Solo and Choral Music

What is a solo?

Solo is a thing done by one person unaccompanied or perform something unaccompanied, in

particular.

What is a choral?

A choral is composed for or sung by a choir or chorus.

Vocal Music Composition

• Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or
the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called
composers.

• Composition consists in two things only. The first is the ordering and disposing of several sounds
in such a manner that their succession pleases the ear. This is what the Ancients called melody.
The second is the rendering audible of two or more simultaneous sounds in such a manner that
their combination is pleasant. This is what we call harmony, and it alone merits the name of
composition.

Examples of Solo Choral music

• Sa Ugoy ng Duyan (Lucio San Pedro)

• Payapang Daigdig (Felipe De Leon)

Famous Filipino Vocal Music Composers

Lucio San Pedro

(February 11, 1913 – March 31, 2002)

He was a Filipino composer and teacher. San Pedro came from a family with musical roots and he began
his career early. When he was still in his late teens, he succeeded his deceased grandfather as the local
church organist. By then, he had already composed songs, hymns and two complete masses for voices
and orchestra. After studying with several prominent musicians in the Philippines, he took advanced
composition training with Bernard Wagenaar of the Netherlands.

He also studied harmony and orchestration under Vittorio Giannini and took classes at Juilliard in 1947.
His other vocation was teaching. He has taught at the Ateneo de Manila University, virtually all the
major music conservatories in Manila, and at the College of Music of the University of the Philippines,
Diliman, where he retired as a full professor in 1978. He later received the title Professor Emeritus from
the University in 1979. He also became a faculty member of the Centro Escolar University Conservatory
of Music in Manila.
On May 9, 1991, President Corazon C. Aquino proclaimed San Pedro a National Artist of the Philippines
for Music.

He married Gertrudes Díaz with whom he had five children: Rhodora, Bienvenido, María Conchita, María
Cristina and Lucio, Jr. San Pedro died of cardiac arrest on March 31, 2002 in Quezon City, at the age of
89. He is buried in his hometown of Angono, Rizal. His orchestral music includes The Devil’s Bridge,
Malakas at Maganda overture, Prelude and Fugue in D minor, Hope and Ambition; choral music includes
Easter cantata, Sa Mahal kong Bayan, Rizal’s Valedictory Poem; Vocal music include Lulay, Sa Ugoy ng
Duyan, In the Silence of the Night; and band music Dance of the Fairies, Triumphal March, Lahing
Kayumanggi, Angononian March among others.
Felipe De Leon
(May 1, 1912 – May 1 2012)

He was a major Philippine composer, conductor, and scholar. He was known best for translating the
lyrics of the Philippine National Anthem from the original Spanish to Tagalog. A recepient of numerous
awards and honors, he was posthumously named National Artist of the Philippines for music in 1997. He
was married to Iluminada Bonus Mendoza and the father of six equally gifted and musical children: (in
order of birth) Felipe Mendoza de Leon, Bayani de Leon, Tagumpay de Leon, Luningning de Leon-
Carbonell, Magdangal de Leon and Marilag de Leon-Mendoza.

Felipe Padilla de Leon was born in Peñaranda, Nueva Ecija on May 1, 1912. He was educated in Manila
and the United States. He taught in various schools in the capital city. He became conductor of Banda
Malaya No. 1 of Taytay, Rizal. He was known for Filipinizing western music forms. He was a prodigious
composer: for orchestra, Mariang Makiling Overture (1939), Roca Encantada (1950), Maynila Overture
(1976), Orchesterstuk (1981); for choral music, Ako'y Pilipino, Lupang Tinubuan, and Ama Namin. De
Leon wrote his famous piece "Payapang Daigdig" the morning after he woke up to the destruction of the
city of Manila during World War II.He also wrote the classic songs Bulaklak, Alitaptap, Mutya ng Lahi and
the kundiman Sarong Banggi. He also composed the first full-length Filipino opera, Noli Me Tangere, and
subsequently El Filibusterismo. Many Martial Law babies recall singing his patriotic song " Bagong
Lipunan" immediately after the national anthem.

He was conferred various awards and distinctions including the Republic Cultural Heritage Award,
Doctor of Humanities from UP, Rizal Pro-Patria Award, Presidential Award of Merit, Patnubay ng Sining
at Kalinangan Award from the City of Manila, among others. On December 8, 1997 De Leon was
posthumously conferred by President Fidel V. Ramos the highest honor a Filipino artist can receive, the
National Artist Award for music. He is still considered the most prolific composer in Philippine music. The
Felipe Padilla de Leon High School in Nueva Ecija was named after him. He composed 327 compositions.
Some of his compositions are Ako’y Pilipino, Ala-ala Kita sa Aking Pagtulog, Alay ng Kabataan, Ang
Watawat, Ang Wika, Banner of Victory , Bantig ng Watawat, Dalawang Puso, Damit ni Inday, Payapang
Daigdig, Penaranda Hymn and many more.

What is a National Artist?

 A National Artist is a Filipino citizen who has been given the rank and title of National Artist in
recognition of his or her significant contributions to the development of Philippine arts and
letters.

How are National Artists proclaimed?

• The Order is the highest state honour conferred on individuals deemed as having done much for
their artistic field. Deserving individuals must have been recommended by both the Cultural
Center and the National Commission on Culture and the Arts prior to receiving the award. Such
people are then titled, by virtue of a Presidential Proclamation, as National Artist (Filipino:
Gawad Pambansang Alagad ng Sining, "National Servant of the Arts Award"), and are inducted
into the Order.

• Recipients attend a conferment ceremony at Malacañang Palace, where the President bestows
on them the insignia of the Order: an ornate, gilt Collar and a small pin, both depicting the
Order's emblem. In addition to the Collar, each new Member is given a citation that is presented
during the conferment ceremony. The Cultural Center of the Philippines then presents a
Memorabilia Exhibit of the recipients' works, and holds a Gabi ng Parangal (A Night of Tributes)
for the National Artists at the Tanghalang Pambansa.
Categories

• Music - composition, direction, and/or performance;

• Dance - choreography, direction and/or performance;

• Theater – direction, performance and/or production design;

• Visual Arts – painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, installation art, mixed media works,
illustration, graphic arts, performance art and/or imaging;

• Literature – poetry, fiction, essay, playwriting, journalism and/or literary criticism;

• Film and Broadcast Arts – direction, writing, production design, cinematography, editing, camera
work, and/or performance; and

• Architecture, Design and Allied Arts – architecture design, interior design, industrial arts design,
landscape architecture and fashion design.

Is there a criteria for being a National Artist?

Nominations for National Artist of the Philippines are based on a broad criteria, as set forth by the
Cultural Center of the Philippines and the National Commission on Culture and the Arts:

• Living artists who have been Filipino citizens for the last ten years prior to nomination as well as
those who have died after the establishment of the award in 1972 but were Filipino citizens at
the time of their death;

• Artists who have helped build a Filipino sense of nationhood through the content and form of
their works;

• Artists who have distinguished themselves by pioneering in a mode of creative expression or

style, making an impact on succeeding generations of artists

• Artists who have created a significant body of works and/or have consistently displayed
excellence in the practice of their art form, enriching artistic expression or style; and

• Artists who enjoy broad acceptance through prestigious national and/or international
recognition, awards in prestigious national and/or international events, critical acclaim and/or
reviews of their works, and/or respect and esteem from peers within an artistic discipline.

Nominations are then submitted to the National Artist Secretariat that is created by the National Artist
Award Committee; experts from the different art fields then sit on a First Deliberation to prepare the
short list of nominees. A Second Deliberation, which is a joint meeting of the Commissioners of the
NCCA and the Board of Trustees of the CCP, decides on the final recomendees. The list is then forwarded
to the President of the Philippines, who, by Presidential Proclamation, proclaims the final nominees as
members of the Order of National Artists.