Music 3rd Quarter Exam Review

Many of his piano works have become a staple  part of the Philippine repertoire of today’s  young students, especially Mayon, Larawan,  and Maligayang Bati.  

Known as the “Father of the  Kundiman” and belongs to the  “Triumvirate of Filipino  

Composers." His music was Romantic  in style, incorporating Western  forms and techniques with folk  materials.  He became the  first Filipino  Director of the  UP  

Conservatory  of Music.

His compositions contain hazy tones,  dissonance and unusual chordal  

combinations. Although a 20th century modern composer  in style, he is also considered a composer in  the Romantic style.  

The first National Artist for  

Music, is considered one of  

the “Triumvirate of Filipino  

Composers.” He began his music career as  

an orchestral soloist at the  

Manila Grand Opera House. He is best known for his poignantly  romantic serenade for violin and piano  Hatinggabi.  

 Known as a  “romantic nationalist.”  He incorporated Philippine folk elements in his compositions with Western forms and harmony. His chords have a rich expressive  tonality, as represented in his  well-loved, Sa Ugoy ng Duyan, a  lullaby melody sung by his  mother.

His compositional style makes  much use of syncopation, extended chords, and chromatic harmony.

Among his numerous compositions are  the award-winning Kay Ganda ng Ating Musika (1978), as well as the modern zarzuela Alikabok (2003), the opera  Spoliarium with libretto by Fides Cuyugan-Asensio, and a variety of  choral pieces and song cycles.  

Considered as the first Filipino  avant garde composer, he also  worked at a recording studio  in Paris in 1958 which specialized in musique concrète. He pursued advanced studies in the USA with E. Robert Schmitz and earned a Doctorate Degree in Ethnomusicology from UCLA. His musical style changed when he  encountered the music of the indigenous  tribes of Mindoro in 1953. He then embarked on his life’s work, dedicated to the understanding and  preservation of Filipino traditional music.

Compositions demonstrated a fusion of Eastern  and Western styles in using  instruments, melody, harmony,  and rhythm.  

• Particularly known for  incorporating indigenous  

Filipino instruments into  

orchestral productions.

He pursued graduate studies in Ethnomusicology at the University of Illinois, USA.

Santos’ compositional style  features chromaticism, music  seria, and electronic components,  combined with indigenous  Philippine music elements. He had done extensive research on the gamelan  music of Java as well as the traditional music of  the Ibaloi, Maranao, Mansaka, Bontoc, Yakan,  and Boholano tribes in the Philippines.

One of the most accomplished musicians and liturgists in the Philippines emerging during the second half of the 20th century.  He is a monk at Our Lady of  Montserrat Abbey in Manila. He was the former director of the Paul  VI Institute of Liturgy in Malaybalay,  Bukidnon where he composed the  music for the papal mass.