Guitarista   •    Compositor   •    Haranista
Florante Aguilar
  • Home
  • Bio
  • Works
    • ALBUMS
      • Probinsya (2022)
      • Dadap-Aguilar Duo (2019)
      • The Music of Bae Makiling (2016)
      • The Music of Maség (2014)
      • Introducing the Harana Kings (2012)
      • Manila Galleon Guitar Music (2010)
      • Paraiso (2007)
      • Tipanan (2006)
      • The Barbary Coast Guitar Duo (2005)
      • The Art of Harana (2003)
      • Buffalo Guitar Quartet (1990)
    • Harana the Movie (2012)
    • THEATER
      • Aswang Song Cycle (2013/2018)
      • Lalawigan – A Tagalog Song Cycle (2009)
    • COMMISSIONED WORKS
      • Utom (2019)
      • The Music of Bae Makiling (2016)
      • The Music of She Who Can See (2015)
      • The Music of Maség (2014)
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Category:

On Playing Classical Guitar

A Sinister Sounding Christmas Song

by floranteaguilar November 25, 2018

There is something about this christmas song, Carol of the Bells, that I’ve always found intriguing. It is probably the darkest and most sinister sounding christmas song that I know of. It was pointed out to me by a friend and fellow composer Roman Turovsky (wiki) that it was a Ukrainian melody written by composer Mykola Leontovych in 1914.

Come to think of it, 1914 was the beginning of World War 1.

Ukraine, still part of Russia at the time, was very much in the middle of the ethnic nationalism spreading in that era. So, cheery songs with lyrics like “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire” would seem out of place and doesn’t exactly elicit a warm feeling, with “open fire” having a bad connotation in the context of war.

So, what does a composer like Leontovicych do? He used a descending half-step bass line repeatedly, conjuring an image of steps descending into hell. Subconsciously or not, it is definitely the opposite of cheery. I would love to see a video using this song with images of World War I juxtaposed.

It also has hints of minimalism with its incessant repeated motif. Just interesting to note.

And by the way, that “open fire” song which is titled The Christmas Song was written in 1946. Guess what, that’s the end of World War II. Happy Happy. What could be cheerier than chestnuts roasting. Enjoy!

P.S. In case you’re curious, I’m using a Jam Man Stereo Pedal Looper.

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Rosas Pandan

by floranteaguilar December 25, 2017

Not exactly a Filipino Xmas song but definitely in the same festive spirit. Rosas Pandan is a Visayan folksong that speaks of a maiden who came down from the mountains to celebrate fiesta. Lots of dancing, singing and courtship ensued. Happy Holidays!

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Cavite el Viejo – Poblacion & Marulas

by floranteaguilar November 16, 2016

An  ode to my hometown of Kawit, Cavite (formerly known as Cavite el Viejo) the suite consists of 12 movements named after the town’s barrios. The first two movements, Poblacion and Marulas, are barrios I spent a lot of time riding my bike to from our house in Gahak. These were also the streets where Filipinos first raised their flag and defiantly declared independence from Spain in 1898. These areas are now the Aguinaldo Shrine and Park, named after the general who led the independence movement.

These areas are now unrecognizable from what I remember in the seventies. It is  surrounded by major highways, quite congested and no longer feels like a province. Not a conducive place to bike for an 11-year-old that’s for sure. Kawit being a coastal town, I remember rows upon rows of  stalls where fresh oysters were sold in buckets  made of sawali, caught from the water just behind them. Manileños were known to drive to Cavite just for these stalls. Sadly, these areas are now esteros – polluted and undrained standing water. This is just one of the many changes that highlighted the dissonance between what I remember and what is now the reality.

So, yes Cavite el Viejo is a dreamy ode to what’s no longer there. An area that exist only in my mind. And I hope to post more of these discordant scenarios when I post the other movements in the next few weeks/months. Some are unfinished and I’m continually working on. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the music.

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Fandango-Pandanggo 10K Run and Cavite el Viejo

by floranteaguilar March 31, 2016

Working on  Cavite el Viejo – a suite I’m composing to premiere at Fandango-Pandanggo show on May 21, 2016 in San Francisco. Cavite el Viejo is the archaic name for my hometown of Kawit, Cavite in the Philippines. Each of the 12 movements are named after the barrios of Kawit. This piece is called Panamitan. When I was 11, I had a huge crush on this girl from that barrio who played guitar in her rondalla ensemble, same instrument I played in my rondalla. I used to bike to Panamitan hoping to run into her. But alas, I never saw her again.

When I was growing up in Cavite province in the Philippines, I was exposed to many different types of Filipino traditional music.

When I was nine years old, I had the experience of playing music with our neighbor’s gardener Ti Ikong with his band of masterful rondalla players. I played guitar and octavina with them during the town’s fiesta playing jotas and fandangos. I was also fortunate to have met Mr. Trinidad, also a rondalla teacher, who taught me fingerstyle guitar renditions of classic haranas such as Hatinggabi and kundimans like Madaling Araw.

Only later in my adult life did I realize that those moments were indeed privileges. That these elderfolk kept me in their musical circle was indeed a profound experience that influenced many of the musical career choices I made later in life.

Having been educated at a conservatory, I became more fascinated with studying musical forms and I started placing more value on traditional Filipino music. I began to acknowledge influences and musical interconnectivity between the Spain, Mexico and the Philippines. Of course, this is not to say that traditional Philippine music is unoriginal. On the contrary, exchanges of ideas that result in adaptation by natives as their own has been the defacto evolutionary mechanism. As an example, the folk music of Spain owes great deal to the highly sophisticated music of the Moors who dominated parts of Spain for VIII centuries. Spanish music in turn influenced Argentina’s tangos, Mexico’s mariachi, Cuba’s son and Philippines’ harana.

Two years ago, when Chus Alonso proposed that we collaborate for his brainchild Fandango-Pandanggo – a music, dance and multimedia performance exploring musical interactions between the Philippines, Mexico, Cuba – I wholeheartedly agreed. Chus who hails from Spain is one of the best Latin music practitioners and teacher in the Bay Area. Chus and I have collaborated on previous occasions and have a shared passion for our respective country’s traditional music. It is a natural partnership and I very much look forward to performing with other wonderful artists in the show.

I am also premiering my new composition Cavite el Viejo (archaic name for my hometown of Kawit, Cavite – sample above). Written for my ensemble Fandangueros, it is a suite in 12 movements of which 5 will be performed and titled after the barrios of Poblacion, Marulas, Aplaya, Panamitan and Tabon.

On April 17, 2016, I will be running the Napa Valley Silverado Trail 10k Marathon as a means to supplement funding for the successful fruition of Fandango-Pandanggo. I have always been an avid runner and I see the marathon as a wonderful opportunity and an extension of a passion.

I am writing to ask for your sponsorship of my 10Krun, with all the proceeds directly benefiting Fandango-Pandanggo and KulArts. Your donation can be as low as $1 per kilometer or as great as $100 per kilometer.

All sponsorship/donations will receive a tax-deductible donation letter directly from KulArts, all donors/sponsors will be listed on the KulArts website. I am looking forward to being powered by your generosity and spirit on the actual race day. If you’d like to follow my training journey, feel free to visit or follow me on Instagram (@FloranteA).

Please help me reach my final goal of $2,500 by April 16, 2016 —a mere $250 per km (or $10 for every year that KulArts has existed).

Last but not the least, I would like to thank KulArts which has supported and nurtured many of my projects and in my view is the single most influential artistic organization in the Filipino community and the Bay Area. Thank you KulArts for giving voice and recognition to the visions of talented artists.

You can find out the details of the upcoming Fandango-Pandanggo performance here: http://www.sfiaf.org/potaje_fandangueros_cascada_de_flores

Check out the impressive list of musicians, dancers and multimedia artists.

artistic director, musical co-director, composer, flutist and “”laud”” player: Chus Alonso
musical co-director, composer and guitarist: Florante Aguilar
creative director: Alelluia Panis
multimedia artist: Wilfred Galila
singers: Charmaine Clamor, Arwen Lawrence
musicians: Jorge Liceaga, Kyla Danysh, Paula Dreyer, Greg Kehret, Sage Baggott and Robert Borrell
dancers: Roberto Borrell, Melissa Cruz, Ana Liceaga, Jay Loyola, Fides Enriquez

WAYS TO SUPPORT:
1. ONLINE: SPONSOR VIA PAYPAL HERE
*IN THE MEMO INCLUDE: CHUS FP or FLORANTE FP

2. SEND CHECK TO: Kularts 474 Faxon Avenue San Francisco, CA 94112
All sponsorship/donations will receive a tax-deductible donation letter directly from KulArts, all donors/sponsors will be listed on the KulArts website.

Your humble haranista,
Florante Aguilar

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The Dadap Aguilar Duo

by floranteaguilar February 8, 2015

Fun with my mentor maestro Michael Dadap. We’re preparing for a series of performances and a recording this year. Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/tkwIPu8LOrs
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Still a Classical Geek at Heart

by floranteaguilar August 4, 2014

Sylvius Leopold Weiss was a rock star lutenist in the 1700s, equal to JS Bach on playing fantasies and fugues. He remains one of my fave composers, albeit a little unheralded.

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Florante’s Guitars

by floranteaguilar October 15, 2010

fontanilla_lgMany have asked (mostly guitarists) what brand of guitar I use. Currently, I am using Cordoba Soloista flamenco guitar. I love the bite and the growl typically associated with flamenco guitars. It’s sounds great when I play with my ensemble Fandangueros.

I’m also using a 2002 Fontanilla guitar built by Filipino-American luthier Alan Fontanilla. Although I typically favor the tender tones of the spruce-top guitar, Alan’s cedar-top guitar provides a “refreshing departure” into a more hot-blooded pagan sound (listen).

For the Art of Harana recording, I used a vintage spruce-top 1962 Velazquez “El Clasico” (except for tracks 3, 5 & 7*). It possesses a sweet and full-bodied sound with great sustain as only a 48-year old guitar can. This guitar perfectly complements the singing tones of a harana (listen).

But as often happens with older guitars, the fretboard has bent considerably due to decades of string tension. This results into higher action that makes it more challenging to play. If you’re detecting labored passages in the recording, that is my excuse!

Special thanks to Dean Kamei, owner of Guitar Solo store in San Francisco and GSP Publications for lending the Velazquez used in the Art of Harana.

Luthier Wood Samples
1. Cordoba Solista (2009) spruce listen
2. Fontanilla (2002) cedar listen
3. Velasquez “El Clasico” (1962) spruce listen
4. Antonio Marin (1989) spruce listen
5. Kohno “Special” (1988) spruce listen
6. Cordoba 75R (1999) spruce listen

* played on Fontanilla guitar

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Florante Aguilar
  • Home
  • Bio
  • Works
    • ALBUMS
      • Probinsya (2022)
      • Dadap-Aguilar Duo (2019)
      • The Music of Bae Makiling (2016)
      • The Music of Maség (2014)
      • Introducing the Harana Kings (2012)
      • Manila Galleon Guitar Music (2010)
      • Paraiso (2007)
      • Tipanan (2006)
      • The Barbary Coast Guitar Duo (2005)
      • The Art of Harana (2003)
      • Buffalo Guitar Quartet (1990)
    • Harana the Movie (2012)
    • THEATER
      • Aswang Song Cycle (2013/2018)
      • Lalawigan – A Tagalog Song Cycle (2009)
    • COMMISSIONED WORKS
      • Utom (2019)
      • The Music of Bae Makiling (2016)
      • The Music of She Who Can See (2015)
      • The Music of Maség (2014)
  • Videos
  • Press Kit
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Shop
    • Official Store
    • Music Sheets
    • Merch
    • My Guitar Gear
    • CDs and DVDs
    • Licensing