GUITAR WORKS
Composer for the Classical Guitar
Bayani's original solo classical guitar compositions incorporate Philippine folk and indigenous motifs. His “Kapilas na Giting,” the first serious work for guitar composed by a Filipino composer, has been included in a number of CDs by the German guitarist Hucky Eichelmann.
His later works, arrangements, and transcriptions can be found in a CD entitled "Kanta Filipina," performed by Yale graduate classical guitarist Theresa Calpotura, who teaches guitar at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
Among his other guitar works are "Kudyawit," "Kundimang Walang Titik," "Batang Laro (Child Play) Suite of 7 pieces--all commissioned by Angelito Agcaoili--"Batikusan," "Talagad," "Parang Kahapon Lamang"--all commissioned by Theresa Calpotura--"Ritwal" for Guitar Quartet, commissioned by the UST Guitar Alumni Society, and "Amihan" for Guitar Orchestra, which was especially composed for the 2010 UST International Guitar Festival.
Below are collections of select arrangements and performances.
Kanta Filipina
The following guitar pieces by Bayani Mendoza de Leon, performed by Theresa Calpotura on guitar, are included in the CD entitled "Kanta Filipina" produced by VGo Recordings. For orders, go to http://www.vgorecordings.com
Talagad (Merciful) - Elegy for Guitar
Talagad (Merciful) - Elegy for Guitar
This piece evolved from the motifs of a dirge called “Talagad” by the Tiruray, a traditional hill people of southwestern Mindanao in the Philippines. The composer sought to capture the chant’s melodic style and exploited to a large degree its scale and arpeggio patterns.
Maglalatik (Coconut Meat Gatherers) - Guitar Adaptation
Maglalatik (Coconut Meat Gatherers) - Guitar Adaptation
Maglalatik is a mock-war dance, of Spanish origin, that depicts a fight between the Moros and the Christians over the prized latik, or coconut meat residue. In this guitar adaptation, the brisk, lilting character of the dance has been essentially captured, but some sections were given a different treatment to convey a more delicate and in turn rhapsodic feeling, making for a refreshing contrast to the normally spirited pulse of the music.
Tahip-Puso (Heart Throb) - Serenade for Guitar
Tahip-Puso (Heart Throb) - Serenade for Guitar
This piece was a scene background music in one of the composer’s early zarzuelas or musicales. Because it was not meant to be sung, he had allowed more freedom in its melodic structure, contour, and reach. Despite its restless character, this serenade evokes a plaintive sentiment that is unmistakably Filipino.
Parang Kahapon Lamang (It Seems Only Yesterday) Lullaby for Guitar
Parang Kahapon Lamang (It Seems Only Yesterday) - Lullaby for Guitar
Parang Kahapon Lamang was inspired by a scene in a musicale, written by the composer, of a mother pining for her children who are coming home after many years’ stay in a foreign land. It evokes the character of the Philippine’s native lullaby, Oyayi, and is notable for its effortless modulations and its clever, tasteful major-to-minor, minor-to-major shifts at key junctions.
Mutya ng Pasig (Maiden of Pasig) - Guitar Adaptation
Mutya Ng Pasig (Maiden of Pasig) - Guitar Adaptation
Composed in 1926, Mutya ng Pasig epitomizes the essence of the kumintang, a pre-Hispanic song form that is said to embody the deepest aesthetic consciousness of the Filipino psyche. Abelardo pioneered nationalistic expression in Philippine music and is a much-revered composer by his countrymen.
FEATURED INTERPRETATIONS
Kapilas na Giting (A Measure of Valor)
This original composition was premiered as an international master class exhibition piece at the Espla Conservatory of Music in Alicante, Spain in 1976. The heart of Kapilas na Giting is the percussive beat of the pounding song of the Ifugaos, a northern Philippine tribe, and the lyrical kumintang, the oldest of the Philippine song forms. The composition showcases the tonal and rhythmic agility of the guitar.
Below are select interpretations of the piece.
FEATURED PERFORMANCE OF CHILD PLAY SUITE
Batang Laro Suite (Child Play)
Originally written for violin and piano, Batang Laro, a suite of 7 pieces, was inspired by animated scenes of children playing native Philippine games in the composer’s imagination. The rhythmic motifs were drawn essentially from Philippine folk dances ranging from the tuppaya-patung of the Igorots (northern Philippine tribe), the habanera, polka, balitaw, jota, and moro-moro of rural folks in Central Luzon and the Visayas, and the inagung and tinambul of Mindanao. The composer made liberal use of these rhythms, incorporating them into his own original dance-like melodies. As such, the various pieces in this suite can lend themselves to choreographic inventions that can be performed with the music, along the lines of Philippine children’s games specified in each number.
The impetus for this work came from the composer’s desire to write accessible pieces for violin and piano that could be performed by his then 10-year old violinist son, Okir, and 8-year-old pianist daughter, Amihan. The pieces were designed to draw his two children through graduated levels of technical difficulty as well as expressivity. The suite has also been adapted for solo classical guitar as commissioned by Angelito Agcaoili and Manual Soriano.
Below are Angelito Agcaoili's performances of all 7 pieces in the suite.
Featured Performances of Select Pieces
Below are performances of several original guitar pieces.
Ritwal (Toccata Mambayu for Guitar Quartet) - Bayani Mendoza de Leon
Ritwal - Toccata Mambayu for Guitar
Mambayu, a rice-pounding song of the Kalinga, a Philippine northern tribe, provided the germinal motifs for this work.
As with his many other compositions, the composer has hewn closely to his compositional worldview, which is to achieve a dynamic fusion of the traditional and contemporary elements. This work was commissioned by the University of Santo Tomas Guitar Alumni Association and premiered by the UST Guitar Quartet.
Parang Kahapon Lamang - Bayani Mendoza De Leon Solo Classical Guitar
Parang Kahapon Lamang
From the composer's zarzuela, "Villa Mariquita," this song is a mother's poignant and nostalgic reminiscences of three children's growing years.
Guitarist: Raffy Lata
Kudyawit - Bayani Mendoza de Leon (Carlo Juan)
Kudyawit
Kudyawit is a coinage of two Filipino words—kudyapi, a native Philippine lute, and awit, which means song. The song signified in this guitar piece, however, relates more to the essential energy and vibrance of the kudyapi than to any melodic articulation.This piece was commissioned by the Philippine Association for Graduate Education and Angelito Agcaoili.
Guitarist: Carlo Juan
Angelo Favis plays BAYANI DE LEON
Variations on a Philippine Folk Song: Lulay
This is a Philippine Visayan folk song that describes the hardships and trials that suitors must hurdle in wooing a virtuous, demure maiden named Lulay.
Guitarist: Angelo Favis
Amihan - Bayani Mendoza de Leon
Amihan (Eastern Breeze) - Passacaglia for Guitar Orchestra
This passacaglia is built on a repeating ground bass and a thematic melodic layer that starts out as a plain 8-measure line and grows into increasingly elaborate variations. The variations also become more extended in length while the ostinato bass undergoes changing rhythmic shapes. The melody alternates between soothing, evocative lyricism and raw, incisive virility. It written especially for Guitarra 2010 (the first UST International Guitar Festival).
Maglalatik - Bayani Mendoza De Leon
Maglalatik
Maglalatik is a mock-war dance, of Spanish origin, that depicts a fight between the Moros and the Christians over the prized latik, or coconut meat residue. In this guitar adaptation, the brisk, lilting character of the dance has been especially captured, but some sections were given a different treatment to convey a more delicate and in turn rhapsodic feeling, making for refreshing contrast to the normally spirited pulse of the music.
Guitarist: Raffy Lata
I. Harangang Taga from Batang Laro Suite by Bayani Mendoza De Leon (Iqui Vinculado)
Harangang Taga
A guitar interpretation of the first piece in the Batang Laro (Child Play) suite.
Guitarist: Iqui Vinculado
Batikusan- by Bayani Mendoza de Leon
Batikusan
The sprightly melodic and rhythmic motif of the Bagbagto, a game song that also doubles as a ritual song for harvest of the Philippine Northern Ibaloi and Bontoc tribes, supplied the creative impetus for this guitar piece, commissioned by classical guitarist Theresa Calpotura.
Guitarist: Angelito Agcaoili
Pandangguhan - Bayani Mendoza De Leon
Pandagguhan
The Fandango is a courtship dance native to Spain and Mexico and supposedly means "go and dance." It is considered to be "the prototype of all Spanish dances." Filipinos developed their own variant of this rousing dance. Bayani's guitar setting is notable for its fresh contemporary treatment that retains the traditional sections of the dance but also injects exciting layers of melodic ramification, rhythmic invention, and harmonic color.
Guitarist: Raffy Lata
Kundimang Walang Titik by Bayani de Leon
Kundimang Walang Titik
This piece was written with a twofold aim: to create a piece that is hewn very closely to the traditional character of the kundiman―considered the national song form of the Filipino people―and at the same time endowed with a fresh vitality by occasional contemporary touch. It was commissioned by the Phoenix Phil-Am Lions Club and Angelito Agcaoili.
Guitarist: Angelito Agcaoili