Being in two places at once: dual meanings and identities in the composition (Pa)-ba-ya-(a)n-ko

Abstract

The creative work for this article is (Pa)-ba-ya-(a)n-ko is a play of words in the Tagalog language which means, "I'll allow it to happen" (pabayaan ko) or "my country" (bayan ko). The piece is based on Bayan Ko (My Dear Country) a kundiman composed in 1928 by Constancio De Guzman based on poetry by Jose Corazon de Jesus. The poem speaks of the Philippines as a beautiful country, yet it is still in the grips of tyranny. This performance was a world premiere by the Ripieno Ensemble in the Cultural Center of the Philippines in September 2019 in collaboration with sound artists who created new instruments for the piece. This piece is part of a series of works questioning dualities of identity in my artistic voice, as I am confounded with my position as a Filipino composer in a globalized world continuously confronting tradition. In this paper, I will discuss different ways in which I reflected hybridity in my music, all centered in commentaries of social realities in the Philippines, as well as the use of materials from the traditional Kundiman reflecting a postcolonial national and a globalized identity.