III Sagayán (Pre-Battle Ceremony) from Mangá Pakalagián (Ceremonies)
Composer (Music and Text) - (Nilo Alcala)
Maguindanaon translation - Danongan Danny Kalanduyan
Philippine Madrigal Singers (Mark Anthony Carpio, Choirmaster)
performed at the 2017 European Grand Prix for Choral Singing
EGP 2017, Tolosa, Spain
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Composer's notes on MANGA PAKALAGIAN*)
(*Manga Pakalagian - was commissioned and premiered by the Los Angeles Master Chorale and Grant Gershon at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Nov. 15, 2015)
I grew up in the Philippines where culture is as colorful and diverse as the number of its islands - all 7,107 of it. A quick Google search of “Philippine History” will give you a peak at our rich history of pre-colonial kingdoms (rajahnates, sultanates, etc.) which began to rise about 900 AD. Prior to Christianization of the Central and Northern parts, and even prior to the Islamization of the Southern parts of the country - these Philippine kingdoms shared with its neighboring Southeast-Asian lands a gong-chime culture that has, at the center of its music-making, a set of graduated and bossed pot gongs. The Philippines’ very own bossed gongs we call kulintang. Our rich pre-colonial kulintang music remained intact up to this very day, yet the general musical culture of the country has been arguably enriched by the active trading within the Asian region, as well as the Spanish colonial rule (for 300 years), the brief British Invasion, the American occupation, and the Japanese occupation.
CEREMONIES: music and community
The playing of kulintang (which refers both to the repertoire played as well as the actual instrumental set of bossed gongs) - is very much integrated in the everyday life of Mindanao communities especially in Maguindanao where the Kalanduyans hail from. In almost every occasion, there is a specific kulintang piece to be played; the playing of this music somewhat elevates a community event or ritual into “ceremony status”.
Mangá Pakalagián is a suite of 3 choral works that highlight ceremonies or rituals with kulintang at the forefront:
1) welcoming and honoring guests,
2) thanksgiving during harvest, and
3) invoking invincibility in a pre-battle/war ritual.
The three choral pieces are to be introduced by actual traditional kulintang repertoire specific to those ceremonies/rituals, namely
1) Kapagonor,
2) Kaluntang, and
3) Tagonggo.
CEREMONY 1: MIDTAGAPEDA (Fellowship)
CEREMONY 2: PAPEDSALAMAT (Thanksgiving)
CEREMONY 3: SAGAYAN (Pre-Battle Ritual)- The traditional kulintang music Tagonggo that inspired this 3rd movement is originally not intended to be played in concerts. It is actual ritual music used in 1) healing rituals, 2) driving away negative energy/spirits, and 3) at a pre-war ceremony to invoke invincibility and power. The playing of Tagonggo pre-dates Islamic Maguindanao and nowadays has interestingly evolved into music that signifies important festive events, like wedding ceremonies. Sagayan, the title of the choral work, focuses on the pre-battle aspect of the ritual and is also the traditional name of the dance ritual that is accompanied by Tagonggo.
Related to this pre-battle ritual is Kasalawat, a practice of chanting to seek for blessing. The choral piece begins with a Male solo chant, seemingly initiating the ritual which then proceeds to a rhythmic ritual dance music. This ritual dance music has a slow interlude to be sung by the women of the chorus in which I imagined the wives of the Maguindanaon warriors pleading for their husbands.
The work closes with the kulintang ensemble and the chorus coming together in a mélange of rousing traditional melodies and rhythms - all underscoring an imagined ancient battle.
An inspiration for the multi-layer and intricate rhythmic texture of the whole work are the intricate and very colorful designs of Mindanao textiles and tapestries. You will hear different layers of organically related motifs that are interwoven in various sonic atmospheres; this results in a texture that is both intricate, driven, and evolving. Evident in sections throughout the suite are interlocking rhythmic patterns, similar to a hocket, wherein a single melodic or rhythmic material is spread among the vocal sections, creating a resultant melody or soundscape.
video courtesy of TIM CHEN.