Folkerie

This song confused me seriously. At the time, my sister was looking for a Christmas carol to sing at their office’s Christmas celebration. We decided to look for a simple soft song to go with her simple soft voice. I started with the Christmas albums we had and made a list of the songs she could sing. “Away in a manger” was in two, one in Nat King Cole’s album and another from a choral group. When she came home, she listened to the songs and narrowed down the list, which includes Away in a manger . Next stop, youtube. The first video we found was Celtic Woman’s version. I thought that was perfect! My sister always loved Celtic Woman. So we watched a live performance… wait! That’s not Nat King Cole’s Away in a manger , is it? Again we listened to Nat King Cole, and after reading wikis, that’s how we found out. That there are two accepted melodies for this song and that the choral group version I was listening to was the same as Celtic Woman’s. Play the tracks below. The “Mueller” varia...

handpainting Paglisan sa dating bayan (Pantabangan Resettlement 1972) Ballpen Drawing 1995 with Blood Signature Acrylic painting Lukso ng Dugo 5 (blood on canvas) Amangpintor , born Elito Villaflor Circa, is a Filipino folk painter and notably the “first blood and hair painter of his generation of Filipino folk artists.” Official website  

As a follow-up to the previous post about kudyapi (2-stringed lute), I give you the master himself, Manlilikha ng Bayan Samaon Sulaiman , a folk music artist from Maganoy, Maguindanao. He was awarded the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan (National Living Treasure Award) in 1993. As envisioned under R.A. 7355, “Manlilikha ng Bayan” shall mean a citizen engaged in any traditional art uniquely Filipino whose distinctive skills have reached such a high level of technical and artistic excellence and have been passed on to and widely practiced by the present generation in his/her community with the same degree of technical and artistic competence. ~ NCCA He died in May of last year. A year later the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) paid tribute to Sulaiman with Mamayog: the Music of Samaon Sulaiman , a set of audio recordings with a book containing more than 300 pages of transcriptions of these recordings and a monograph about the Maguindanaon kutyapi, published by the Gawad ...

by Fr. Joemar Sibug, OP (from his Slice of Life column) photo courtesy Hans Brandeis I ARRIVED in Davao City for my new assignment last September 5, 2011. One of the things we needed for our mission house in Bajada was a bell. Our religious community uses the bell for our wake up call in the morning. We also use the bell to gather the members of our community, like for example at meal time and prayer time. And so I tried to look for a bell in Aldevinco. I was hoping to find one that is “Mindanao inspired” and at the same time functional – one that would fit the purpose. Then I chanced upon this souvenir store that sells all sorts of “antiques” or old items. They have a wide range of items for sale – from small furniture, to house decors and traditional musical instruments of Mindanao. They also have what I was looking for – bells of various sizes and sounds. It took me a while to finally choose and buy a bell that will answer our need. But what caught my attention was the array of tw...

My mom’s music was what I grew up listening to. Records of the more popular folk and country “with a dose of rock” artists like Loggins and Messina, Dan Fogelberg, Jim Croce, and John Denver were played in family get-togethers. And by high school, the term “country rock” for me was synonymous to the Eagles. It wasn’t until 2007 that I came across The Flying Burrito Brothers and by sheer luck nonetheless. But let’s talk about an English band called Starsailor first. I have their first two albums, which were distributed in the Philippines in early 2000s, although no one else seemed to know them. Imagine my surprise when I got hold of their Love is Here Live DVD , a rarity (in my case) which features a full-length live concert. Two of the tracks were covers: one is an acoustic solo performance of a combo, Born To Be With You/Rocket Man ; the other one is that of Hot Burrito #2 , a Burrito Brothers original. Finally! So to make the long story short, I read about The Flying Burrito Brothe...

At the fifth floor of San Pedro Hospital’s Medical Arts Building in Davao City, one quaint little office has been especially set aside for the use of the Dominican Sisters of the Trinity’s Center for Justice & Peace Community Extension Services . This Center is a project of the Dominican Sisters of Davao to help the unprivileged and those experiencing injustices. One of their programs is to provide Alternative Education to children who cannot afford to go to school. Some of these scholars eventually go to college and are supported by the program and their sponsors. To add to their allowances, Sr. Anabella del Castillo, O.P., the Center’s founder, other volunteers, and the scholars themselves craft hand-made products to sell. These include cards for all occasions (Birthdays, Christmas, Thank You Notes, Well Wishes, among others), beaded and crocheted accessories as well as sewed items. The beauty of the hand-crafted cards lies not only in their designs, but also in the materials use...

by Lorie Ann Lisa Hannigan is the millennium’s new Joni Mitchell. Well, that’s how I’d like to put it because these female artists are both my favorites. I will be telling about them in more details, maybe later. But, for now, let me introduce to you dear readers, especially fellow folkniks, these two folk artists–one a Canadian, and the other an Irish. Before we’ll talk about their music, let’s have an overview of their basic information and sense of fashion. Joni or Roberta Joan Anderson by birth started as an artist with folk music in 1964. Now 68 year-old, she was born in Fort Macleod, Alberta, Canada. A musician, singer, songwriter and painter in one, Joni plays guitar, piano dulcimer, ukulele and auto-harp. Aside from folk-rock and folk-jazz, she also composed plain jazz and pop music. Check out Joni’s fashion with these I lifted from other sites. When I grow old, I would wear folk… Lisa Margaret Hannigan, 31, is an Irish indie folk singer and musician who lives in Kilcloon, Cou...

Kadayawan is a month-long annual festival in Davao City. This event serves as a thanksgiving for the bountiful harvest as well as a way to honor Davao’s cultural heritage. The photos in this gallery are from the Indak-indak sa Kadalanan (Street Dancing) and a tribe from Bukidnon performing a traditional song. For more information, please visit Kadayawan sa Dabaw Festival’s Official Website . Photos by Julienne

There’s a folk movie coming and it’s from highly awarded siblings. Here’s three reasons to watch Inside Llewyn Davis : It’s the Coen brothers and they’re tackling folk music. The movie, which is about a singer-songwriter navigating New York’s folk music scene in the 60s, is currently set to be released early next year. Although highly unlikely, a proper cinematic showing in the Philippines would be very much appreciated by moi and company. Awesomely versatile actor Oscar Isaac will be playing the title character , Llewyn Davis, loosely based on 60s folk musician Dave Van Ronk. From what I’ve seen of Isaac’s previous performances — as charismatic St. Joseph in the Nativity Story, evil King John in Robin Hood, and a scene-stealing antagonist in Sucker Punch — I couldn’t ask for a better lead. By the way, he’s also in the Bourne Legacy, which I still have to watch. All music performances in the movie are played live , not pre-recorded. Just like the new Les Miserables, eh? Looks like we...