Lucrecia Roces Kasilag (31 August 1918 – 16 August 2008) was a Filipino composer and pianist. She is particularly known for incorporating indigenous Filipino instruments into orchestral productions.

Biography

Lucrecia "King" Roces Kasilag was born in

San Fernando San Fernando may refer to: People *Ferdinand III of Castile (c. 1200–1252), called ''San Fernando'' (Spanish) or ''Saint Ferdinand'', King of Castile, León, and Galicia Places Argentina *San Fernando de la Buena Vista, city of Greater Buenos ...

La Union La Union (), officially the Province of La Union (; ; ; ; ; ), is a coastal province in the Philippines situated in the Ilocos Region on the island of Luzon. The province's capital, the San Fernando, La Union, City of San Fernando, is the most ...

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, the third of the six children of Marcial Kasilag Sr., a civil engineer, and his wife Asuncion Roces Ganancial, a violinist and a violin teacher. She was Kasilag's first solfeggio teacher. The second was Doña Concha Cuervo, who was a strict Spanish woman. Kasilag later studied under Doña Pura Villanueva, during which time performed her first public piece,

Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions inc ...

's '' May Breezes'', at a student recital when she was ten years old. Kasilag grew up in

Paco Paco is a Spanish nickname for Francisco. According to folk etymology, the nickname has its origins in Saint Francis of Assisi, who was the father of the Franciscan order; his name was written in Latin by the order as (father of the community); ...

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

, where she was educated at Paco Elementary School and graduated valedictorian in 1930. She then transferred to

Philippine Women's University Philippine Women's University (PWU) is a coeducational tertiary education school which has its main campus in Manila, Philippines. An all girls school, institution exclusive for girls from its inception until the 1970s, the PWU now admits both ...

for high school, where in 1933 she also graduated as valedictorian. For college, she graduated ''cum laude'' in 1936 with a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in English, in the same university. She also studied music at St. Scholastica’s College in

Malate Malic acid is an organic compound with the molecular formula . It is a dicarboxylic acid that is made by all living organisms, contributes to the sour taste of fruits, and is used as a food additive. Malic acid has two stereoisomeric forms ( ...

, with Sister Baptista Battig, graduating with a Music Teacher's Diploma, major in piano, in 1939. During World War II, she took up composition, and on 1 December 1945, she performed her own compositions in a concert at

. From 1946 to 1947, Kasilag taught at the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; ) is a Higher education in the Philippines#State universities and colleges, state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by List of Philippine laws, Re ...

’ Conservatory of Music and worked as secretary-registrar at Philippines Women's University. She completed a

Bachelor of Music A Bachelor of Music (BMus; sometimes conferred as Bachelor of Musical Arts) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. The degree may be awarded for performance, music ed ...

in 1949, and then attended the

Eastman School of Music The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. Established in 1921 by celebrated industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman, it was the ...

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, studying theory with Allen I. McHose and composition with Wayne Barlow. Kasilag returned to the Philippines, and in 1953 she was appointed Dean of the Philippines Women's University College of Music and Fine Arts. After completing her studies, Kasilag made an international tour as a concert pianist, but eventually had to give up a performing career due to a congenital weakness in one hand. Kasilag was instrumental in developing Philippine music and culture. She founded the Bayanihan Folk Arts Center for research and theatrical presentations, and was closely involved with the Bayanihan Philippine Dance Company. She was also a former president of the

Cultural Center of the Philippines The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP; ) is a government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) established to preserve, develop and promote Arts in the Philippines, arts and Culture of the Philippines, culture in the Philippines.Presid ...

, head of the

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, Chairperson of the

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, and was one of the pioneers of the

Bayanihan Dance Company The Bayanihan Philippine National Folk Dance Company is the oldest dance company in the Philippines.folksongs Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has bee ...

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

l works, and was composing up to the year before she died, at age 89. Lucrecia Roces Kasilag died due to pneumonia on August 16, 2008, fifteen days before her 90th birthday, in Manila, Philippines.

Selected works

Works for stage

* ''Dularawan: Salakot na Ginto'' (''Image Play: The Golden Salakot'') (1969) * ''Her Son, Jose'', operatorio (1977) * ''The Spiritual Canticle'', operatorio (1991) * ''Filiasiana'', choral dance kaleidoscope (1964) * ''Sisa'', ballet (1976) * ''Why Flowers Bloom in May'', opera (2008)

Concertos

* Violin Concerto no. 1 (1983) * Violin Concerto no. 2 (1994) *

Divertissement ''Divertissement'' (from the French 'diversion' or 'amusement') is used, in a similar sense to the Italian 'divertimento', for a light piece of music for a small group of players, however the French term has additional meanings. During the 17th an ...

for Piano and Orchestra (1960)

Choral music

* Misang Pilipino (''Filipino mass'') (1966) * De Profundis (1977) * Benedictus, cantata (1990) * Ode to the President (1995)

Orchestral works

* Ang Pamana (The Heritage) (1966) * The Legend of Sarimanok (1963) * Philippine Scenes (1974) * In the Beginning (1988) * Centennial Tribute to Filipino Womanhood, Symphonic cycle (1998)

Chamber and solo music

* Derivations I-V, for piano (1961, 1963, 1966, 1969, 1982) * Sonata in G minor, for piano (1957) * Toccata, for Percussion and Winds (1958) * Dialogue for Western Flutes and Pinoy Flutes (1996) * Prelude Etnika and Toccata, for guitar (1996) * Sonata Orientale, for piano (1961) * Scherzino, for piano (1980) * Rondeau, for piano (1981) * Elegy on Mt. Pinatubo, for piano (1992) * Serendipity, for piano (1994)

Music for Indigenous instruments

* Improvisations no. 2, for Muslim

gamelan Gamelan (; ; , ; ) is the traditional musical ensemble, ensemble music of the Javanese people, Javanese, Sundanese people, Sundanese, and Balinese people, Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussion instrument, per ...

and tipangklong (1970) * ''Ang Apoy ng mga Hayop'' (''The Fire of Animals''), musical tale (1986)

Honors and awards

* Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan Award in Music, 1954 * Presidential Award of Merit as Woman Composer, 1956 * Presidential Award of Merit and Gold Medal for Leadership and Outstanding Contribution to Music and the Arts, 1960 * Republic Cultural Heritage Award in Music for the ''Toccata for Winds and Percussion (1960)'' and ''Misang Pilipino (1966)'' *Honorary Doctor of Music from

Centro Escolar University Centro Escolar University (; ), commonly referred to as CEU, is a private, non-sectarian, coeducational institution of higher education located in Manila, Philippines. Founded in 1907 by Librada Avelino and Carmen de Luna, CEU is recognized a ...

, 1975 *Honorary Doctor of Laws from the Philippine Women’s University, 1980 *Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from St. John’s University in New York, 1981 *

National Artist of the Philippines The Order of National Artists of the Philippines ( Tagalog: ''Orden ng mga Pambansang Alagad ng Sining ng Pilipinas'') is an order bestowed by the President of the Philippines on Philippine nationals who have made significant contributions to ...

, 1989 *Outstanding Filipino Award for the Arts from Jaycee Senate International, 1991

References

* ''National Artists of the Philippines''. Manila: National Commission for Culture and the Arts. * Hila, A., Tan, A. (2019). ''CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art'' (Vol. 7: Music). Manila: Cultural Center of the Philippines.