Preserving Filipino Sound: Lucrecia Kasilag’s Role in Addressing the Continuous Suffocation of Nativ
While the period of colonization for many different countries has long been over, the repercussions of Western domination over non-white nations continue to pervade present times in every possible facet of culture. In addition to topographically and economically wrecking countries, colonizers have asserted their influence over their colonies to the point of diluting native culture of the indigenous residents of these areas.
This cultural imperialism has been so imposed on the rest of the world that Western ideals have instead become golden standards to benchmark the quality of the cultural output of non-Western nations, particularly in music.
Even globally acclaimed artists like the J-pop group, AKB48, has its roots in the genre of dance-pop originally popularized by American singer Madonna; or K-pop group, Exo, with their roots in the genre of electronica originating in Finland. Even Jose Mari Chan, artist of some of the best-selling albums in the Philippines, is known for his adult contemporary music: a genre popularized by musicians in North America.
One Filipino musician that aimed to address this unrelenting cultural imperialism and persistent dilution of native Filipino sound was Lucrecia Kasilag: a figurehead in the efforts to develop Philippine music and culture by means of composition, performance, and research.
Descending from a musically inclined family, with a music teacher for a mother, it comes as no surprise that Kasilag herself is adept with many an instrument: such as the violin, piano, guitar, and bandurria. However, her music education did not stop there; Kasilag went on to pursue her music degree at the Philippine Women’s University and St. Scholastica’s College. Afterwards, her brief stints as both performer and educator prompted her to focus on Asian music in particular. What is probably her most notable achievement is serving as musical director of Bayanihan Dance Company and artistic director of the Cultural Center of the Philippines.
Kasilag has asked similar questions with regards to the domination of Western standards over cultural phenomena such as music, which is supposedly “a universal language.” The concentrated essence of Asian music becomes overlooked in favor of the “superior” and “valid” western forms, rhythms and scales. However, this perceived superiority only arises when applying the rubric of Western musical standards to the compositions of completely different cultures, particularly Asian ones. It is simply impossible and illogical to impose values of one culture onto another, similar to how one cannot judge a fish’s intelligence on its ability to fly.
Seeing as how stringently colonialism oppressed native cultures, it is only natural that these cultures learned to soften their edges to bend over to the will of their oppressors. Thus, certain elements of Western music were assimilated into indigenous Asian culture. This was highlighted during the time when Kasilag was tasked to head a Philippine group to showcase native culture in the International Festival of Folk Dance and Music in East Pakistan in the years 1954 to 1955. In requesting the use of a piano and guitar, the hosts of the festival pointed out that these were not Asian instruments. This provided a terrific jolt to the identity of Filipino music, something Kasilag points out in her research on Asian music education: “we find ourselves strangers in Asia.”
The Filipino is too foreign to identify with his colonizers too Western to identify with his Asian brethren. How does he reconcile his two histories: one of a rich native culture and one spent assimilating colonial ideals?
Kasilag accomplishes this by taking matters into her own hands and reintroducing the use of native instruments and non-Western compositional techniques in arranging her own art music. Kasilag’s Toccata for Percussions and Winds makes use of the kulintang and the agung to serve as the rhythmic instruments in the piece. Additionally, Muslim folk rhythms were incorporated into the composition, in which the music alternated between duple meter.
Likewise, Kasilag’s Legend of Sarimanok made use of the pentatonic scale, a mode that is highly recurrent in Asian music tradition. What is interesting is how Kasilag does not look to replicate indigenous music in its untouched form; rather, she finds ways to make Western and Philippine tradition meet halfway. Alongside the gongs of Toccata, the instrumentation also includes the European oboe, clarinet, and piano. In addition to Sarimanok’s pentatonic scale, the European twelve-tone technique was also employed.
This compromise between two cultures acknowledges all roots of the post-colonial Filipino: his culture descends from both his tribal ancestors and his colonial-era predecessors.
Kasilag not only strove for the appreciation of Philippine musical tradition within the country, but outside of it as well. The Bayanihan Philippine Dance Company performed internationally, gaining acclaim for their confident smiles and energetic choreography. The gushing reviews cemented their impact on a small quadrant of the Western world. Continuous efforts to share native culture with the other side of the planet has its positive repercussions in eliminating cultural imperialism and any perceived superiority of colonial ideals, showing that the Philippine culture is just as colorful, substantial, and valid as any other.
Kasilag has done much in paving a smoother path for Philippine music and culture to garner the appreciation it deserves.
Though the state of Philippine musicology, music education, and musical performance has progressed, thanks to Kasilag, the work is far from over. To sustain her ideals in the preservation of Philippine music, the future generations are tasked with carrying-on the tradition of composition, performance, and research rooted in deep appreciation for the Filipino culture.
References
Cascone, Kim. “The Aesthetics of Failure: ‘Post-Digital’ Tendencies in Contemporary Computer Music.” Subsol. (2002). Accessed Apr. 27, 2018, http://subsol.c3.hu/subsol_2/contributors3/casconetext.html.
Castro, Christi-Anne. “Lucrecia Kasilag and Asian Modernism.” In Musical Renderings of the Philippine Nation. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011.
Erlewine, Stephen. “Madonna: AllMusic Review.” All Music. (n.d.). Accessed Apr. 27, 2018, https://www.allmusic.com/album/madonna-mw0000268192.
Fontenot, Robert. “Oldies Music Glossary: ‘Adult Contemporary.’ About.com. (n.d.).Accessed Apr. 27, 2018, https://web.archive.org/web/20120202012622/http://oldies.about.com/od/oldieshistory/g/adultcontemp.htm.
Kasilag, Lucrecia. “Asian Music in Education.” The University 1, no. 3 (Feb. 1966).
Kasilag, Lucrecia. Lucrecia Roces Kasilag: My Story. Manila: Philippine Women’s University, 2000.
Salido, Caroline. “The Piano Compositional Style of Lucrecia Roces Kasilag.” DMA doc. Ohio State University, 2002, https://etd.ohiolink.edu/rws_etd/document/get/osu1038863092/inline.
Santos, Ramon. “Nationalism and Indiginization in Philippine Contemporary Music; an Acculturated Response to Westernization.” Ciehl 19, (2013): pp. 125-132.
Photo of Kasilag taken from: http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/73626/concert-fit-for-a-king/
Photo of agung taken from: Creative Commons uploaded by Philip Dominguez Mercurio
Photo of kulintang taken from: http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/73626/concert-fit-for-a-king/
Photo of bandurria taken from: https://www.thomann.de/pics/bdb/364960/10133055_800.jpg