‘Kundiman’ Expounded On Sining Filipinas
“Kundiman”, the fifth installment of the Sining Filipinas online lecture series, premiered on 22 November 2021 on Binhi ng Lahi’s Facebook page and shared on the PCG’s Facebook page. The online lecture series was in collaboration with the Philippine Consulate General (PCG) in Calgary and Binhi ng Lahi Folk Dance (Photo from Calgary PCG)
CALGARY, 15 December 2021, – The Philippine Consulate General (PCG) in Calgary and Binhi ng Lahi Folk Dance Troupe have once again collaborated in bringing the fifth installment of the Sining Filipinas online lecture series with the offering of the “Kundiman” which premiered on 22 November 2021 on Binhi ng Lahi’s Facebook page and shared on the PCG’s Facebook page.
The episode, hosted by premier Filipina soprano Rachelle Gerodias-Park delved on the kundiman as a Filipino music cultural emblem that captures the Filipino’s soul . Ms. Park also discussed the origins and development of the kundiman, from its lowly beginning among the Tagalog to what is now referred as “classical kundiman.” The audience were treated to slideshows of photographs, old illustrations and portadas of published kundiman music scores including what is believed to be two of the earliest published kundiman music scores from Jose Honorato Lozano’s 1847 work “Album Vistas de las Yslas Filipinas y Trages de sus Abitantes.”
Two samplings of kundiman songs, taken from the speaker’s kundiman record album, were also included for the audience’s appreciation.
A high point in the lecture was on how the kundiman evolved to suit the needs, and experiences of our people during specific periods of our nation’s history, citing the words of Atang dela Rama, the Reyna ng Kundiman, describing the song form as “the “best expression of the Filipino spirit. ”
Ms. Gerodias-Park was both hopeful and truthful in her concluding statements on the future of the kundiman. Echoing the words of the late Philippine cultural studies pioneer Dr. Florentino Hornedo, the kundiman, just like any expression of our culture is “non-linear,” similar to the sapin-sapin, the famous Filipino rice cake with its colorful layers representing the coexistence of our people’s cultures from various eras. Like the kundiman, the classic or folksy exists somewhere even this time.
The Kundiman episode and previous episodes of the Sining Filipinas online lecture series can be viewed on the Facebook page of Binhi ng Lahi @BinhingLahi. END
For more information, visit https://www.philcongencalgary.org/ and https://www.facebook.com/PHinCalgary
(Credit on the write-up: Mr. Aquino Irasga Jr. – Writer and Researcher)