KUMINTANG

The kumintang is the name given to several distinct styles, techniques and forms in music and dance probably originating in the areas used by early Spanish cartographers and chronicles to denote a large province centering around what is known as Batangas. Early 1 th!century travelers" accounts often mention the kumintang as a Tagalog #chant national#, describing them as dance!songs performed by pairs of men and women, with te$ts concerning love and courtship. %ll accounts mention a glass of coconut wine passed from hand to hand by the dancers as they sing. &ean Baptiste 'allat describes it as a pantomimic dance where the man runs around and gestures to a woman(not always decently), and finally pretends illness to get the woman"s full attention. *n the +,th century, -rancisca .eyes!%quino dubbed as kumintang the circular hand and wrist movement also known as the kunday. %mong present!day afficinados of musical and dance events called awitan and pandangguhan in and around the city of Batangas, kumintang also refers to a guitar!plucking style, considered the most melodious and beautiful of all guitar styles accompanying the old kinanluran style of pandangguhan dance songs. E. .. 'irano. BALITAW

The balitaw is an e$temporaneous e$change of love verses between a man and a woman. /anced and mimed, it is accompanied by a song, or the dancers themselves sing, improvising the steps and verses. *t may last for hours, ending with the woman accepting or re0ecting the man"s suit. The balitaw is found mainly in the Tagalog and 1isayan regions. The dancers may be costumed in balintawak or patadyong or in contemporary everyday clothes. *ts accompaniments could be provided by the subing(bamboo flute), castanets, coconut guitar, harp, the five!stringed guitar, or a combination of the three. The 1isayan balitaw is usually in the minor key, while the Tagalog is in the ma0or. Both are related to the kumintang and kundiman in their styles of accenting. %s sung in quatrain or ballad stan2a in the 1isayas, it is "e$pansive and erotic in character" with accompaniment similar to the bolero, a Spanish dance also in triple

time, accompanied by the dancer"s singing and castanet playing ('olina in -ilipino 3eritage 1***, +,+ ). *n words which may be humorous and full of energy, the typical 1isayan balitaw speaks of all domestic phases of life, from love and courtship, marriage and separation, gambling and employment, child rearing, envious neighbors, to the dignity of labor. The 4ebuano couple 5edro %lfarara and 6icolasa 4aniban were titled the "king and queen" of the balitaw at the turn of the century.
Kundiman (originally spelled Cundiman) is a genre of traditional -ilipino love songs. The lyrics of the 7undiman are written in Tagalog. The melody is characteri2ed by a smooth, flowing and gentle rhythm with dramatic intervals. 7undiman was the traditional means of serenade in the 5hilippines. The 7undiman 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 -ilipino composers such as -rancisco Santiago and 6icanor %belardo (-ebruary 8, 19 :!'arch +1, 1 :;)< they sought poetry for their lyrics, blending verse and music in equal parts. Scholars and historians believed that the 7undiman originated from the Tagalog town of Balayan, Batangas. =1> /r. -rancisco Santiago(199 ?1 ;8), the #-ather of the 7undiman %rt Song#, briefly e$plains in his scholarly work #The Development of Music in the Philippines# the reason why this Tagalog song is called 7undiman is because the first stan2a of this song begun thus@
"Cundiman, cundiman Cundiman si jele" "Hele ng Cundiman Hele ng Cundangan"

*n 198+, the illustrious -ranciscan Tagalist and poet, -ather &oaquin de 4oria wrote the #Nueva Gramatica Tagalog Teorica-Practica# which, besides treating grammar, also enumerates the characteristics of Tagalog language, and discusses Tagalog poetry.=+> *n this book, -ather 4oria also gave us a list of the names of the most important songs of the Tagalogs. 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 (lullabies) 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 pantomimic "dance song" !r" #" $antiago) Cundiman (love song; used especially in serenading)

The Spanish scholar 1.'. %vella described the 7undiman in his 198; work #Manual de la Conversacin Familiar Espaol-Tagalog# as the #cancion indigena# (native song) of the Tagalogs and characteri2ed its melody as #something pathetic but not without some pleasant feeling.# =:> *n his 199: book #Cuentos Filipinos#, /on &osA 'ontero y 1idal recorded in Spanish the sad lyrics of a #popular# 7undiman of the #Tagalas# or Tagalogs @=;>
Cundiman, cundiman Cundiman si jele %as &ue esta dormido 'a sona con ele" !esde &ue vos cara (o ta mira )&uel moris&ueta *o puede traga" Cundiman, cundiman Cundiman, cundaman %amatay, me muero $acamay mo lamang"

The Spanish writer and historian Benceslao E. .etana recorded in 1999 the lyrics of a popular 7undiman in Batangas. The melancholic lyrics in the Tagalog original as recorded in .etana"s book #El ndio !atangueo# reads@ =C>
)co man ay imbi, hamac isang ducha *asinta sa iyo, naghahasic nga !i ba guin si !avid ng una ay aba +astor ay nag harin ng datnan ng awa,

-strebillo. Hele ng Cundiman Hele ng Cundangan %undo palibhasai, talinghaga lamang )ng mababa ngayon bucas ay marangal" $a lahat ng hirap sintang dala dala $alang cumilos isip coi icao na )coi mananaog na hahanapin &uita -strebillo. Hele ng Cundiman Hele ng Cundangan Cundangan nga icao ang may casalanan 'ataghoy taghoy ni /di mo pa pa&uingan"

*n 1 1D, /r. &uan 1. 5agaspas, a doctor of philosophy from *ndiana Eniversity and a much beloved educator in Tanauan, Batangas described the 7undiman 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 e$press the real meaning of the verses, he cannot but be conquered by a feeling of pity even so far as to shed tears.# =&.5agaspas, #Native "musements in the Province of !atangas#> /r. -rancisco Santiago, the #-ather of -ilipino 'usical 6ationalism# declared in 1 :1 that the 7undiman #is the love song par e$cellence of the -ilipinos, the plaintive song which goes deepest into their hearts, song which brings them untold emotions.# =-. Santiago, #The Development of Music in the Philippines#> The melody and sentiment of the 7undiman tends not only toward the melancholy but also the cheerful =D>, and the commitment of the heart to passion is celebrated in every piece. The singer of the kundiman e$presses 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 7undiman naturally came to serve as a vehicle for veiled patriotism in times of colonial oppression, in which the undying love for a woman symboli2ed the love of country and desire for freedom. /r. &ose 5. .i2al (19D1?19 D), the 5hilippine national hero, has consecrated the 7undiman in his social novel FNoli Me TangereG. 6ot only this but he himself wrote a 7undiman 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 'unay ngayong umid yaring diwa at puso )ng bayan palibhasa/y api, lupig at sumuko" $a kapabayaan ng nagturong puno +aglaya/y nawala, ligaya/y naglaho0 !atapuwa/t muling sisikat ang maligayang araw +ilit na maliligtas ang inaping bayan %agbabalik man din at laging sisikat )ng ngalang 'agalog sa sandaigdigan0 1bubuhos namin ang dugo/y ibabaha *g matubos lamang ang sa )mang 2upa0 Hanggang /di sumapit ang panahong tadhana $inta ay tatahimik, tutuloy ang nasa0 $inta ay tatahimik at tutuloy ang nasa0 3 4ayan kong mahal $intang #ilipinas0

-rom 19 D to 19 9 the most famous 7undiman, which fired the patriotic sentiments of the Tagalog revolutionaries in the struggle for liberation from Spanish colonial rule, was #ocel$nang !aliuag. Hfficially known as Musica del %egitimo &undiman Procedente del Campo nsurecto ('usic of the Iegitimate 7undiman that 5roceeds from the *nsurgents), #ocel$nang !ali'ag was the favorite 7undiman among the revolutionaries of Bulacan during the 5hilippine .evolution of 19 D ! earning it the title #7undiman of the .evolution.# *n the guise of a love and courtship song, it features lyrics dedicated to a young and beautiful -ilipina idoli2ed in the Bulacan town of Baliuag named &osefa "5epita" Tiongson y Iara who symboli2es the image of the beloved 'otherland, the nang !a$ang &atagalugan or -ilipinas.
JOCELYNANG BALIWAG P +inopoong sinta, niring calolowa

*acacawangis mo/y mabangong sampaga !alisay sa linis, dakila sa ganda %atimyas na bucal ng madlang ligaya" E -deng maligayang kinaloclocan *g galak at tuwang catamis tamisan Hada cang maningning na ang matunghaya/y %asamyong bulaclac agad sumisical" P +inananaligan niring aking dibdib *a sa paglalayag sa dagat ng sakit /!i mo babayaang malunod sa hapis $a pagcabagabag co/y icaw ang sasagip" I 1caw na nga ang lunas sa aking dalita 'anging magliligtas sa niluha luha 4unying binibining sinucuang cusa *iring catawohang nangayupapa" T 'anggapin ang aking wagas na pag ibig %arubdob na ningas na taglay sa dibdib $a buhay na ito/y walang nilalangit Cung hindi ikaw lamang, ilaw niring isip" A )t sa cawacasa/y ang kapamanhikan 'umbasan mo yaring pagsintang dalisay )lalahanin mong cung /di cahabagan 1yong lalasunin ang aba cong buhay"

The -ilipino composer, conductor and scholar -elipe '. /e Ieon &r., wrote that the 7undiman is a #unique musical form e$pressing intense longing, caring, devotion and oneness with a beloved. Hr with a child, spiritual figure, motherland, ideal or cause. %ccording to its te$t, a kundiman can be romantic, patriotic, religious, mournful. Hr a consolation, a lullaby. Hr a protest and other

types. But of whatever type, its music is soulful and lofty, conveying deep feelings of devotional love.# =-.'. /e Ieon &r., #But (hat )eall$ s The &undimanJ#>

[edit] See also

The awit is a form of -ilipino poetry. *ts literal translation into English is #song,# although in the conte$t of poetry, it is closer to the narrative.

[edit] Characteristics
The following are characteristics observed in the awit, Florante at %aura.
5" 6 lines7stan8a; 9" a rhyme scheme of )))) (in the 'agalog manner of rhyming described by :ose ;i8al in 'agalische <erskunst); =" a slight pause on the si>th syllable; 6" each stan8a is usually a complete grammatically correct sentence; ?" each stan8a is full of figures of speech (according to #ernando %onleon, 4alagtas used 9@ types in =A? instances throughout the poem); B" the author is usually anonymous; Moro-moro (Comedia) is a play that became popular in the +hilippines during the $panish colonial period" 1t depicted battles between Christians and %oros as %uslims in the +hilippines are popularly known with the %oros as the perpetual villains who always lost to the Christians in the end"

ar uela (Spanish pronunciation@ =KarCwelaD) is a Spanish lyric!dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular song, as well as dance. The name derives from a .oyal hunting lodge, the Palacio de la *ar+uela near 'adrid, where this type of entertainment was first presented to the court. There are two main forms of +ar+uela@ Baroque +ar+uela (c.1D:,?18C,), the earliest style, and .omantic +ar+uela (c.19C,?1 C,), which can be further divided into two. 'ain sub!genres are g,nero grande and g,nero chico, although other sub!divisions e$ist. *ar+uela spread to the Spanish colonies, and many 3ispanic countries ? notably 4uba ? developed their own traditions. There is also a strong tradition in the 5hilippines where it is also known as +ar+uelta.=1> Hther regional and linguistic variants in Spain includes the Basque +art+uela and the 4atalan sarsuela. % masque!like musical theatre had e$isted in Spain since the time of &uan del Encina. The +ar+uela genre was innovative in giving a dramatic function to the musical numbers, which were integrated into the argument of the work. /ances and choruses were incorporated as well as solo and ensemble numbers, all to orchestral accompaniment.