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Arizona State University

School of Music
DOCTORAL R.ECITAL SERIES

ALSETURE-RECTT* OF GUITAR WORKS.
eY COXTEMPORNRY FXITPTXO COMPOSERS

ANGELITO. AGCAOILI
GU1TAR

ORGAN HALI,
Thursday, March ZZ; ZOqt .,. 7:3-0p.rn,

PROGRAM

llimig bilang 4 (1980s)

Jose Valdez
b. 1953

Kundiman in D (1990s)
Fantasy Variations on Sarong Banggi (1999)*
Passepied (1982)

Three Impromptus

Richard Alcoy
986)

b.1958

Visayan Serenades (i999)

Michael Dadap
b. 1944

(I

Kimpang Balitaw
Damgohon Ko Ikaw
Balud
Djaga-Djaga

**There will be a Ia-minute intennis,sion**

Prelude Etnika (1996)
Toccata (1996)

Lucrecia Kasilag

b.

l9l8

Prelude and Fugue (1988)

Bernardino Custodio
b. 19l I

Kapilas Na Giting (1975)
Kudyawit (2000)**

Bayanicle Leon
b. 1942

Manang Biday (1986)
(Reflections on a Philippine Folk Song)

Florante Aguilar

b. r965

*****>i.****xt<*t<
This recital is given in partial fulfillment of the performance rcquircmcnts
for the degree Doctor of Musical Arts in guitar pe rformance.

Angelito Agcaoili is a student ol Frank Koonce.
In respect for the performers and those audience members around you, pleasc turn
all treepers, cell phones, watches to their silent mode. Thank you.

*Written for Angelito Agcaoili.
**Commissioned by Angelito Agcaoili and the Philippine Association lirr
Graduate Education of ASU.

Performance Events Staff Manager
Paul W. Estes

Assistant Performance Events Staff Manager
Gary Quamme
Performance Events Staff' '
i : Andrcy Astaiza; Jennifer Cook '
Erin Dow" Elizabeth Maben ,
'," '
I r ' ,' ' James Parkinson, Grant Striemer
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School of Music
Mairr Campus, P.O. Box 870405,'lbmpc"AZ 8J287-0405
480-965-3371'http://music.asu'edu
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A Lecture-Recital of Guitar Works By Contemporary Filipino Composers
Angelito Agcaoili, guitar
ASU School of Music, Organ Hall
Thursday, March 22,2001.7:30 pm
The Philippines
Area:299,000 sq. km. (116, 610 sq. mi.)
Population: 70 million
Capital City: Manila (pop: 10 million)
People: Predominantly descendants of Malays, Chinese and Muslim minorities and mestizos (Filipino-Spanish or Filipino-Americans)
Language: Filipino (Tagalog) and English plus numerous widely spoken indigenous languages, some Spanish
Religion: 82Vo Roman Catholic, 97o Protestant, 5 7o Muslim, 3 7o Buddhist

Brief History
The first inhabitants of the Philippines arrived about 300, 000 years ago, probably migrating over a land bridge from the Asian
mainland. The Negrito or Aeta arrived 25, 000 years ago, but they were driven back by several waves of immigrants from Indonesia,
followeci by maritime immigrations of Malayan people. In 1380, the Arab-taught Makdum arrived in the Sulu archipelago and began
to establish what became a powerful Islamic sphere of influence over the next hundred years.
Ferdinand Magellan arrived in 1521 and claimed the archipelago for Spain. Magellan was killed by local chiefs who quite naturally
disapproved of this notion. Ruy Lopez de Villalobos followed in 1543 and named the territory Filipinas after Philip II of Spain.
Permanent Spanish occupation began in 1565, and by l57l the entire country, excepf for the strictly Islamic Sulu archipelago, was
under Spain.

A Filipino independence movement grew in the late l9'h century and Filipinos fought on the side of the Americans in 1898 during the
Spanish-American War. When Spain was defeated, General Emilio Aguinaldo declared the Philippines independent. The USA
however, had other plans and promptly purchased the islands from Spain for US$20 million. The Filipinos' desire for independence
was eventually recognized and Manuel Quezon was sworn in as President of the Philippine Commonwealth in 1935 as part of a
transitional phase pending full independence. During WWII, Japan invaded the Philippines brutally intemrpting this process. The
Philippines received full independence in 1946.

Philippine Music
Indigenous Music
There are two indigenous styles: one is found in the mountains of northern Luzon, the other in the islands of Mindanao and Sulu in the
south, including the islands of Palawan and to certain extent Mindoro in the southwest. The singing style peculiar to the north uses a
marked and rhythmic enunciation of vowels to form syllables, or slides, half speech sounds and frequent rests; by contrast the southern
style uses melismas, long phrases, a naffow range, smooth singing and tremolo. Musical instruments of the north such as flat gongs,
nose flutes, bamboo buzzers, clappers, quill-shaped percussion tubes and brassjew's harps partly associate this tradition with
continental southeast Asia; while in the south a variety of bossed gongs, ring flutes, log drums, xylophones, single-string violins,
suspended beams and bamboo jew's harps indicate links with Indonesia and Malaysia.
Western Music
Four styles are derived mainly from Western music; folksongs with a l9th-century melodic style and harmonic accompaniment; a
psalm style, probably of mixed European and Asian origin; classical European music; and popular music, including jazz. The folksong
style is widespread and, although Iberian in origin, has a particular Philippine flavour different from Indonesian kroncong music and
the Goan singing style (both derived from Portugal). The native psalm style exists in semi-liturgical and some secular forms,
especially in southern and eastern Luzon. Symphonies and European classical forms have acquired a Philippine character through the
use of native tunes and legends, while the performance of popular music and jazz is exemplified in the Philippine groups that are well
known in the night clubs of Asian cities from Teheran to Jakarta and Tokyo.

The Composers
Florante Aguilar
Born on January 11, 1965 in Manila, Florante Aguilar received his first formal training at the University of the Philippines' College of
Music where he obtained his Diploma in Performance in 1986. While at this institution, he was a member of the UP Guitar Ensemble
which toured the world for six and a half months in 1985.

In 1986, he came to the United States on a scholarship to study with Sharon Isbin at the Manhattan School of Music in New York and
later, as a private student of Benjamin Verdery. He was a member of the esteemed Buffalo Guitar Quartet in the years 1989-90. The

quartet toured and conducted residencies throughout the United States and recorded an album entitled New Music for 4 Guitars (New
World 384-2) to a wide critical acclaim. Florante received his Bachelor of Music degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of
Music in 1996 under the tutelage of David Tanenbaum.

Richard Alcoy
Guitarist-composer Richard Alcoy was born on October 30, 1958 in Davao, southern Philippines. At first a self taught guitarist, he
later took formal music classes at St. Paul's College of Manila where he earned a Bachelor of Music degree in 1983. While in college,
he was awarded full scholarships for his guitar and composition studies. In 1980, he won first prizes in both the classical and jazz
guitar competitions of the Philippine Guitar Festival. He has also won prizes in the Concurso de Guitarra del Centro Cutural de Espafla
en Manila in 1981 and in the composition category of the regional division of the National Music Competitions for Young Artists. He
eventually joined the faculty of the Conservatory of Music of St. Paul College of Manila upon completion of his degree.
He currently resides in the Los Angeles area of southern California and is a very active performer in the classical, jazz and fingerstyle
guitar scene. In 1998, he released his debut recording entitled Precious Companions. This was his tribute to his early influences on the
guitar- Chet Atkins, Andres Segovia and Laurindo Almeida. Richard Alcoy is also featured regulaily as a performer and lecturer in the
Annual Chet Atkins Appreciation Society International Convention in Nashville, Tennessee and in the quarterly convention of the
Association of Fingerstyle Guitarists (AFG) in Anaheim, California. He also contributes articles to the AFG's newsletter Zie
Soundhole andto Just Jau magazine.

Bernardino Custodio
Composer, conductor and pianist Bernardino Custodio was born in Manila on May 20, l9l l . He first studied piano under Pedro
Elioraga and later enrolled as a full scholar at the University of the Philippines Conservatory of Music in 1925, graduating with a
degree in piano performance in 1930. While at this institution, he also studied composition and conducting under Alexander Lippay,
Jeno von Takacs and Herbert Zipper.In 1959, he pursued a Master of Arts degree at the University of Santo Tomas and traveled to the
United States under a Smith-Mundt grant.

In 1940, he was appointed associate conductor of the Manila Symphony Orchestra, a position he held for many years. He taught at the
University of the Philippines and the University of Santo Tomas where he also was the director of the Conservatory of Music in the
years 1957-61. He is one of the eleven original members of the League of Filipino Composers when it was founded in 1955. Before
his retirement, he also served as member of the executive board of the National Music Council of the Philippines and dean of the
Yamaha School of Music Philippines.

Michael Dadap
Born on May 19, 1944 in Hinunangan, southern Leyte, guitarist, composer, conductor and folklorist Michael Dadap comes from a
family of musicians from whom he received his early musical education and his dedication to music. He came to the United States in
l97l and studied guitar at the Mannes School of Music with Roslyn Dlugin and Frederick Hand. Later he pursued studies in
composition and conducting at the Julliard School of Music.
Dadap gave his New York debut at Carnegie Recital Hall in 1974. This successful performance led to an extensive concert tour of the
United States, Europe and the Far East. He has also appeared in solo and chamber recitals in New York's prestigious concert halls
which included the Dag Hammarksjold Auditorium of the United Nations, Avery Fisher Hall, Town Hall and Alice Tully Hall.
Since 1984, Michael Dadap has been the artistic music director and conductor of the Children's Orchestra Society in New York. He
has conducted and collaborated with outstanding soloists from the COS faculty as well as some of the world's finest musicians,
including Emmanuel Ax, Cho-Liang Lin, Chee-Yun, Soovin Lim, Hai-Ye Ni, Li-Jian, Yo-Yo Ma, David Shifrin, and Michael Tree.
His composition Handurawan Dance Suite won the Asian-American Alliance for the Arts Award and was premiered by the Brooklyn
Philharmonic Chamber Ensemble in 1988. Other compositions include Songs of the Visayans for voice and guitar (a collection of Mr.
Dadap's original arrangements of Philippine folk songs), and Pastores Overture, a piece for Philippine traditional instruments, which
was premiered in May 1993. His Sinulog Suite for orchestra, commemorating the Philippine centennial, was premiered by the Young
Symphonic Ensemble of the COS at Alice Tully Hall during the 1998 Discovery concert. In March 1999, a collection of his works,
including his Four Visayan Serenades for guitar and Song Cycle for tenor, cello, and piano, were presented by the Felipe de Leon
Foundation at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall.

Mr. Dadap has devoted a large portion of his career to the appreciation of Filipino folk music, pioneering the awareness of Filipino
rondalla in the United States. This included a ten-year tenure as music director of the Massachusetts-based Iskwelahang Pilipino
Rondalla. Under his leadership, Mr. Dadap has written and ananged original works and other material for the rondalia, most of which
are recorded in the IP rondalla's CD, Crossing Over. He serves presently as the IP music consultant and its resident arranger and
composer. His guitar recordings include lnmbingan, a collection of his arrangements of Philippine kundiman love songs, and Intimate
Guitar Classics, featured as the album of the month on the New York Times classical radio station WQXR in February 1990.

Bayani de Leon
The second child of the Philippine National Artist in Music Felipe de Leon and the concert pianist Iluminada Mendoza, Bayani de
Leon was born in Manila, Philippines on November 24, 1942. His mother taught him the piano before he was seven. At age nine, he
became the youngest member of Banda Peft.aranda, a brass band directed by his father. He played the trumpet which he considers his
first musical instrument. He also intrinsically understands and play the piano, guitar, flute and other Western instruments (violin,
clarinet, trombone etc.) as well as Philippine ethnic musical instruments and other Asian musical instruments. He began composing in
high school. His first works were the zarzuelas (operettas) Hibik sa Karimlan (Cries in the Dark) and Handog sa Diyos (Offering to
God).for which he was also the librettist and musical director.
Due to his academic interest in literature, he pursued a degree in Philosophy and Letters at the University of Santo Tomas where he
graduated with a bachelors degree in 1963. He later pursued his musical studies at Centro Escolar University where he earned his
Bachelor of Music in cornposition and conducting in 1972 under a full grant from the Music Promotions Foundation of the
Philippines. ln 1979, he furthered his musical studies in the United States as a Fulbright-Hays scholar in music. He majored in music
technology at the University of California in San Diego where he obtained his Master of Arts in composition in 1982.

In the years 1968 to 1979,he taught composition, music theory and Philippine music in institutions such as the University of the
Philippines, Philippine Women's University, Centro Escolar University, Maryknoll College, College of the Holy Spirit and St.
Joseph's College. Among his other musical activities in the Philippines include being the resident composer for the Kalinangan
Ensemble and Philippine Eciucational Theater Association from 1968 to 1970, all-around musician for the Filipinescas Dance
Company's world tour in 1965, music director of the Philippine Folk Arts Cultural Mission to Paris in 1977 and as an associate editor
for the Asian Compcsers League Newsletter during the years 1977-19.
In the United States, he was a Lecturer for Asian Music Studies at the University of California-San Diego in 1982 as well as the
official delegate of the school for the CAL-ARTS Contemporary Music Festival in Lcs Angeles, California in the years 1981-82. He
is also active with Filipino-Arnerican cultural groups having directed the Samahan Dance Company and PASACAT Performing Arts
Company in San Diego, California as well as the rondalla of the Foundation for Filipino Artists in New York, Paaralang Pilipino and
the University of the Philippines Alumni and Friends in New Jersey.
Among his award-winning compositions are: The Golden Earth, a dance drama, first prize, University of the East Song and Dance
Competition, 1966: Los Penitentes (The Penitents), choral drama, first prize, Nationai Songfest, 1967 ; Sisa, choral portrait, first prize,
National Songfest, 1968; and Alamat ng Lupa (Legend of the Earth), second prize, National Songfest, 1968. In 1976, his chamber
work Bahay-Bata (a chamber meta -game for clarinet, harp, bandurria, laud and Philippine native percussion) was selected for
international broadcasting by the fourth Asian Music Rostrum convention in Manila of the same year.

Lucrecia Kasilag
Philippine National Artist in Music Lucrecia Kasilag was born on August 31, 1918 in San Fernando, La Union. Her mother, Asuncion
Roces was a music teacher and her first musical influence. After finishing her Bachelor of Arts degree in English at the Philippine
Women's University she took piano lessons with Concha Cuervo and, later, Pura Lacson-Villanueva. In 1939, she obtained her music
teacher's diploma from St. Scholastica's College of Music and in 1949 her Bachelor of Music degree from the Philippine Women's
University. Kasilag also studied at the Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester in New York where she obtained her Master
of Music degree in 1950. Her principal composition teachers were Antonio Molina and Wayne Barlow. She was conferred the
following honorary degrees: Doctor of Music by the Centro Escolar University in 1975; Doctor of Laws by the Philippine Women's
University in 1980; and Doctor of Fine Arts by the St. John University, New York in 1981.
Kasilag held teaching positions at St. Scholastica's College and Assumption College, the Philippine Women's University, and at the
University of the Philippines. She was dean of the Philippine Women's University's College of Music and Fine Arts from 1953 to
1977. While at this institution, she did pioneering research on ethnic culture and gained worldwide recognition as the music director of
the Bayanihan Philippine Dance Company. From 1969 until her retirement in 1986, she served as artistic director and president of the
Cultural Center of the Philippines.
She held many key positions in national and international music organizations such as the Asian Composers League, League

of

Filipino Composers, National Music Council of the Philippines, International Society for Music Education, International Music
Council, Philippine Society for Music Education, Federation for Asian Cultural Promotion, Music Promotions Foundation of the
Philippines, and, the National Music Competitions for Young Artists. Kasilag has been recipient of grants from the Fulbright
Scholarship Commission, Asia Foundation, Colombo Plan, Eastman School of Music Fellowship, Government of India, John D.
Rockefeller III Fund and US State Department International Visitor. In 1963, she was the East-West Center composer-in-Residence at
the University of Hawaii Festival of the Arts. She has also headed many of the Philippines' cultural delegations to Asia, Africa,
Australia, the United States, Canada and Europe and presided over several international and national music conferences, as well as
having served in juries for international piano competitions in Italy, Australia and the United States. She is listed in Who's Who in the
World, International Scholars Biographical Dictionary, Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians (6'h edition), The World Who's

Who of Musicians, The World Who's Who of Women, and Reference Asia: Who's Who of Men and Women of Achievement and

Distinction..
Kasilag began composing during WWII. She has written more than 300 musical compositions which include instrumental pieces, folk
song arrangements, art songs, solo chamber music and orchestral works. She is considered among the pioneers in combining the
resources of occidental and oriental musical instruments in East and West compositions .In 1979, some of her works were recorded by
Kubing Records. She has written numerous articles and essays on various aspects of humanities and research in Asian music.

Among the many awards and honors she has received are the Republic Cultural Heritage Award in Music in 1960 and 1966, Federal
Republic of Germany Presidential Award Officer' s Cross for the Order of Merit in 197 5, Republic of China Ministry of Education and
Culture Award in 1976, Spanish Government Award Dama de la Orden de Alfunso X El Sabio in 1977, French Government Award
Officer des Arts et l*ttres in 1978, Avicenna Award from the Novosti Press Agency of the U.S.S.R. in 1985, Japan Government
Award Third Class of the Order of the Precious Crown in 1985, French Ministry of Culture Award Commander dans I'Ordre des Arts
et Lettres in 1985, first foreign artist to be awarded the title of Honorary Board Member of the Chinese Musicians Association in
1985, and elected one of the Five Living Honorary Individual Members at the International Music Council General Assembly in
Alicante, Spain in 1993. In 1989, she was proclaimed National Artist for Music by the Republic of the Philippines.

Jose Valdez
Guitar virtuoso, untiring champion of Philippine music, pedagogue, arranger and composer Jose Valdez was born in Manila in 1953.
He learned the rudiments of music from his father, Colonel Adriano Valdez, an accomplished clarinetist and military brass band
conductor. Selftaught on the classical guitar, he formally launched his concert career at age fourteen and by age eighteen was teaching
in the leading music schools in Manila.
He currently heads the guitar departments of the Philippine College of Music and Arts of the Philippine Women's University, St.
Scholastica's College of Music, St. Paul's College of Music as well as teaches musical courses at the Philippine Normal University.
He was also recently appointed faculty to the guitar department of the University of the Philippines and is a member of the Filipino
Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, Inc. (FILSCAP). His effectiveness as a mentor is widely admired since his thirty years
ofteaching has developed numerous other performers and produced dedicated teachers who in turn are training yet newer generations

of Filipino guitarists.

The Folk Songs
One Night

Sarong Banggi (Bicol)
Sarong banggr,
Sa higdaan,
Nakadangog ako
Nin huni nin sarung gamgam,
Sa luba ko, katurugan,
Bako kundi simong boses
Iyo palaan.
Dagos ako bangon
Si sakong mata

Iminuklat,
Sa diklum nin banggi
Ako nangalag-kalag,
Si sakong paghiling
Pasiring sa itaas,

One night

while in bed

I heard the sound
of

a

bird

I thought it was a dream
but no it was your
voice, Love.

Quickly I got up
opened my eyes
I peered into the
darkness
my eyes looked up and
saw your face

alight

Simong lawog
N ahiling ako maliwanag.

Balik ako

I went back to bed

Sa higdaan,

That night I
can never forget
It is imprinted in my
heart
For all time,

Idtong bangging dai
Nangad ako malilingaw
Nakatala pa sa daghan,
Ano man gibuhon
Sain man pumaduman.

Wherever I am.

Dangdang-Ay (Tingguian)
Dangdang-ay sidong ilay,
Insinalidommay,
Dangdang-ay sidong ilay,
Insinalidommay, ay, ay.
Kakabsat a nadayaw,
Inkam pay kumoblaaw..
Kaaddayo 'ta nga aldaw,
Dangdang-ay si dongilay, ay, ay.

Honored brothers
Let me greet you
For being here today

Agyaman tay iti Apo.
Ta nagsasabat tayo.
Napay nagaaddayo,
Intay nagaamammo, ay, ay.
Salidommay.

We thank the Lord
For this meeting.
Though we've been apart,
We've come to know each other

Manang Biday (Ilocos)
Manang Biday, ilukat mo man
Ta bintana ikalumbabam

Manang Biday, open your window and look at me
whom you captivated. I will die if you do not pity
me.

Siasino ka nga aglabaslabas
Toy jardin ko nga napannayagT
Ammon ket balasangak
Sabong to lirio di pay nagukrad

Who are you that is always passing by my garden?
You know I arn a young girl compared to a bud.

Dengguem, ading, ta bilinen ka
Ta inkantot' idiay Solsona
Inkanto agalat' nwngga
Adu nga frutas nadumaduma

Listen to what I tell you. Go to Solsona and gather
different kinds of fruits.

No nangato dika sukdalen
No nababa dika gawaten

If it is high, don't take it with a pole; if it is low,
pick it with your hand; if it falls. don't pick it up;

Ta kitaem toy kinayawan
Ay matayakon no dinaknasian.

No maregreg dika piduten
Ngem labas-labasam to met laeng

just pass by it.

Selected References
Eugenio, Damiana

L.

ed.

Philippine Folk Literature Series Volume VII: The FoIk Songs. Manila: De La Salle University Press, 1996.

Hila, Antonio C. Musika: An Essay on Philippine Music. Manila, Cultural Center of the Philippines, 1989.
Kasilag, Lucrecia R. The League of Fitipino Composers: Directory and Catalogue of Selected Works.Manila: Philippine Music
Documentation Center, 1996.
Sadie, Stanley, ed New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians London: Macmiilan Publishers Limited, 1980. S.v. "Philippines,"
by Jose Maceda, Leonor Orosa Goquingco, and Lucrecia Kasilag.
Samson, Helen F. Contemporary

Filipino Composers: Biographical Interviews.Quezon City: Manlapaz Publishing Company,

1976.

Tiongson, Nicanor G., ed. Philippine Music.Yol.6, The Cultural Center of the Philippines' Encyclopedia of Philippine Art. Manila:
CCP Publications, 1994.

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