Kundiman and classical music are two of a kind. I enjoy listening to both as these bring relaxation and peace of mind. When you listen to any of the two you will feel like you are transported to somewhere better.
♦ Classical Music is Really Old
Apparently classical compositions began as a really ancient type of music. Haha. A quick check online says it started as early as the medieval ages! Whoa. How old is that? Well it goes back to the 6th century in Europe! 😮
In those days most of the music were for religious purposes. There were only two kinds created. One involves liturgical compositions as part of religious ceremonies/traditions the other is secular ones which are for everyday use and non-religious in nature.
The more popular ones we know and I listen to like Bach and Mozart are notably from the 18th century, Beethoven is known for his works in the 18th to 19th century, while Chopin is from the 19th century. Well hey we are already in the 21st century so I will share about something I recently discovered later on. Hehehe.
♦ What is a Kundiman?
The kundiman might have begun as Tagalog folk songs for serenading women (harana). This is said to have originated in Batangas province. However being the non-music expert that I am, I found out some people differentiate a kundiman from a harana song. You can read more in this blog/research by Chrystle Mactal. You can also find some example songs in it.
Basically she said a kundiman has "triple meter that starts in a minor key" while a harana "starts off in a minor key as well,... but in duple meter instead."
On Wikipedia it says the former is a musical genre popularized during the late 19th to early 20th century here in the Philippines. It is generally also known as the classical Filipino love songs dedicated to women, nature or even our country.
According to "the Father of Kundiman Art Song" Dr. Francisco Santiago, it's called such because the songs usually began with the words cundiman. In modern context that would mean "kung hindi man" or literally "if ever not."
Well now, all that sounds interesting eh? From Classical music we jump to Kundiman. From West to East, oh yeah!
♦ Above-Mentioned Music I Recently Discovered
On YouTube (YT) I listen to a lot of music for free. I'm really happy that we can all listen to free music anytime because of it. Yes I also hate the ads but since my sibling has a premium subscription well I can listen ad free! Hehehe. (No this article is not a sponsored post at all. Lol, if only. 😆)
I consider that website as one of our modern radios these days. Actually it is more of a radio and TV combo. Haha. Ah the perks of technology.
Anyway when I am at home, which is most of the time since the pandemic, I mostly have YT on. Why not when I use it to cover up any noise from outside and also for my enjoyment too! Truth be told I started playing the classical compositions whenever my uncouth neighbors would be noisy.
Not everyone likes classical music. Some people just hate it that's why I started playing it a lot. I suppose because this kind has a higher vibration/frequency thus the lower vibration ones shun hearing it. Haven't really checked if that's true but of course some people would not like listening to instruments alone. Others are too used to songs with human words and voices. That's normal and not outrageous at all.
Anyway I recently discovered a wonderful piece of classical music thanks to YouTube.
I've actually never heard it before until this morning, Sept 17. I just clicked on some classical piano and cello collection by Halidon Music and voila! Wow just the first few notes and I felt amazing! ❤️ It's like everything is all right with the world and that it's really wonderful everyday. I love this version and I hope you enjoy it too.
Today is finally quiet again and playing this song is just lovely. I can lie here all day and listen to how wonderful it is. For sure this is not a popular song. To those unaware like I was, this is a remake of a soundtrack from a Hollywood movie. It was released last year.
Let me share the original version by Ennio Morricone (1984).
I am not familiar with this person at all so I checked on him. On Wikipedia it says:
Ennio Morricone, OMRI was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpeter who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as more than 100 classical works, Morricone is widely considered one of the most prolific and greatest film composers of all time.
Indeed it shows in his work. Upon checking on the composition further, this was from the film Once Upon a Time in America (1984). I have never heard of this movie before so I checked the trailer. Heck maybe I'll just listen to the entire film soundtrack. Hehe. Might watch it soon or also Hateful Eight. 🤔
Personally I like the first one I shared above much better than the original. Below is an updated version by the same composer/conductor.
After listening to some of his works like this 2 hour collection of his soundtracks, I did not become a fan. 😂 Before him I only know of Hans Zimmer. Oh my gosh Prince of Egypt is one of the best animated movies with amazing soundtrack and songs! That's why I like Hans Zimmer.
Upon further research I seem to be mixing classical music with film scores so pardon me if that's the case. Haha. I like both! This is why I changed my original article title to what you see now to make it appropriate. 😊
To make it easier, the latter comes from the former. Most of us just categorize the two as the same because we're not music experts at all. 😅😆 For sure many of us are more familiar with movie soundtracks than classical ones because of the various movies we've watched.
Watch this for examples of what I call classical film scores:
As for Kundiman, I found a collection on YT two months ago. Oh wait... In the past I searched for such on YT but no result came up at all. A decade ago I used to listen to a Winamp channel that plays those kind of songs. And then when I changed jobs and career I stopped listening and haven't really thought much of it.
Fast forward to this year and voila! I suddenly found myself listening to a collection of Kundiman. Wow imagine my surprise, finally it's on YouTube! Haha. I love it. Have a listen to the one I found! It's a compilation of various kundiman.🎶
Ah doesn't it all sound so relaxing and makes you think of the good ol' days? I just love our old songs. 🎵 They're really great to listen to. ❤️ Sometimes it makes me think it would be nice to hear some harana (serenade) from someone playing these songs. Hahaha.
Anyway that's all I have to say about old music I love. What about you? Which classical songs do you like to listen to? Maybe you like Kundiman too? Hehe.
XOXO,
P. S. For those waiting for my bad neighbor chronicles, no the kagawads did not come by today, afaik. Will probably call them again on Monday if the neighbors still don't remove those cages.
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Lead Image from Unsplash.
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I love music but I never learned about different types of music until I met my late husband. He introduced me to music from all around the world. But kundiman is brand new to me. You presented an excellent introduction.
As for Ennio Morricone (1928 - 2020)? He was magnificent! There will never be another composer like him.