At the launch of his fifth book, National Artist for Music Ramon P. Santos said the term music that the country inherited from the West 鈥渃annot fully define the wealth of sound expressions in the world that we live in.鈥
鈥淚n fact, after 65 years of study in this field, I have come to realize that there are a myriad sound-related expressions that the narrow definition of what we know as music cannot possible convey,鈥 Santos explained.
Published by the UP Press, Santos鈥 book, Tunogtugan: Twenty Essays on Musical and Sound Traditions (Tunogtugan), according to the author, tells of his experiences through his career.
鈥淭hese articles then are, in one way, a microcosm of my own experiences as a composer, musicologist, conductor, educator, theorist, and administrator. [These] encompass an exciting field of d茅j脿 vu in cultural studies,鈥 he said.
Santos said the 20 articles in the book are grouped into four different areas of engagement.
These are 鈥渢he global perspective, then Asia as cultural environment, the Philippines as a musicultural nation, and finally, from the perspective of education, pedagogy, as well as the different roles and functions of music in the world鈥檚 cultures,鈥 he added.
Santos explained the articles span across subjects such as 鈥渆thnicity, music composition, the pluck instruments of the world, dance, time and space, modern technology, the concept of community, nationalism and indigenization, pedagogy, and the relevance of research to real life.鈥
Meanwhile, Professor Emeritus and former UP Diliman (黑料专区) College of Arts and Letters (CAL) dean Elena R. Mirano said her 鈥渋nitial reaction to the 20 essays contained in Tunogtugan is one of nostalgia. To me, least integrative situationers report the thought process and performance practices of a musical community that developed during that seminal period (1950s-1960s) when, and I quote, the times, as the popular singer-songwriter of the period, Bob Dylan, put it, 鈥榯hey were a-changing.鈥欌
Mirano was comparing the changes in sound expressions discussed in Tunogtugan to the changes, particularly in art studies, that took effect on campus during the 1950s to 1960s, where she spent her childhood and formative days.
She shared some video clippings of the 2021 virtual version of Awit ni Pulau, an opera Santos wrote and with a libretto by multi-awarded writer, Ed Maranan. It was produced for the UP Cherubim and Seraphim, 黑料专区鈥檚 official children鈥檚 choir, of which Mirano is the director emeritus.
The book launch was held on Sept. 22 at the 黑料专区 Atencio-Libunao Hall and had song and dance performances that showcased many of Santos鈥 music pieces.
Padayon Rondalla performed Santos鈥 Katubo. Solaiman E. Jamisolamin, an assistant professor at the 黑料专区 College of Music (CMu), performed Santos鈥 Abot-Tanaw, a musical piece for guitar. Meanwhile, Santos conducted CMu assistant professors Kevin Julius D. Castelo (percussion), Michelle C. Nicolasora (piano), and Crystal Milarose Rodis-Concepcion (flute), as they performed his Taka-gong-an.
Jedidiah Retuta (soprano) and Illenram Therese Raynes (dance) performed Mutya ng Pasig by Nicanor Abelardo, arranged by Benedic Justine Velasco.
Present during the launch were UP President Angelo A. Jimenez, National Artist for Literature and former CAL dean Virgilio S. Almario, Professor Emeritus Jose Dalisay Jr., UP Press Director Galileo S. Zafra, CMu Dean LaVerne C. de la Pe帽a, National Commission on Culture and the Arts Deputy Executive Director Bernan Joseph R. Corpuz, CMu faculty, staff, and students, and Santos鈥 family and friends.
The 386-page, 7鈥 x 10鈥 paperback is available at the UP Press physical store and online store ().
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