The Anthem Philatelist

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 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...

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 ar...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ensemb...

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 Franci...