The National Anthem of Gabon

-
Adopted upon independence in 1960, "La Concorde" was written and composed by Georges Aleka Damas. Damas had held many diplomatic posts in Gabon since the mid 1940s, and was actively involved in politics and in the formation of labour unions.

There are over forty distinct cultures in Gabon. While it is probably true that Gabon has changed more rapidly than any other African country, there is a strong sense of an ancestral "Africanness" that ties all ethnic groups together. The first stanza of the Gabonese national anthem embodies this idea:

United in concord and brotherhood,
Wake up, Gabon, dawn is upon us.
Stir up the spirit that thrills and inspires us!
At last we rise up to attain happiness.

Georges Aleka Damas (18 November 1902 – 4 May 1982) was a public figure of Gabon who composed its national anthem La Concorde. A Mpongwe born in Libreville and educated at the Ecole Montfort, he worked as a bank clerk from 1924 to 1939, then as head bookkeeper for the Compagnie Maritime des Chargeurs Réunis until 1959.

He first came to public attention in 1934, with a series of letters to the Etoile de l'AEF opposing special rights for the métis. In 1943, the Free French appointed him to represent Gabon in the governor-general's administrative council, a role which lasted until 1946, then from 1948 to 1954 was an advisor to the governor of Gabon. He was also active in the formation of labor unions, the CGT-Force Ouvrière, and in the politics of the territory.

He was elected to the municipal commission of Libreville in 1956, a post he held until 1963, and in 1959 represented Gabon in the Economic and Social Council of the French Community. From 1961 to 1964 he served as ambassador to the Common Market, to the Benelux countries, and to West Germany.

In April 1964 he was elected to the National Assembly, and its members selected him as president of the assembly, a role in which he served until 1975. On 29 May 1968 he was named president of the Bureau of the newly-formed Gabonese Democratic Party, the country's sole legal party, and was later its treasurer-general. Damas final role before his retirement was as advisor to President Omar Bongo, from April 1975 to 1977.

He was honored on a 90-franc postage stamp of Gabon in 1985, with his portrait in front of the score to La Concorde.

Popular posts from this blog

Rodolfo S. Cornejo on Stamp

-
Image
Rodolfo S. Cornejo is the first Filipino composer who received an honory degree from a government recognized music school in the United States . He is also remarkable for his pianistic and compositional know-how by improvising a piano composition at the spur of the moment.   He was born on 15 May 1909 in Singalong , Manila . At the age of six, he had his formal piano lessons. After 2 years, he played fourteen pieces and six encores for his recital. In that same year, he became the organist of the Pasay Catholic Church when they moved in. When he was ten, he composed a piano piece entitled, " Glissando Waltz ". He became so keen and inspired about music by his mother's genuine support.    At 13, he composed the "Salute", a military march that was also published. He also composed the Philippine Suite: Paalam sa Pagakadalaga , Okaka Variations , Paalam na Sinta , Oriental Fantasy , Nocturne in G, Piano Concerto no. 1 , and the Moro Wedding Dance . At 14, tw...
Read more

Kulintang- Philippine Bossed Gong and Subing- Philippine Jaw Harp

-
Image
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 ...
Read more

The Kudyapi- The Philippine Two-Stringed Lute

-
Image
The kutiyapi or kudyapi, is a Philippine two-stringed, fretted boat-lute. It is the only stringed instrument among the Maguindanao people, and one of several among other groups such as the Maranao and Manobo . It is four to six feet long with nine frets made of hardened beeswax . The instrument is carved out of solid soft wood such as from the jackfruit tree.   Common to all kutiyapi instruments, a constant drone is played with one string while the other, an octave above the drone, plays the melody with a kebit or rattan pluck (commonly made from plastic nowadays). This feature, which is also common to other related Southeast Asian "boat lutes", which were influenced by varying degrees by Indian concepts of melody and scale via the Malay archipelago .   Among the T'Boli , Manobo and other Lumad groups, the instrument (known as Hegelung, Kudyapi or Fedlung) is tuned to a major pentatonic scale . Among groups like the Bagobo , the Kutiyapi (Kudlung) is also used as...
Read more

The Great Filipino Series- Antonio J. Molina on Stamp

-
Image
Antonio J. Molina was called the "Dean of Filipino Composers". He was a prominent violoncellist, conductor and teacher. He wrote 500 compositions in his lifetime.   He was the last of the musical triumvirate, two of whom were Nicanor Abelardo and Francisco Santiago , who elevated music beyond the realm of folk music. At an early age, he took to playing the violoncello and played it so well it did not take long before he was playing as orchestra soloist for the Manila Grand Opera House . Molina is credited for introducing such innovations as the whole tone scale, pentatonic scale, exuberance of dominant ninths and eleventh cords, and linear counterpoints. As a member of the faculty of the UP Conservatory, he had taught many of the country's leading musical personalities and educators like Lucresia Kasilag and Felipe de Leon .   Born into a musically inclined family, he raised his own family as music lovers as well, as three of his children pursued careers in music, ...
Read more

Vicente Fabella on Stamps

-
Image
Vicente F. Fabell a (1891-1959). Educator, economist, civic leader and the first Filipino certified public accountant . He was the founder of Jose Rizal College .  He was born on May 7, 1891 in Pagsanjan , Laguna , the third of six children of Juan Fabella, who served as mayor of Pagsanjan during the Spanish and American regimes, and Damiana Fernandez.    He obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of the Philippines in 1912 and then continued his studies in the United States, obtaining concurrent degrees of bachelor of philosophy from the University of Chicago and diploma in commerce from Northwestern University in 1915. That same year, he became a certified public accountant in the state of Wisconsin .   In 1916, upon his return to the Philippines, he became a professional lecturer in accounting and auditing at the University of the Philippines . At the same time, he opened the accounting firm, Vicente Fabella and Company.   He was inst...
Read more

Kulintang on Stamps

-
Image
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 ensemble...
Read more

Cebuano Artists Painting Collection- Jose "Kimsoy" Yap Jr.

-
Image
Bliss (BooNana) , 15" x 20", Pencil Sketch, 2009 Jose "Kimsoy" Yap Jr . was born on March 7, 1944 in Bindoy , Negros Oriental , Philippines. Graduated from the Cebu Institute of Technology with a degree in Bachelor of Science in Architecture , he then continued and studied painting at the National Academy of Design School of Fine Arts in New York. He also taught at the University of San Carlos and Cebu Academy of Arts.    His art journey started with hardships together with renowned sculptor, painter, novelist and architect Arsenio "Arsing" Abella . In 2017, both had a reunion exhibit, Art Biography at Manila Art Frames - the first gallery they exhibited in 1969. Later, with ease together with eminent Samboan artist  Benji Goyha , whom he bonded owing to a shared vision for art promotion , tourism and mentoring of young Cebuano artists. Both organized art workshops and excursions in Cebu province especially in Goyha's hometown Samboan .   ...
Read more