Weekly Filipino Art Music Feature #15 āSampaguitaā /Ā āLa Flor de Manila (TheĀ Flower of Manila) Danza originally for voice and piano Music by Dolores Paterno (1854-1881) Originally published 1879
I neglected to prepare something for the Weekly Share last Monday, and since itās International Womenās Day today, I thought I should post something by a woman composer (and a Filipino of course!). Iāve featured a Kasilag piece before already, so hereās from another person who fits this description: Dolores Paterno. She is said to be the first known Filipino woman art composer, and was also a prolific musician during her time. Also, she happens to be the elder sister of Pedro Paterno (uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh yeah, that guy. She wasnāt involved in the Himagsikan anyway so letās not hold it against her, I guess).
SampaguitaĀ is really her only known work, a habanera piece characteristic of the musical tastes of that time. Because itās difficult to find a recording of the original, the video here is an orchestral arrangement by Leopoldo Silos, a celebrated film scorer. This oneās purely instrumental; it originally has lyrics written in Spanish by her brother, and later translated to Tagalog by Levi Celerio.
