Palabunibunyan

Jimuel Dave Dagta

6 views

Solo

2020

10 min.

Keyboards

Piano

Program Notes: This piece, my first work for solo piano, was written during the first months of lockdown due to pandemic. The world was shaken, millions of lives lost, the economy collapsed, people lost their jobs, food was limited, world leaders panicked, and everyone struggled to survive. In addition, the pandemic also affected the mental health of many. I took inspiration from the traditional gong ensemble from the southern Philippines that is played during festive occasions and celebrations, the “Palabunibunyan”. The “Palabunibunyan'' ensemble consists of instruments such as kulintang, dabakan, agung, babandir, and the gandingan, performed for merrymaking, is not played during occurrences of death, and calamities. My piece attempts to capture and modify certain elements of the Palabunibunyan s including the nuances of gongs, playful melodies, melodic transpositions, and the rhythmic mode “binalig", a mode in moderate tempo, evoking joy or anger. I long for the time when this pandemic will end and we will get to celebrate life once again with our loved ones, and be able to hear the loud sounding gongs of the Palabunibunyan.
Recording Notes: Vivian Kwok, piano