Music of the Philippines

Music of the Philippines

Music of the Philippines are performance arts composed in various genre and styles. The music of the Philippines is a mixture of indigenous, other Asian, European, Latin American, and American.

Traditional music

Kulintang

Kulintang refers to a racked gong chime instrument played in the southern islands of the Philippines, along with its varied accompanying ensembles. Upon the Spanish arrival in the 16th century, Kulintang ensembles were the musical instruments of the Muslim Filipinos. Due to hispanization of the majority of the Philippine population, only the Moro ethnic groups of southern Mindanao, and the Sulu archipelago retained their Islamic musical tradition. The Kulintang instrument is also found in other Southeast Asian countries.

Harana and Kundiman

The Harana or Kundiman is a lyrical song made popular in the Philippine Islands, which dates back to the Spanish period. Composed in the Mexican-Spanish tradition, the music is characterized by a minor key at the beginning and shifts to a major key in the second half. Its lyrics depict a romantic theme, usually portraying love, passion, or sadness. In other styles of the Harana or Kundiman tradition, the music is based on a love story. Almost all traditional Philippine love songs in this genre are portrayed with poetic emotion.
In the 1920s Harana or Kundiman became a much more mainstream musical style, with many popular performers including Diomedes Maturan, and Ruben Tagalog singing in Harana or Kundiman style. in this period Nicanor Abelardo popularized the kundiman by composing lovely and harmonic songs

Cariñosa

The Cariñosa (meaning loving or affectionate one), is a Philippine national dance from the María Clara suite of Philippine folk dances, where the fan, and handkerchief plays an instrument role as it places the couple in romance scenario. The dance is similar to the Jarabe Tapatío. The Cariñosa is accompanied with Hispanic music, and language.

Tinikling

The Tinikling is a Philippine dance which involves two individual performers hitting bamboo poles, using them to beat, tap, and slide on the ground, and against each other in co-ordination with one or more dancers who steps over, and in between poles.

Rondalla

The Rondalla is performed on ensembles comprising mandolin instruments of various sizes called bandurria composed on the Iberian tradition. Other instruments including guitars, is also performed.