The extraordinary organ & the primitive origin of Filipinos

juvyjabian (72)in #filipino • 8 years ago

Life & Culture of Filipino

The Extraordinary Organ & The Primitive Origin of Filipinos

The Extraordinary Organ in the World
We have to mention this instrument even though its original plan were not made in the Philippines but it was created in the country using the Filipino bamboo. I am talking about the famous bamboo organ which can be found and heard at the Catholic Church in Las Piñas in the province of Rizal. It was created in that place 106 years ago administered by the town's parish priest Padre Diego Ciera.

The organ was built after 56 years of the foundation of the Las Piñas church. Aside from the organ, there is another musical band instrument known in Filipino as "musikong buho" which is also made of bamboo. There are lots of changes in the Filipino music due to foreign influences, especially the music from Europe. We all know that the huge difference of the early and modern music are the different features of its scale.

If we can remember, it was only during the onset of 11th century when Guido Aretius of Europe discovered the scale that has 6 notes and the names of the notes were derived from the first syllable of every 6 verse of the hymn for San Juan: "Ut lazis - Resonare fibris - Mitra gestroum - Famult tourum - Solve pollute - Labii reatum.

Image Source

In general, the early Filipino music like "saloma" were composed of six notes. Usual Chinese scale has only five notes and the modern European scale has seven. However, the influence of Chinese music could be felt that much in Filipino music. Eventhough some of the early Filipino music has six or four notes, it doesn't mean that Chinese has relation to the early Filipino music.

The six or four notes in the early Filipino scale is not the same with the five notes of the Chinese music. The spirit and modulation of Filipino music is gentle and is natural while the modulation of Chinese music are not natural and is arbitrary and curve.

The Primitive Origin
It was shown to us lots of things about Filipino - its origin, history, growth, and the artistic exposition of its feeling and ambition. We had proven that we are from the race coming from other countries which as the time goes by has developed and enjoyed a civilization, and its existence were proven by history and its traces and fossils were discovered by the new archeologist.

Image Source

The early civilization that I'm referring to, is the eastern civilization which stand as the solid ground of the structure that we knew now and that is the culture of the west. Base on everything that was mentioned, I am expecting that I was able to provide you with the corresponding information to fully understand the reason of the differences in the Filipino psychology from the eastern culture surrounding it.

The different characteristics of Filipino culture which in general is not easy to be understood by the west will be sum up in the following; The gentle communication is a certain level that its not just if we treat like dishonesty or pretentious, when we knew that this is an unavoidable manifestation of our unique idiosyncrasy; for the strange and weird, they have to know from the ancient Indians and Malays; to be in spirituality and its inclination to the things that are mysterious and abstract, inclined with the traditional longingness of its home - these are the few treats of Filipino under the special influence of the tropical sun.