Digitization and Performance of Asian Music Arranged for Guitar Ensemble by Lester Demetillo is a research project fulfilled in honor of the UP Guitar Ensemble founder.
This was how the team described the research —a project of the Department of Strings and Chamber Music (DSCM) of the UP Diliman (UPD) College of Music (CMu).
The research introduced Demetillo as a “distinguished Filipino guitarist and pedagogue who transcribed and arranged countless works for the classical guitar ensemble from both local and foreign music, greatly contributing to the history and practice of classical guitar in the Philippines… [He] rose to prominence when he founded the UP Guitar Ensemble in 1982.”
Supported by the UPD Office for Initiatives in Culture and the Arts, the research “aims to digitize,” Demetillo’s handwritten works using a music notation program. These works “will be encoded in batches of 10 to 15 pieces, and each batch will be performed in a dedicated guitar ensemble concert as a means of promoting Filipino classical guitar music while honoring [his]… legacy.”
The first batch of materials showcased in the project were eight Filipino works and five traditional pieces from Japan, Korea, China, Thailand, and Indonesia.
The Filipino works are Visayan Caprice and Cavatina by Nicanor Abelardo, Improvisasyon by Augusto Espino, Buligi by National Artist for Music Ryan Cayabyab, Rondo in F by National Artist for Music Antonio Molina, Suite, 2nd Movement by Angel Peña, Tanging Dilag by Rosendo Santos Jr., and Mindanao Orchids by Ramon Tapales.
The Asian traditional works are Quartet for Koto and Jūshichigen, 1st Movement by Nagasawa Katsutoshi; Arirang, a Korean folk song; Jasmine Flower, a Chinese folk song; excerpts from Sadhukarn, a Thai traditional music; and Gambangan from Balinese Ceremonial Music by Colin McPhee.
At the concert where the first batch of Demetillo’s digitized works were also performed, the distinguished guitarist and composer-recalled the beginnings of the UP Guitar Ensemble and expressed his sentiments forming the group.
Demetillo said it was a daunting, “almost an impossible task, especially here in the Philippines, because of the dearth of pieces, because of the dearth of capable teachers.”
He began teaching at the DSCM in 1982 after auditioning and being recommended by National Artist for Music Ramon P. Santos who was then-CMu dean.
Demetillo continued, “I was so envious with the orchestras, with the Madrigal Singers, with the UP Concert Chorus, and the other groups here. The symphony orchestras and the wind orchestras. Because they could perform so many, you know, kinds of music. So many big repertoires. So why not form a group where everyone can be a soloist? Not in the caliber of a Spanish virtuoso Andres Segovia. Not as part of a string quartet, [but] a small ensemble.”
It was his experience at the college and collaboration with various performing groups that convinced him that the guitar could perform the same repertoire and inspired him to form the guitar ensemble with the help of the other CMu departments.
In her opening remarks at the concert, CMu Dean Ma. Patricia B. Silvestre stated three reasons why the project is significant.
“First, it broadens and deepens the existing repertoire for classical guitar, pushing the performance practice of the instrument outward, to other directions. Second, it strengthens the Asian music component in our repertoire. It is inviting us to our local, regional Asian roots as we project our globalness. And third, this concert breathes new life into traditional Asian music such as folk songs, gamelan music, and all of these that used to live in the oral tradition in their own particular cultures,” she said.
A ceremonial turnover of music materials by project proponents Nathan Neil V. Manimtim, PhD and Solaiman E. Jamisolamin, took place at the concert on June 27 at the CMu Mini Hall.
Manimtim and Jamisolamin returned the original manuscripts to Demetillo and presented him the newly digitized scores. In return, Demetillo handed them a CD copy of a 1992 UP Guitar Ensemble recording, together with a document detailing the group’s history and significant contributions. The exchange was symbolic of Demetillo’s trust in the project proponents to continue the legacy of the ensemble.
Manimtim is the current DSCM chair and Jamisolamin is an assistant professor at the department.
