiac type because its rhythm sounds the threat, the reproach and the revindication of the rights of the race.
From 1896 to 1898 the most famous Kundiman, which fired the patriotic sentiments of the Tagalog revolutionaries in the struggle for liberation from Spanish colonial rule, was Jocelynang Baliuag. Officially known as Musica del Legitimo Kundiman Procedente del Campo Insurecto (Music of the Legitimate Kundiman that Proceeds from the Insurgents), Jocelynang Baliwag was the favorite Kundiman among the revolutionaries of Bulacan during the Philippine Revolution of 1896 - earning it the title "Kundiman of the Revolution."
In the guise of a love and courtship song, it features lyrics dedicated to a young and beautiful Filipina idolized in the Bulacan town of Baliuag named Josefa 'Pepita' Tiongson y Lara who symbolizes the image of the beloved Motherland, the Inang Bayang Katagalugan or Filipinas.
The Filipino composer, conductor and scholar Felipe M. de León Jr., wrote that the Kundiman is a "unique musical form expressing intense longing, caring, devotion and oneness with a beloved. Or with a child, spiritual figure, motherland, ideal or cause. According to its text, a kundiman can be romantic, patriotic, religious, mournful. Or a consolation, a lullaby. Or a protest and other types. But of whatever type, its music is soulful and lofty, conveying deep feelings of devotional love." [F.M. de León Jr., "But What Really Is The Kundiman?"]
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
love song
Love song
A love song is about falling in love and the feelings it brings. Anthologies of love songs often contain a mixture of both of these types of song. A bawdy song is both humorous and saucy, emphasizing the physical pleasure of love rather than the emotional joy...
s. The lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
of the Kundiman are written in Tagalog
Tagalog language
Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...
. The melody
Melody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
is characterized by a smooth, flowing and gentle rhythm with dramatic intervals. Kundiman was the traditional means of serenade
Serenade
In music, a serenade is a musical composition, and/or performance, in someone's honor. Serenades are typically calm, light music.The word Serenade is derived from the Italian word sereno, which means calm....
in the Philippines.
The Kundiman came around to be an art song
Art song
An art song is a vocal music composition, usually written for one voice with piano or orchestral accompaniment. By extension, the term "art song" is used to refer to the genre of such songs....
at the end of the nineteenth century and by the early part of the twentieth century, its musical structure was formalised by Filipino composers such as Francisco Santiago
Francisco Santiago
Francisco Santiago , was a Filipino musician, sometimes called The Father of Kundiman Art Song....
and Nicanor Abelardo
Nicanor Abelardo
Nicanor Sta. Ana Abelardo was a Filipino composer who composed over a hundred of Kundiman songs, especially before the Second World War.-Life:...
(February 7, 1893-March 21, 1934); they sought poetry for their lyrics, blending verse and music in equal parts.
Scholars and historians believed that the Kundiman originated from the Tagalog town of Balayan, Batangas
Balayan, Batangas
Balayan is a 1st class municipality in the Province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 79,407 people in 13,843 households....
. http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=philamer;cc=philamer;idno=aeg8734.0001.001;q1=kundiman;size=l;frm=frameset;seq=39;page=root;view=image Dr. Francisco Santiago
Francisco Santiago
Francisco Santiago , was a Filipino musician, sometimes called The Father of Kundiman Art Song....
(1889–1947), the "Father of the Kundiman Art Song", briefly explains in his scholarly work "The Development of Music in the Philippines" the reason why this Tagalog song is called Kundiman is because the first stanza of this song begun thus:
-
- "Cundiman, cundiman
- Cundiman si jele"
-
- "Hele ng Cundiman
- Hele ng Cundangan"
In 1872, the illustrious Franciscan Tagalist and poet, Joaquín de Coria wrote the "Nueva Gramática Tagalog Teorica-Práctica" which, besides treating grammar, also enumerates the characteristics of Tagalog language
Tagalog language
Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...
, and discusses Tagalog poetry.http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=philamer;cc=philamer;rgn=full%20text;idno=AEG8734.0001.001;didno=AEG8734.0001.001;view=image;seq=00000089 In this book, Coria also listed the names of the most important songs of the Tagalogs
Tagalog people
The Tagalog people are an ethnic group in the Philippines. The name Tagalog comes from either the native term tagá-ilog, meaning 'people living along the river', or another native term, tagá-alog, meaning 'people living along the ford', a ford being a shallow part of a river or stream where people,...
. They are:
- Diona and Talingdao (songs in the homes and in ordinary work)
- Indolanin and Dolayin (songs in the streets)
- Soliranin (boat songs)
- Haloharin, Oyayi, and Hele-hele (lullabiesLullabyA lullaby is a soothing song, usually sung to young children before they go to sleep, with the intention of speeding that process. As a result they are often simple and repetitive. Lullabies can be found in every culture and since the ancient period....
) - Sambotani (songs for festivals and social reunions)
- Tagumpay (songs to commemorate victory in war)
- Hiliraw and Balicungcung (sweet songs)
- Dopayinin (similar to Tagumpay; more serious and sincere)
- Kumintang (love song; also a pantomimicPantomimePantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
"dance song" -Dr. F. Santiago) - Cundiman (love song; used especially in serenadingSerenadeIn music, a serenade is a musical composition, and/or performance, in someone's honor. Serenades are typically calm, light music.The word Serenade is derived from the Italian word sereno, which means calm....
)
The Spanish scholar V.M. Avella described the Kundiman in his 1874 work "Manual de la Conversación Familiar Español-Tagalog" as the "canción indígena" (native song) of the Tagalogs
Tagalog people
The Tagalog people are an ethnic group in the Philippines. The name Tagalog comes from either the native term tagá-ilog, meaning 'people living along the river', or another native term, tagá-alog, meaning 'people living along the ford', a ford being a shallow part of a river or stream where people,...
and characterized its melody as "something pathetic but not without some pleasant feeling." http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=philamer;cc=philamer;rgn=full%20text;idno=ACK4656.0001.001;didno=ACK4656.0001.001;view=image;seq=00000128
In his 1883 book "Cuentos Filipinos", Don José Montero y Vidal recorded in Spanish the sad lyrics of a "popular" Kundiman of the "Tagalas" or Tagalogs
Tagalog people
The Tagalog people are an ethnic group in the Philippines. The name Tagalog comes from either the native term tagá-ilog, meaning 'people living along the river', or another native term, tagá-alog, meaning 'people living along the ford', a ford being a shallow part of a river or stream where people,...
:http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=philamer;cc=philamer;rgn=full%20text;idno=AGM3478.0001.001;didno=AGM3478.0001.001;view=image;seq=00000116
-
- Cundiman, cundiman
- Cundiman si jele
- Mas que esta dormido
- Ta sona con ele.
-
- Desde que vos cara
- Yo ta mira
- Aquel morisqueta
- No puede traga.
-
- Cundiman, cundiman
- Cundiman, cundaman
- Mamatay, me muero
- Sacamay mo lamang.
The Spanish writer and historian Wenceslao E. Retana recorded in 1888 the lyrics of a popular Kundiman in Batangas. The melancholic lyrics in the Tagalog original as recorded in Retana's book "El Indio Batangueño" reads: http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=philamer;cc=philamer;rgn=full%20text;idno=ABW7511.0001.001;didno=ABW7511.0001.001;view=image;seq=00000030
-
- Aco man ay imbi, hamac isang ducha
- Nasinta sa iyo, naghahasic nga
- Di ba guin si David ng una ay aba
- Pastor ay nag harin ng datnan ng awa?
-
- Estrebillo:
-
- Hele ng Cundiman
- Hele ng Cundangan
- Mundo palibhasai, talinghaga lamang
- Ang mababa ngayon bucas ay marangal.
-
- Sa lahat ng hirap sintang dala-dala
- Salang cumilos isip coi icao na
- Acoi mananaog na hahanapin quita
-
- Estrebillo:
-
- Hele ng Cundiman
- Hele ng Cundangan
- Cundangan nga icao ang may casalanan
- Tataghoy-taghoy ni 'di mo pa paquingan.
In 1916, Dr. Juan V. Pagaspas, a doctor of philosophy from Indiana University and a much beloved educator in Tanauan, Batangas described the Kundiman as "a pure Tagalog song which is usually very sentimental, so sentimental that if one should listen to it carefully watching the tenor of words and the way the voice is conducted to express the real meaning of the verses, he cannot but be conquered by a feeling of pity even so far as to shed tears." [J.Pagaspas, "Native Amusements in the Province of Batangas"]
Dr. Francisco Santiago, the "Father of Filipino Musical Nationalism" declared in 1931 that the Kundiman "is the love song par excellence of the Filipinos, the plaintive song which goes deepest into their hearts, song which brings them untold emotions." [F. Santiago, "The Development of Music in the Philippines"]
The melody and sentiment of the Kundiman tends not only toward the melancholy but also the cheerful http://www.univie.ac.at/Voelkerkunde/apsis/aufi/aurel/novara/nov1340.htm#condiman, and the commitment of the heart to passion is celebrated in every piece. The singer of the kundiman expresses the pain and beauty of love felt by every listener, for the kundiman is not merely entertainment but an embodiment of collective emotion.
Endowed with such power, the Kundiman naturally came to serve as a vehicle for veiled patriotism in times of colonial oppression, in which the undying love for a woman symbolized the love of country and desire for freedom.
José Rizal, leader of the Propaganda movement and the Philippine national hero, has consecrated the Kundiman in his social novel “Noli Me Tangere”. Not only this but he himself wrote a Kundiman which is not of the elegiac type because its rhythm sounds the threat, the reproach and the revindication of the rights of the race.
-
- Kundiman ni Rizal
-
- Tunay ngayong umid yaring diwa at puso
- Ang bayan palibhasa'y api, lupig at sumuko.
- Sa kapabayaan ng nagturong puno
- Paglaya'y nawala, ligaya'y naglaho!
-
- Datapuwa't muling sisikat ang maligayang araw
- Pilit na maliligtas ang inaping bayan
- Magbabalik man din at laging sisikat
- Ang ngalang Tagalog sa sandaigdigan!
-
- Ibubuhos namin ang dugo'y ibabaha
- Ng matubos lamang ang sa Amang Lupa!
- Hanggang 'di sumapit ang panahong tadhana
- Sinta ay tatahimik, tutuloy ang nasa!
- Sinta ay tatahimik at tutuloy ang nasa!
- O Bayan kong mahal
- Sintang Filipinas!
From 1896 to 1898 the most famous Kundiman, which fired the patriotic sentiments of the Tagalog revolutionaries in the struggle for liberation from Spanish colonial rule, was Jocelynang Baliuag. Officially known as Musica del Legitimo Kundiman Procedente del Campo Insurecto (Music of the Legitimate Kundiman that Proceeds from the Insurgents), Jocelynang Baliwag was the favorite Kundiman among the revolutionaries of Bulacan during the Philippine Revolution of 1896 - earning it the title "Kundiman of the Revolution."
In the guise of a love and courtship song, it features lyrics dedicated to a young and beautiful Filipina idolized in the Bulacan town of Baliuag named Josefa 'Pepita' Tiongson y Lara who symbolizes the image of the beloved Motherland, the Inang Bayang Katagalugan or Filipinas.
-
- JOCELYNANG BALIWAG
-
- P- Pinopoong sinta, niring calolowa
- Nacacawangis mo'y mabangong sampaga
- Dalisay sa linis, dakila sa ganda
- Matimyas na bucal ng madlang ligaya.
-
- E- Edeng maligayang kinaloclocan
- Ng galak at tuwang catamis-tamisan
- Hada cang maningning na ang matunghaya'y
- Masamyong bulaclac agad sumisical.
-
- P- Pinananaligan niring aking dibdib
- Na sa paglalayag sa dagat ng sakit
- 'Di mo babayaang malunod sa hapis
- Sa pagcabagabag co'y icaw ang sasagip.
-
- I- Icaw na nga ang lunas sa aking dalita
- Tanging magliligtas sa niluha-luha
- Bunying binibining sinucuang cusa
- Niring catawohang nangayupapa.
-
- T- Tanggapin ang aking wagas na pag-ibig
- Marubdob na ningas na taglay sa dibdib
- Sa buhay na ito'y walang nilalangit
- Cung hindi ikaw lamang, ilaw niring isip.
-
- A- At sa cawacasa'y ang kapamanhikan
- Tumbasan mo yaring pagsintang dalisay
- Alalahanin mong cung 'di cahabagan
- Iyong lalasunin ang aba cong buhay.
The Filipino composer, conductor and scholar Felipe M. de León Jr., wrote that the Kundiman is a "unique musical form expressing intense longing, caring, devotion and oneness with a beloved. Or with a child, spiritual figure, motherland, ideal or cause. According to its text, a kundiman can be romantic, patriotic, religious, mournful. Or a consolation, a lullaby. Or a protest and other types. But of whatever type, its music is soulful and lofty, conveying deep feelings of devotional love." [F.M. de León Jr., "But What Really Is The Kundiman?"]
External links
- "Tagalog Literature; A Historico-Critical Study" by Prof. Eufronio Melo Alip, Manila: U. S. T. Press, 1930. pp. 17,65
- "Kundiman" by Dr. José Rizal (English version)
- "The Music and Theater of the Filipino People" by R.C. Banas, from El Filipino: Revista mensual Vol I No. 9 (1926)
- "The Filipino Folk Song" by Percy Hill from the Philippine magazine. [Vol. XXIII, no. 3, p. 147]Philippine Education Co. Manila, 1926. p. 147
- "El Indio Batangueno" by Wenceslao E. Retana, Manila, Tipo-Litografia de Chofre y Cia, 1888. p. 25
- "Cuentos Filipinos" by Don José Montero y Vidal, Madrid, Tip. del Asilo de Huérfanos del Sagrado Corazon de Jesús, 1883. p. 106
- "Condiman: Tagalian Merriness" by Karl Scherzer from "Circumnavigation of the Globe by the Austrian Frigate Novara in the Years 1857, 1858 & 1859."
- de la conversación Familiar Español-Tagalog by V.M. de Avella,Manila, C. Miralles, 1874. p. 116
- "Classical Philippines Radio" Plays unique blend of classical guitar, kundiman and harana music.