Sheng on Stamps

The mouth organ Sheng was designed in China about 3000 years ago. The pipes are stopped with the fingers. When the piped are not stopped, the air causes the free metal reeds to vibrate. In more modern instruments, the reeds are made of brass and tuned with wax. The sheng's elegant shape reminds of the mythical phoenix. It consists of a mouthpiece, which may vary in shape, a wind-chest, and pipes.

In China, four of the seventeen pipes serve only as decoration; in Japan only two serve this purpose. In modern shengs, all pipes are functional, encompassing the chromatic octave a1-a2 and four higher diatonic notes. The sheng became popular in the 11th century B.C.. In Europe it attracted attention in the 18th century, when the free reed principle was used in a number of Western instruments, such as the harmonium and the accordion. In the East, the sheng is used as a solo instrument and in ensembles.

The stamp was issued by Macao in 1986

Kulintang on Stamps

Kulintang is a modern term for an ancient instrumental form of music composed on a row of small, horizontally-laid gongs that function melodically, accompanied by larger, suspended gongs and drums. As part of the larger gong-chime culture of Southeast Asia, kulintang music ensembles have been playing for many centuries in regions of the Eastern Malay Archipelago — the Southern Philippines, Eastern Indonesia, Eastern Malaysia, Brunei and Timor, although this article has a focus on the Philippine Kulintang traditions of the Maranao and Maguindanao peoples in particular. Kulintang evolved from a simple native signaling tradition, and developed into its present form with the incorporation of knobbed gongs from Sunda. Its importance stems from its association with the indigenous cultures that inhabited these islands prior to the influences of Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity or the West, making Kulintang the most developed tradition of Southeast Asian archaic gong-chime ensembles.

Technically, kulintang is the Maguindanao, Ternate and Timor term for the idiophone of metal gong kettles which are laid horizontally upon a rack to create an entire kulintang set. It is played by striking the bosses of the gongs with two wooden beaters. Due to its use across a wide variety groups and languages, the kulintang is also called kolintang by the Maranao and those in Sulawesi, kulintangan, gulintangan by those in Sabah and the Sulu Archipelago and totobuang by those in central Maluku.

By the twentieth century, the term kulintang had also come to denote an entire Maguindanao ensemble of five to six instruments. Traditionally the Maguindanao term for the entire ensemble is basalen or palabunibunyan, the latter term meaning “an ensemble of loud instruments” or “music-making” or in this case “music-making using a kulintang.”

The stamp was issued on February 16, 2009. "Ani sa Sining", a set of four, depicting Philippine arts and culture.

Musical Instruments of Philippine Christmas

Christmas in the Philippines, one of two predominantly Catholic countries in Asia (the other one being East Timor), is one of the biggest holidays on calendar. The country has earned the distinction of celebrating the world's longest Christmas season, with Christmas carols are heard as early as September and the season lasting up until Epiphany.

In the Philippines, children in small groups go from house to house singing Christmas carols, which they called pangangaroling. Makeshift instruments include tambourines made with tansans (aluminum bottle caps) strung on a piece of wire. With the traditional chant of "Namamasko po!", these carolers wait expectantly for the homeowners to reward them with coins. Afterward, the carolers thank the generous homeowners by singing "Thank you, thank you, ang babait ninyo (you are so kind), thank you!" But sometimes the homeowners won't give rewards, so the carolers sing, "Thank you, thank you, ang dadamot ninyo (you are so selfish) Thank you! or Thank you, thank you, ang babarat ninyo Thank you!

An example of a traditional Filipino carol is a part of series known as "Maligayang Pasko", which was commonly called as "Sa maybahay ang aming bati". More recently, caroling has become a fund-raising activity. Church choirs or youth groups spend weeks rehearsing Christmas carols then draw up a schedule of visits to wealthy patrons in their homes or even corporate (often coinciding with the office Christmas party). These are, in effect, mini Christmas concerts, with excellent performances amply rewarded with an envelope of cash or checks. The choirs then use the funds for goodwill projects. Unlike the traditional children's caroling, the singers do not partake of the earnings, but rather donate their share to the group's projects.

The stamps features musical instruments used in caroling in the Philippines- the drum, tambourine, maracas and guitar. These were issued in December 1995.

Kulintang- Philippine Bossed Gong and Subing- Philippine Jaw Harp

Instruments that produce sound from the substance of the instrument itself (wood or metal) are classified as idiophones. They are further divided into those that are struck, scraped, plucked, shaken, or rubbed. In the Philippines, there are metal and wooden (principally bamboo) idiophones.

Metal idiophones are of two categories: flat gongs and bossed gongs,. Flat gongs made of bronze, brass, or iron are found principally in the north among the Isneg, Tingguian, Kalinga, Bontok, Ibaloi, Gaddang, Ifugao, and Ilonggot. They are commonly referred to as gangsa. The gongs vary in size, the average are struck with wooden sticks, padded wooden sticks, or slapped with the palm of the hand. Gong playing among the Cordillera highlanders is an integral part of peace pact gatherings, marriages, prestige ceremonies, feasts or rituals.

In Southern Philippines, gongs have a central profusion or knot, hence the term bossed gongs. They are of three types: 1) sets of graduated gongs laid in a row, called kulintang or kulintangan 2) larger, deep-rimmed gongs with sides that are turned in called agong, 3) gongs with narrower rims and less prominent bosses called gandingan. These gongs maybe played alone but are often combined with other instruments to form various types of ensemble.

Bamboo idiophones abound in the Philippines- xylophones. drums, quill-shaped tubes, stamping tube, scrappers, buzzers and clappers. The bamboo xylophone gabbang is found in the Southern Philippines among the Yakan, Sama, Tausug, and Palawan. It consist of bamboo keys of graduated lengths mounted on a trapezoidal box. The number of keys varies among the different tribes, ranging from 3 to 22 cm. In Northern Luzon among the Kalinga, individual xylophone-like blades called patatag are struck with bamboo sticks. The bamboo slit drums such as the Bukidnon bantula is fashioned out of a bamboo tube closed at both ends with anode with a slit cut out of the tube. Found among the different groups of people, its main use is to announce important events.

The struck quilt-shape bamboo tubes with notches etched on the tube, are found only in the southern Philippines such as the Maranao tagutok and the Maguindanao kagul. The player scrapes the notches with a bamboo stick.

Among the Cordillera highlanders, bamboo buzzers are widespread. They are made from a length of bamboo closed with a node at the bottom with its top half shaped so that two tongues face each other. The top half is struck against the palm of the hand. They are known by different names such as, balingbing, pew-pew, pakkung, bilbil, bungkaka by the various groups.

The Ifugao have a bamboo clapper, hanger, fashioned from a tubular section of bamboo, split from one end to approximately half of the tube. Each half of the split portion is shaped to make it narrower in the middle, thus making it more flexible when the halves are made to flap against each other.

Wooden idiophones include sticks, suspended logs and log drums. The Hanunuo kalutang, consist of pair of sticks cut from forest trees. These are struck against each other and played while hiking through forest and mountain trails.

The Ifugao pattung, is a percussion yoke bar made from a tapered piece of wood and struck with a stick. It is used for ceremonies for the sick, at rites which entail the offering of sacrificial pigs, or at death rituals.

Suspended logs are widespread in the Southern Philippines where they are known by different tribes. The Maguindanao luntang, consists of logs of varying lengths hung in order from longest to shortest. The pointed playing ends of each log is struck by one performer creating a melody against which another performer beats drone rhythm on one of the logs.

The Tagakaolo edel is a sounding board with a resonator played during wedding celebrations together with a drum or gong to accompany dancers. The Bagobo and Bilaan have similar drums.

Jaw harp are abound all over the Philippines. They are principally made from bamboo although in the Philippines, some are made of metal. It is a type of mouth resonated instrument consisting of a flexible tongue fixed at one end to a surrounding frame. The player places the free end of the instrument with the hand, or in some other types by pulling a string attached to the blade. The instruments have different names among the various tribes . In the south the most common term is kubing; in Palawan, western Philippines it is called subing, in the north ulibaw.

Above, stamps of kulintagan and subing issued in 1968

Ludag- The Ifugao Drum

Single and double headed drums (membranophones) are found throughout the Philippines. The are variously shaped- conical, cylindrical, goblet-shaped, barrel-shaped. Animal skins (snake, deer or goat) are used as drum heads. They maybe beaten with sticks or by the palm portion of bare hands. Drums are seldom used alone except to announce tidings over long distances. Usually they are played with other instruments particularly gongs, to form different kinds of ensemble.

The Ifugao libbit, ludag (the stamp above), is a conical drum with a deer or goat skin drum head. It is played with a gong during harvest time under the rice granary.

The sulibao and kimbal of the Bontok and Ibaloi are longitudinal slightly barrel-shaped hallowed outlogs with deer skin on one end. The taller drum(80 cm) is called the kimbal, the shorter(75 cm) is called the sulibao. The drumhead is small measuring about 6 cm in diameter. They are played with palms of two hands.

The dabakan is a large goblet-shaped drum used by the Maranao and Maguidanao in their kulintang/kulintangan ensemble.

The Philippine Brass Band Musical Instruments

Philippine culture is a combination of Eastern and Western cultures. The Philippines exhibits aspects found in other Asian countries with a Malay heritage, yet its culture also displays a significant amount of Spanish and American influences. Traditional festivities known as barrio fiestas (district festivals) to commemorate the feast days of patron saints are common.

The Moriones Festival and Sinulog Festival are a couple of the most well-known. These community celebrations are times for feasting, music, and dancing. Some traditions, however, are changing or gradually being forgotten due to modernization. The Bayanihan Philippine National Folk Dance Company has been lauded for preserving many of the various traditional folk dances found throughout the Philippines. They are famed for their iconic performances of Philippine dances such as the tinikling and singkil that both feature the use of clashing bamboo poles.

In these fiestas and festivals various bands and ensemble play the Brass Band Instruments- the tuba, xylophone,saxophone, clarinet and oboe. The sheet above issued in 2001 features these instruments.

The Manila Symphony Orchestra on Stamp

The Manila Symphony Orchestra is one of the oldest orchestras in Asia. Founded by Dr. Alexander Lippay in 1926, the orchestra has played a major role in Philippine history. Through the years it has hosted artists Montserrat Caballé, Yehudi Menuhin, Igor Oistrakh, Eugene Istomin, Fou Ts'ong, Barry Tuckwell, Paul Badura-Skoda and Rony Rogoff, as well as conductors Andre Kostelanetz, Arthur Fiedler, Mendi Rodan, Robert Feist, Gareth Nair and Helen Quach.

MSO has instituted two main programs intended to develop Filipino musical artistry and showcase Filipino musical talent, the "Young Artists’ Competitions" and the Luneta Concerts (known as “Concert in the Park”). The Manila Symphony Orchestra today has young musicians who are trained by the Philippine Research for Developing International Soloists (PREDIS), which was founded by Basilio Manalo and Sister Mary Placid Abejo at St. Scholastica’s College. Filipino conductors have taken the helm of the MSO, including Francisco Santiago, Basilio Manalo, and (currently) Arturo Molina.

In 1931 the Manila Symphony Society (MSS) with Mrs. Filomena Legarda as its president was formed to support the MSO’s regular season concerts. During the 1940s until the 1960s the orchestra was led by the Dr. Herbert Zipper who led the orchestra to perform major symphonic works, ballets and opera productions, giving Manila a significant place in Asia’s cultural landscape. Aside from performing in major concert venues in the country, the MSO was also visible to a great number of Filipinos through its televised performances in Concert at the Park series, an initiative of MSS president Mrs. Carlyn Manning.

The MSO was originally housed at the Metropolitan Theater in the 1930s, then in the FEU theater in the 1950s, Philamlife Auditorium in the 1960s and then in the 1970s and 1980s at the Cultural Center of the Philippines and back to the refurbished Metropolitan Theater. Unfortunately, severe financial difficulties caused the original orchestra to be disbanded in 1989.

In 2001, the Manila Symphony Orchestra was resurrected by its long time concertmaster, Prof. Basilio Manalo by elevating into professional status the Manila Youth Symphony Orchestra (MYSO) which he founded in 1995. The members of this new group of musicians were mostly trained under the Philippine Research for Developing Instrumental Soloists (PREDIS), a special music development program founded by Prof. Manalo and Sr. Mary Placid Abejo of the St. Scholastica’s College.

At present the MSO is composed of around 60 musicians under the music direction of Prof. Arturo Molina. Many of the members of the MSO are professional musicians who, in addition to their leadership roles in the orchestra, are also active participants in the cultural life of the country as soloists, music educators, music arrangers, chamber music performers, entrepreneurs, bandmasters, and choir conductors. A significant part of the orchestra also composed of young music students who represent the best crop of young musicians enrolled in the different colleges and conservatories of music in Metro Manila. Many of these have been winners in the National Music Competitions for Young Artists (NAMCYA) and have represented the country in various international music festivals and workshops.

The stamp above was issued on January 27,1976, the 50th Anniversary of the Manila Symphony Orchestra.