Editor’s Note: Ekstasis in Music Criticism and Analysis
The Ateneo de Manila University has always prided itself in how its curricula (and extra-curriculars) are geared towards holistic formation. Emphasizing the importance of growth in all areas of the human person, the university has done its utmost in creating programs that aim to nurture students in academics, social awareness, leadership, and many more areas. The significance of interdisciplinarity lies in the need to view and approach the world, not as compartmentalized segments, but as a collaboration of differing subject matters that come together to create a whole that is more than just the sum of its parts. It is with this lens that Blue Sound 2018 wishes to present music, under a light that illuminates its inextricable involvement with the rest of the arts.
To achieve this vision, this year’s issue of Blue Sound has covered a myriad of topics ranging from reviews of various plays staged by both Atenean and non-Atenean organizations, homages to those who have played important roles in the progress of Philippine music, and in-depth analyses on sundry pieces of art music in comparison with other media such as architecture, sculpture, painting, writing, and theatre. It may seem absurd to some to even entertain the thought of other art forms in what is supposed to be research and criticism about music. What do churches, pieces of marble, canvases, books, and acting (among other things) have to do with music? The answer is: much. The arts have never existed in their own separate vacuums. As they developed throughout history, the arts have continually built upon each other, borrowing and adopting one another’s characteristics and appropriating them into their respective contexts. Without the converging influences of differing media, music (along with the rest of the arts) may never have become the awe-inducing phenomenon it is today.
It’s strange that, as a graduating senior, I’ve experienced almost as many firsts than lasts, especially involving music. Among these firsts was being invited onto Radyo Katipunan for Sir Jonathan Coo’s segment, “The Music Class,” last April 27. I was given the opportunity to do some last-minute promotions for this year’s Ateneo Blue Symphony Orchestra concert, Beating the Odds, which took place the next day on April 28. In keeping with the segment’s topic on Asian music, I was requested to sing a bit of a Korean song. I ended up singing “When You Love Someone (그렇더라고요)” by the South Korean band Day6. Alongside me was Aeric Ang, who showcased his talent with a number of different Asian instruments such as the erhu. Short as it was, the experience was still an interesting one from which I learned much.
(I’d also like to thank Aeric Ang, features editor of Blue Sound, for heading the publishing and promotion of the articles posted after my term as editor-in-chief, especially with the influx of the articles honoring National Artist Lucrecia Kasilag.)
I also had the honor of assisting the organizers of Dalisayan: the 25th Awards for the Arts last May 9 at Escaler Hall as part of the backing choir for the event. The choir performed a Broadway medley alongside the music awardees, in addition to serving as vocal reinforcement for the traditional re-dedication song and closing song. It was something of a bittersweet experience for me, having had plans to apply for a shot at the award yet not having been able to submit the application on time. Nevertheless, I was certainly grateful to have witnessed my talented friends, acquaintances, and batchmates be recognized for their work in the arts. It was as though the event was a culmination of what we had been learning in class on basic music research and criticism. Music was present almost every second of the ceremony, from the performances of the dance and theatre arts awardees to the video project of the screen arts awardees to the presentation of the portfolios of the visual arts awardees. Even the lulls in program were filled with cheerful melodies courtesy of Sir Danilo “DM” Reyes on the piano. Though it may be a biased perspective, it seems that music is one of the most essential arts. It is what guides the dancer’s movements, emphasizes the actor’s message, situates the videographer’s footage, and accompanies the visual artist’s presentation. It is the base and the embellishment. It is what grounds and what decorates, orients and entices.
This is just one of the many things I love about music. It has probably existed conceptually in the back of my mind for a while but has never clearly surfaced and been articulated until Georgina Hernandez-Yang, guest speaker for this year’s Vivan las Humanidades: School of Humanities Awarding of Minors last May 17 at Leong Hall, prompted us graduating seniors to think back on why we chose to take on the burden of a few extra units in addition to the ones already required of us. The simple answer is almost always love. “I love literature.” “I love philosophy.” “I love music.” And I do. Music has seen me through the worst of things. It has bookmarked pages of my life so emphatically to the point that I no longer recall memories in terms of years but in terms of music I listened to at the time. My love for music has become so all-encompassing and unconditional that I hunger for the surprises of every new genre I explore and pore over my own critical opinions of pieces that aren’t to my taste just to try and figure out how they can be loved by others, even if I can’t do the same. It has taken over my life.
I am reminded of a concept I took up in one of my classes on the philosophy of religion: ecstasy. Ecstasy is commonly taken to refer to a state of happiness in the superlative, or “happiness unbound,” as my professor puts it. Love is certainly ecstatic in this sense, driving one to do things they would not normally do, as though one were not in control of their senses. However, the etymological origin of ecstasy is derived from the Ancient Greek ekstasis—literally to “stand outside.” To stand outside oneself, to decenter oneself, and to choose something else around which to have one’s life revolve; is that not what love is? Is that not, at the heart of it all, why we choose to undertake the journey of completing a minor program? To do something one would not normally do for the sake of something that has become much more important to one than oneself? Though I may not be able to speak for all, my answer is: yes, it is.
In a similar way, this year’s Blue Sound issue attempts to tackle music by way of ekstasis. We writers aimed to explore music by exploring what was outside of music, hopefully bringing to the table of music analysis thoughts and opinions that only broaden its horizons. I wish that our readers learn to see music in the same light of interdisciplinarity as they peruse the articles published within these past few months.
I do sincerely hope that everyone finds something to be ecstatic about. As for me, it always has been, and always will be, music.