The Enculturation of the Catholic Faith Through Music: A Review of Compositions Based on the Liturgi
This paper aims to depict how music is able to enculturate foreign texts into a particular culture by primarily using the compositions of Lucrecia Kasilag ( Awit ng mga Awit and Canticle of Canticles) as its prime example. Meanwhile it will also be utilising the composition of Lukas Foss (Song of Songs) in order to form a basis of understanding and comparison for the former composers works. All three compositions are based on the same litugrical text, the Song of Songs and can be classified as cantatas. Cantatas are musical compositions for one or more voices and sung alongside an instrumental accompaniment.
The Song of Songs is not only significant in Christian tradition but also in the Jewish faith as well. It is not only a book in the Old Testament but also one of the scrolls (megillot) in the last section of the Hebrew Bible. It can also be referred to as the Canticles or Song of Solomon, depending where the text is sourced from. However, when called the Song of Songs it portrays an imagery of it being the greatest or most beautiful of its kind. This interpretation is a commonly used construction in Scriptural Hebrew and is used to signify the importance of the subject matter. The Song of Songs is read on the Sabbath during the Passover. For the Jews, it is a commemoration of the Exodus. It celebrates the freedom of the Israelites from slavery under the Egyptians under the leadership of Moses, who is acting as the conduit of God’s grace.
However, when one is to read the text of the Song of Songs it may cause initial confusion. The Song of Songs is unique in a sense that it centers around the celebration of sexual love. The Song of Songs, which is ascribed to be written by King Solomon, focuses on two lovers [Solomon and his bride] in harmony. Each one declaring their fervour, sexual desire, and love for each other. Due to its explicit sexual themes, it took a century for the Song to be accepted into the Jewish canon of the scripture. Even in the Christian faith, it was only considered canonical and acceptable as an allegorical rather than literal piece. Rather than being a poem between lovers, the Church views it as an analogy for the love between God and the Church. It shows how God and his disciples are equal partners who are bound together in a committed relationship.
For example, in the text, the bride of Solomon goes on about her imperfections and Solomon continuously assures her of her perfection. Allegorically, this can be a representation of how Jesus does not view people as their sins or mistakes rather he sees them in the image of God, something fair and beautiful. I believe that it is this devotion between man and God that makes this text relevant during the Passover. It is the cementing of the mutual relationship between the two. It is represented by the faith displayed by the Israelites in God during the Exodus. To follow him into the wilderness and abandon the familiar. Meanwhile, the mutuality is exhibited by God in the act of parting the red sea and assuring the safety of the Israelites from their tormentors.
I believe that this is the narrative Lucrecia Kasilag wants to enculturate to the Filipino people with her compositions regarding the subject matter. To be specific, Kasilag composed two pieces regarding the Song of Songs. The first one being Awit ng mga Awit and the second one being Benedictus Cantata (also known as the Canticles of Canticles). The former being the direct Filipino translation of the Song of Songs. Awit ng mga Awit was composed in 1966. It was a cantata for soprano, baritone, female choir, male choir, organ, and wind band. There was no available text, samples, or scores to further examine the composition. However, I believe that a closer inspection of the people involved in the composition will help readers understand the purpose and meaning of the composition.
The piece Awit ng mga Awit was translated by Msgr. José Abriol (1918-2003) from the original piece Canticles. Canticles as earlier stated is another name for the Song of Songs. However, this name is especially correlated with the Vulgate Bible. The Vulgate Bible is a late 4th century Latin translation of the Bible. During the 16th century, it became the Catholic Church’s officially promulgated Latin version of the Bible. I deduce that this was most likely the version of the Bible Kasilag’s composition was translated from because of the capabilities and former works of Msgr. José Abriol.
Msgr. Abriol is a Filipino Catholic priest, monsignor, and Bible translator. He translated the Holy Bible from the original Hebrew and Greek. He is also fluent in nine languages- Spanish, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, English, German, and Filipino. He was regarded as one of the “great intellectuals of the Philippine Church and the world”. His goal was to propagate the Roman Catholic faith in the Philippines. Which lead him into writing and translating hundreds of books and novenas into the Filipino language. He also translated Pope John Paul II’s encyclical, the Fides et Ratio into a Tagalog version entitled Pananampalataya at Katwiran.
Another collaborator for this choral piece is Dom Bernardo Perez OSB (1933-2011). He was the one who adapted Kasilag’s composition. However despite his contribution to Kasilag, he is much more known for his contributions in architecture. He was the Technical Consultant of the Historical Conservation Society from 1960 to 1963. Meaning he played a vital role in the conservation of churches in our country. Much like Kasilag, he was also very involved in the academe. Being a Benedictine priest, Perez served the boards of the St. Benedict College, Mirriam College, St. Scholastica’s College, and the CCP. Two of which (St. Scholastica’s College and the CCP) Kasilag herself is also affiliated with. With his involvement with the academe, Perez was able to expand his influence in education and culture. Lastly, the last person of interest is Francisca T. Benitez (1886-1974), to whom the piece is dedicated to. Benitez was the Co-founder of the Philippines Women’s University (the school wherein Kasilag pursued high school and college in). Noting Kasilag’s skill in music; she was the one who counselled Kasilag to attain her degree in music with a liberal arts or humanities course as an anchor.
The second composition Kasilag made based on the Song of Songs was composed in the 1990’s. It was entitled the Canticle of Canticles and was meant to be performed for soloists, mixed chorus, trumpet, organ, and percussions. It is safe to assume that it is the English translation of the previous composition. Not much information is also available regarding this cantata. However, it is notable that it was Jose F. Hernandez who wrote the libertto. The libertto is the text written for and set to music in an opera, oratorio, or other choral work. It was also stated that Kasilag wrote this composition in Los Angeles.
Due to the ambiguity of Kasilag’s compositions. I found it important to anchor it with a composition that not only revolved around the same text [Song of Songs] but had more information accessible to the public. This is when I came across the cantata a Song of Songs composed by Lukas Foss (a German-American composer) in 19461. It was a cantata for the mezzo soprano with a classic orchestral accompaniment. It was commissioned by the American League of Composers and was premiered by the Boston Symphony Orchestra (under Serge Koussevitzky’s baton) the year after it was composed.
The piece featured a solid foundation of neoclassicism. The composition is also divided into four sections, each section an excerpt from the Song of Songs from the King James Version of the Bible. The four parts of the cantata goes as follows:
Foss composed the piece intending it to be an amalgamate of various parts and verses of the Song of Songs. However, he states that the final setting (Set me as a seal) could also be performed on its own. The main bible verses Foss utilizes are as follows:
However, I did not only choose the compositon of Lukas Foss due to the identical subject matter but also because of the parallels present between Lukas Foss and Lucrecia Kasilag. Both composers presented numerous similarities with each other. Both Kasilag and Foss were exposed to music and showed a penchant for music at quite a young age. Foss began composing at the age of seven and published his first composition at the age of fifteen. Kasilag was raised in a household of music due to her mother. She and her siblings learned piano at an early age and were often called her mother’s personal orchestra. Both composers also pursued to study music abroad.
Foss began his musical studies in Berlin where he was introduced to Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven. All of whom would heavily influence the compostions and works he would later develop. Afterward he continued his studies in Paris where he studied piano and composition. Kasilag on the other hand pursued a graduate scholarship at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. She attended Eastman in September 1949 and was later awarded the Eastman School of Music fellowship. It is said that Eastman is where Kasilag flourished as a composer. She began her experimentations with the fusion of Western techniques and modalities with Eastern techniques and modalities here. Foss too would later in his career experiment with his compositions. People would often ascribe his compositions to having two periods. The first one being neoclassical and heavily influenced by Bach while the latter was more avant-garde and exploratory. However, his composition does not demonstrate his experimental qualities due to the fact it was composed during his neoclassical period.
And lastly, both would return to their home countries and not only continue to pursue music but help it proliferate through the means of the academe and organisations and groups for the performing arts. Foss founded the Improvisation Chamber Ensemble in the University of California whilst he was a professor of music in the University. He would also later on find and become the director of the Center for Creative and Performing Arts at the State University of New York at Buffalo. He continued to teach music in various universities and would later bon continuously travel throughout America to lecture and act as guest conductor to various universities.
Kasilag upon her return resumed her job as secretary-registrar at the PWU. She would later be appointed as Dean of the PWU College of Music and Fine Arts in 1953.With her continuing fascination with folk origins of Filipino music; by 1957 she organized the Bayanihan Folk Arts Center. A non-profit civic group focused on research and theatrical presentations. She also became the music director of Bayanihan Philippines, which allowed her to gain worldwide recognition as a music director. This endeavor would prove crucial to Kasilag’s fascination with folk music as it allowed her to travel where the music itself originated from. This way, she was able to identify the roots of Philippine music. Which is why from 1958 onwards, her compositions started to have a distinct uniqueness to it. Present within her compositions was a conscious synthesis of East and West.
She composed Awit ng mga Awit and the Benedictus Cantata (or Canticle of Canticles) in 1966 and 1990, respectively. Meaning both compositions wouldve fallen under the umbrella of her fusion of Western and Eastern music. And with review of the people she collaborated with, especially in Awit ng mga Awit, it is safe to assume that this piece underwent a Filipinization. Both Abriol and Perez were advocates for the propagation of the Catholic faith in the Philippines. Therefore it is safe to deduce that these pieces were made for that very purpose. I believe that the symbolisms and representations of the Song of Songs is also significant to the daily Filipino because of the struggles and hardships we as a people have experienced. I do not think it is too far off to liken the Israelites with our Filipino ancestors. Both of whom experienced oppression and abuse from foreign source. And both of whom turned to religion and faith as a means to get through these hardships.
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