Thursday, January 29, 2015

A Philippine Kundiman - Ang Maya

The following song reminds me of my high school years in the Philippines.


Kundiman is a genre of traditional Filipino love songs. The lyrics of the Kundiman are written in Tagalog or other dialects of the Philippines. 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 formalized by Filipino composers such as Francisco Santiago and Nicanor Abelardo

Santiago and Abelardo sought poetry for their lyrics, blending verse and music in equal parts.

Scholars and historians believed that the Kundiman originated from the Visayas . Dr. Francisco Santiago was considered to be the "Father of the Kundiman Art Song".

Do you know of other Kundiman songs? Do you have a favorite?

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