Notas para una cartografía de Filipinas
Encyclopedia
Notas para una cartografía de Filipinas, subtitled Prelude, Toccata, and Fugues for piano and gangsa, one player, is a work by the contemporary classical composer Jeffrey Ching
(Chinese name
in Pinyin
: Zhuang Zŭxin 莊祖欣, 庄祖欣). It was completed in Berlin
on 19 December 2007. The first performances were given by Kyoko Okuni in Münster
on 30 September 2008 and by Abelardo Galang II in Osaka
on 5 October 2008.
The present composition is also an “attempt at a cartographical analysis” of the Philippines
, in that each of the archipelago's three main island groups—Luzon
, Visayas
, and Mindanao
—is distinctly represented. But the same learned article also discusses in considerable detail the cartographical contributions of the Philippines’ Asian neighbours:
, “Music of Universal Peace”. It is notated wholly without bar lines, so that its poetic “timelessness” is also literal. The traditional harmonies of the Japanese mouth-organ (shō) are quoted, and gagaku
drums of different sizes evoked through various percussive effects (palm and fingernail taps and tremolos) on the wooden casing of the piano.
A highly rhythmic toccata
follows, polyphonically adapting within its pentatonic confines a kudyapi (boat lute) piece from the province of Maguindanao in Mindanao
(the southern-most Philippine island group). Then a rather Hispanic lullaby from the Visayas
(the central island group) is expanded into a very European chromatic fughetta. The two geographical areas unite in a double fugue for the concluding allegro tempo primo, embracing the remaining region of Luzon
(the northern-most island group) only upon the entry of the gangsa
, the flat lap-gong of the Kalingga and Tinggian tribes. The fugue is interrupted six times towards its close, accelerating twice after two interruptions by the gangsa. After a seventh interruption (which gives the pianist the opportunity to position the gangsa over the piano's lowest strings), a majestic restatement of the Visayan lullaby theme gradually subsides, bringing the whole work to a quiet close.
Jeffrey Ching
Jeffrey Ching is a British contemporary classical composer, born in the Philippines of Chinese parentage. His rich and complex musical language, irreducible to a single style, explores the correspondences and contradictions between the traditions of Europe and Asia, and between the music of past...
(Chinese name
Chinese name
Personal names in Chinese culture follow a number of conventions different from those of personal names in Western cultures. Most noticeably, a Chinese name is written with the family name first and the given name next, therefore "John-Paul Smith" as a Chinese name would be "Smith John-Paul"...
in Pinyin
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: Zhuang Zŭxin 莊祖欣, 庄祖欣). It was completed in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
on 19 December 2007. The first performances were given by Kyoko Okuni in Münster
Münster
Münster is an independent city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also capital of the local government region Münsterland...
on 30 September 2008 and by Abelardo Galang II in Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
on 5 October 2008.
Origin of the title
The Spanish title, meaning “Notes for a cartography of the Philippines”, was taken from this sentence in a scholarly journal:
Between 1903 and 1907 Blair and Robertson incorporated numerous photoengraved reproductions of early maps in their well-known corpus of Philippiniana (Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson, The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, 55 vols. [Cleveland 1903-1907]), and Robertson at the same time evaluated some of these maps as historical evidence, but the first attempt at a cartographical analysis was made by Pardo de Tavera in 1910 ("Notas para una cartografía de Filipinas", Cultura Filipina, vol. I, no. 8 [Manila 1910], pp. 101-176).
The present composition is also an “attempt at a cartographical analysis” of the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, in that each of the archipelago's three main island groups—Luzon
Luzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
, Visayas
Visayas
The Visayas or Visayan Islands and locally known as Kabisay-an gid, is one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Mindanao and Luzon. It consists of several islands, primarily surrounding the Visayan Sea, although the Visayas are considered the northeast...
, and Mindanao
Mindanao
Mindanao is the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines. It is also the name of one of the three island groups in the country, which consists of the island of Mindanao and smaller surrounding islands. The other two are Luzon and the Visayas. The island of Mindanao is called The...
—is distinctly represented. But the same learned article also discusses in considerable detail the cartographical contributions of the Philippines’ Asian neighbours:
…[A]llegedly the first map to depict any part of the Philippine Islands, was the “Earth vehicle” (Yü-t’u), that is, a terrestrial map, which Chu Ssû-pen completed in 1320. … [T]he second map to depict the Philippines…exists only in the form of a copy made about a century after the original. I refer to the Hun-I chiang-li li-tai kuo-tu chih-t’u (Map of the territories of the one world and the capitals of the countries in successive ages) compiled in 1402 by Li Hui and Ch'üan Chin… The earliest map [in the Japanese map collection in the East Asiatic Library of the University of California]…dates from about 1620, and depicts a deformed Luzon under the rubric Ruson. … The collection also contains a map (Nantan Bushū Bankoku Shōka no Zu) belonging to the East Asian tradition of Buddhist cartography, which is dated to 1710, although based on an exemplar of 1688. …[I]ts plethora of rubrics include elements from virtually all the traditions of Chinese topographical writing…
Brief description
The piece lasts between fifteen and twenty minutes, and opens with a prelude suffused with misty echoes of Sino-Japanese imperial court music, in the form of a Chinese melody of the Tang DynastyTang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
, “Music of Universal Peace”. It is notated wholly without bar lines, so that its poetic “timelessness” is also literal. The traditional harmonies of the Japanese mouth-organ (shō) are quoted, and gagaku
Gagaku
Gagaku is a type of Japanese classical music that has been performed at the Imperial Court in Kyoto for several centuries. It consists of three primary repertoires:#Native Shinto religious music and folk songs and dance, called kuniburi no utamai...
drums of different sizes evoked through various percussive effects (palm and fingernail taps and tremolos) on the wooden casing of the piano.
A highly rhythmic toccata
Toccata
Toccata is a virtuoso piece of music typically for a keyboard or plucked string instrument featuring fast-moving, lightly fingered or otherwise virtuosic passages or sections, with or without imitative or fugal interludes, generally emphasizing the dexterity of the performer's fingers...
follows, polyphonically adapting within its pentatonic confines a kudyapi (boat lute) piece from the province of Maguindanao in Mindanao
Mindanao
Mindanao is the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines. It is also the name of one of the three island groups in the country, which consists of the island of Mindanao and smaller surrounding islands. The other two are Luzon and the Visayas. The island of Mindanao is called The...
(the southern-most Philippine island group). Then a rather Hispanic lullaby from the Visayas
Visayas
The Visayas or Visayan Islands and locally known as Kabisay-an gid, is one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Mindanao and Luzon. It consists of several islands, primarily surrounding the Visayan Sea, although the Visayas are considered the northeast...
(the central island group) is expanded into a very European chromatic fughetta. The two geographical areas unite in a double fugue for the concluding allegro tempo primo, embracing the remaining region of Luzon
Luzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
(the northern-most island group) only upon the entry of the gangsa
Gangsa
A gangsa is a type of metallophone which is used mainly in Balinese and Javanese Gamelan music. In Balinese gong kebyar styles, there are two types of gangsa typically used: the smaller, higher pitched kantilan and the larger pemade. Each instrument consists of several tuned metal bars each placed...
, the flat lap-gong of the Kalingga and Tinggian tribes. The fugue is interrupted six times towards its close, accelerating twice after two interruptions by the gangsa. After a seventh interruption (which gives the pianist the opportunity to position the gangsa over the piano's lowest strings), a majestic restatement of the Visayan lullaby theme gradually subsides, bringing the whole work to a quiet close.