Kulintang Kultura: Danongan Kalanduyan and Gong Music of the Philippine Diaspora

Abstract

The Kulintang Kultura album is a timely celebration of Danongan Kalanduyan's (also known as Guro Danny) heritage and legacy of traditional and new music of the Philippine diaspora in the United States. The recording documents the development of the kulintang tradition outside Mindanao. Music of the Magindanao in the Philippines Vol. 1 & 2 released in 1955 was the first comprehensive recording of Magindanao (also spelled Maguindanao) kulintang repertoire (and other traditions) led by Filipino pioneering ethnomusicologist José Maceda during his documentation of Philippine music carried out in the 1950s. In 1968, José Maceda invited Aga Mayo Butocan to teach Magindanao kulintang at the University of the Philippines as an addition to their developing ethnomusicology program (Verne dela Peña, personal communication). Simultaneously, Robert Garfias invited Maranao musician Usopay Hamdag Cadar to teach at the University of Washington and, in 1976, brought in Magindanao expert Danongan Kalanduyan with the support of a Rockefeller Foundation grant. After teaching university students and publishing a master's thesis titled “The Performance of Maguindanaon Kulintang Music of the Southern Philippines” (1984), Guro Danny started teaching and performing with Filipino American performing arts groups, sharing both traditional repertoire and new compositions that were based on the ensemble or incorporated kulintang sonic features. The double CD Kulintang Kultura aptly represents tradition and new creation among Filipino Americans.The liner notes are both reflective and informative. The preface by Theodore Gonzalves provides a brief but valuable historical background highlighting kulintang indigeneity and the Filipino diaspora in the US and Hawai'i. Aside from serving as a good introduction to listeners who may not be familiar with the Filipino American experience, the preface simultaneously validates the kulintang as an identity signifier overseas honoring pioneer musician Kalanduyan. For Disc 1, Mary Talusan Lacanlale summarizes Danny's journey from Mindanao to the US west coast. The repertoire is performed by the San Francisco-based Palabuniyan Kulintang Ensemble founded by Guro Danny. Lacanlale's notes for each track describe the dances and/or pieces and comment on their style, function, and context of practice. For Disc 2, Lacanlale returns to the indigeneity of the kulintang, hinted at earlier by Gonzalves, as a “strategy” (see Trimillos 1986) to produce new works asserting a Filipino (American) presence. The notes highlight each collaborative artist's background, training, awards, location, and connection to Guro Danny and other relevant artists. Each carefully curated track credits the musicians, album, record company, and year, emphasizing the Filipino within the Asian American.Disc 1, Traditional Music & Dance of the Southern Philippines, features the kulintang ensemble as an emblematic tradition of the Sulu Zone and is divided into three sections beginning with “Music for Dance Accompaniment” (tracks 1–6). The highlights are the Magindanao and Maranao pieces with an effective audio mixing that allows listeners to hear soft-sounding instruments such as the gandingan (all tracks except for tracks 3, 6, 7, 16, 17, 18, 19, 23) and ensures that sounds like the bamboo for the Singkil dance do not overpower other instruments (track 3). The recording highlights artistic decisions for traditional music performance, such as a steady rhythmic pattern for the timekeeper and an ending pattern that includes a roll and a final gong strike for “Ka'atung Dance Music of the Teduray” (track 5). “Pangalay Dance Music” (track 6) appears to be Maguindanao influenced with an introduction by the babandil and dabakan as opposed to the melodic introduction and tempo set by the kulintangan among the Tausug and Sama followed by a rhythmic ostinato played on a higher kulintangan kettle (known as solembat among the Sama). While the track is named “Pangalay Dance Music,” the specific piece is not mentioned in the liner notes (such as the Tausug “Tungkil” or “Umaral” that accompanies pangalay movements and resembles the Sama piece “Tabawan” for the accompaniment of igal movements) as it is the case for track 1 “Kapamalong-malong Dance” with pieces “Siniyad” and “Tagunggo.” Section 2, “Magindanao Kulintang Repertoire” (tracks 7–18), is highly informative, both sonically and in the descriptions, with pieces in the kamamatuan (old) and kangungudan (new) style. “Kaluntang” (track 7) is a good documentation of Danny's adaptation of this piece originally played on a wooden xylophone. The different versions of “Duyog,” “Tidtu,” “Sinulog,” and “Binalig” are a testament to the level of musicianship of the ensemble and the number of years performing together. Although the bulk of the performances shows the studio quality of the Palabuniyan Kulintang Ensemble founded by Guro Danny, there are occasional moments of quotidian, “in-village” music-making, in which some of the parts fall behind rhythmically and then have to accelerate to “catch up” with the rest of the ensemble. Such an instance is “Duyog” (track 9). Danny's gandingan playing in some pieces is certainly a highlight showcasing his intricate patterns (kulndet). Section 3, “Maranao Kolintang Repertoire” (tracks 19–24), is grounded on Danny's participation with the Darangan Cultural Dance Troupe during his studies at Mindanao State University and his later experience playing with Usopay Cadar and Yoshitaka Terada with the Mindanao Kulintang Ensemble at the University of Washington. Another Magindanao adaptation is the inclusion of the gandingan, which is not used among the Maranao (this is highlighted in the liner notes).Disc 2, entitled “Kulintang in the Philippine Diaspora,” is a compilation of new works representing the Philippine diaspora in North America. The disc does not appear to follow a specific arrangement, whether diachronic, by genre, or level of kulintang involvement. At the micro level, the tracks highlight Filipino signifiers through the kulintang instrument or ensemble and the use of other traditional instruments such as the kubing (bamboo jaw harp). At the meso level, some pieces include instruments such as the Japanese taiko, Korean chang-gu, and Indian tabla, also part of the Asian American experience. At the macro level, there are American influences such as rap, jazz, and electronic music and Latin American and West African music. Despite some overlaps, there are three overarching genres: electronic music, new compositions, and rock/“world beat”-influenced tracks. For electronic music, some pieces create new melodic and rhythmic patterns with the kulintang (tracks 1, 3) or feature traditional repertoire (track 2). Under new compositions, some pieces have a stronger foundation on kulintang structures (tracks 4, 6, 11) or incorporate the instrument into new music structures (track 9). Last, there are pieces influenced by rock and/or the “world beat” genre that became prominent in the 1990s. Similarly, some are based on kulintang structures (tracks 5, 8), and others on the host genre (tracks 7, 10), though one could argue that tracks 5 and 10 alternate between the two. I consider 12 and 13 “bonus tracks” or a “coda” given that they are traditional repertoire, yet significant inclusions, to conclude the project. Track 12 features Bernard Ellorin's agility on the kulintang given his lifelong training experience with Guro Danny. In track 13, Kim Kalanduyan (Danny's granddaughter), who studied with Bernard (with support from the Alliance for California Traditional Arts), maintains the family legacy with her kulintang rendition of “Duyog” and “Sinulog a Kamamatuan.”The recording serves myriad purposes. Disc 1 can be used in the classroom to teach about kulintang music in Mindanao and to learn and teach practical aspects of the music and dance repertoire. This is particularly useful given the audio recording mix of the instruments, the steady rhythmic patterns, and repetitive cycles (generally without much variation from the supporting instruments). Aside from being a documentation of seasoned musicians who have learned from Guro Danny, disc 1 is simultaneously a sonic documentation of pedagogical approaches to this Magindanao heritage (and American nuances to the performance of this tradition). Disc 2 is suitable for pleasurable listening as the music may be more readily familiar to the general public. Musicians and composers will find several tracks of interest for their creative endeavors, and anyone keen on learning more about the Filipino or Asian American experience will find this to be a significant project. To those who knew Guro Danny or the Kalanduyan family in the Philippines and the United States, Kulintang Kultura is a must-have album that pays homage to a legendary Magindanaon and serves as an inspiration for the transmission and development of kulintang music, both in the homeland and the diaspora.