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THE
LOBOC CANTORALES:
A LINK TO A CONTINUING HISPANIC MUSICAL TRADITION
MA. ALEXANDRA IÑIGO CHUA
Centre for Intercultural studies/
Conservatory of Music
University of Santo Tomas
Music
indeed, like vegetation,
flourishes differently in different climates;
and in proportion to the culture
and encouragement it receives
(Burney,1789)
Considered as the music capital of the province
of Bohol, the town of Loboc was one of the first
to be established as a religious center by the Jesuits
in 1602 and in effect has maintained a tradition
that is predominantly western brought about by the
Spanish missionaries who stayed in the island to
convert the people to Catholicism and to administer
to their spiritual needs. The celebration of its
Quadricentennial anniversary last year was a source
of valued pride and honor for the people who had
a chance to commemorate this milestone in the history
of their town.
 Spain's
colonizing presence in the Philippines simultaneously
with the widespread propagation of the Catholic
faith undeniably and categorically reshaped the
cultural landscape, not only of this town but the
entire country as well. However, discussions on
cultural processes in relation to Hispanization,
assimilation and acculturation in terms of existing
traditions in the context of Spanish colonialism
in the country is in my opinion inadequately and
insufficiently addressed. With the re-emergence
of the Loboc cantorales in the Intramuros Administration
artifact collection and the presence of a predominantly
Hispanic living musical traditions in Loboc, I would
like to argue that it is possible to provide perspectives
and insights into the influence and diffusion of
Hispanic music and interrogate the process and procedures
of how the coming of dominant cultural ideas had
affected and effected the transformation and development
of a particular cultural society, in this case the
Lobocanon musical culture. Such are then utilized
as a critical site to access facets in our local
music history and its position in the development
of Filipino culture.
Since this is an on-going research, I would like
to present preliminary findings of this investigation
and that information and thoughts here are presented
as a brief contribution to this research colloquium
rather that as a completed and referenced paper.
My entry point in this study is the Loboc cantorales
that have been located at the collection of the
Intramuros Administration. The questions of how
the cantorales got there will need time to be answered,
that is if and ever the mystery can be solved since
no records are available to explain such occurrence.
I have originally proposed to study and examine
the codicological, paleographic and musicological
aspect of the cantorales. Unfortunately, this would
not be possible at this moment since the choirbooks
are in a dreadful and deteriorated condition (i.e.,
disarranged pagination, watermarks on parchment
sheets, dilapidated binding and covers et.al). Although
some compositions are recognizable it would take
time to be able to reconstruct the entire repertory
of the cantorales. Efforts are now being done to
save these musical treasures. I have met with Ms.
Libby Melzer, an Australian conservationist who
is helping out in the conservation process of the
Bohol cantorales. As musical objects, these choirbooks
serve as the key that will link us to the understanding
of our musical past as a people.
LOBOC THE MUSIC TOWN OF BOHOL
 Loboc
was established as a religious center by the Jesuit
priests Fr. Juan de Torres and Gabriel Sanchez in
1602. From Baclayon, where they founded the first
church in the province in the year 1595, they went
to a densely populated area about 20 kilometers
away from Baclayon to establish a Christian settlement.
They constructed a church dedicated to Archangel
San Miguel, which later burned down. In 1638, another
church was built dedicated to St. Peter the Apostle.
The town came to be known as Loboc probably from
the term "ga Loboc" meaning "pounding palay". In
early Jesuit accounts, the devout acceptance of
the Catholic faith and the musical ability of the
Lobocanons have been mentioned by Fr. Pedro Chirino:
….on Sunday we had in the church of Loboc six
or seven hundred souls, which is the usual attendance.
If your Reverence could see in the early morning
nearly one hundred children from the mountains,
boys and girls but recently baptized march with
praise to God in a procession along the bank
of this river, singing the Doctrina with angelic
voices that seem to come from heaven, I verily
believe that your Reverence would be moved to
devout tears at seeing how God has brought them
down from these mountains and dragons' caves
that they may praise and glorify Him.
The Jesuits stayed in the province until their expulsion
in 1768. It was the Agustinian Recollects who took
over the administration of the churches and facilitated
to the spiritual needs of the people and consequently
continued their mission to propagate the faith.
The almost three centuries of Spanish domination
brought about mainly by the friars that presided
over the natives have radically transformed the
cultural constructs of this society. Because of
this, the entire populace acquired a rich tradition
of western-derived sacred musical heritage. Pipe
organs that loom in the church choir lofts, choirbooks
made from parchment, facistols or music lecterns
and old brass and percussion instruments are seen
in the archive and artifact collection of the many
baroque churches in the province. My study on the
cantorales of Baclayon have in a way, reconstructed
from existing archival records the lost and forgotten
tradition of Hispanic sacred music. Ironically,
in Loboc there are neither available records nor
musical sources either printed or written that can
be found in the church as well as in the museum
collection. This is due to the many devastating
floods that hit the town in various stages in its
history. The biggest and most destructive were recorded
on 1876 and also in 1964 when the recorded floodwaters
reached an elevation of almost 5 yards. According
to oral accounts taken from resource persons, three
boxes of orchestral music were lost when the storm
"Nitang" hit the island in 1984. Much information
will then be untraceable and a substantial amount
of music objects have totally vanished because of
these incidents.
In spite of all these, it is remarkable
that music lives in the numerous religious practices
of the people of Loboc, thriving not on written
sources of music but on oral tradition. It is astonishing
how this group of people have assimilated much of
Hispanic musical ideology and genres as observed
in their traditions and have consequently acquired
them to be their own.
During my six-day stay at
the convent of the church in Loboc I had several
occasions to meet and discuss with a small research
group of Lobocanons. These were complemented with
interviews with cantoras, maestros and band musicians.
I was amazed to find out that in this simple town
survives a dynamic tradition of Hispanic music,
actively performed and experienced. After all these,
I realized why Loboc is appropriately referred to
as the "music town of Bohol."
MUSICAL TRADITIONS
AS EXPRESSIONS OF SPIRITUALITY
Music in Loboc is
a way of life for the people. This, however, is
not the kind heard in concert venues but lived and
experienced by the towns people in their everyday
existence. It is first and foremost a communal undertaking
done as an expression of spirituality, a form of
prayer or an offering to glorify a particular saint
or the Almighty Father. The religiosity and musicality
of the Lobocanons are two inseparable entities complementing
and enhancing each other for self-expression and
salvation. The earliest extant music, found in the
cantorales which were produced in 1837, was used
for the services of the parish. Contained in the
collection are music for special feasts and other
occasions in the liturgical calendar of the Roman
Catholic Church. Similarly, music traditions in
present-day Loboc are centered and focused around
important dates in the church calendar, particularly
the commemoration of the life and death of Jesus
Christ and the celebration of the feast days of
special saints The succeeding data will present
some of the distinctive and unique popular religious
traditions in this town and how music plays a vital
and integral role in such events. This will serve
to validate viewpoints that have been previously
presented.
 There
are actually two major fiestas in Loboc, one on
June 29 to honor the patron of the church, St. Peter
the Apostle and the other on May 24 , to commemorate
the coming of the Virgin of Guadalupe, the much
loved second patroness of the Lobocanons, to this
particular town,. The people of Loboc believe that
the Virgin had a hand in overcoming the cholera
epidemic that hit the town in 1843. Because of this
and other favors received from the Virgin, the people
celebrate this day with religious reverence endowed
with musical opulence and sumptuous feasts. The
celebration commences with a novena held for nine
days preceding the feast day of the Virgin. Gozos,
songs of praise and joy either in Spanish or Visayan,
are sung after the novena just before the beginning
of the daily mass. A sambat or a fluvial parade
at the river is held at the eve of the feast. Band
members ride the balsa with the Virgin, together
with the parish priest and other important figures
of the church and the government, to perform marches
and procession music. Other smaller boats sail at
the back to serve as the retinue of the Virgin.
The preparation of the event is very costly. According
to Mrs. Albina Bernasor, the decorations of the
balsa alone could cost around 100,000 pesos. The
event culminates with fireworks and more music making.
The sambat is likewise held during the feast of
St. Peter the Apostle on June 29 during which preparations
are as lavish as those of the Virgin's and on December
3 the feast day of St. Francis Xavier, the adopted
secondary patron saint of Loboc that serves as the
protector of the people from flood and alligators,
and also in the second week of January to celebrate
the feast of the Santo Nino.
On the
day of the fiesta of the Virgin of Guadalupe, on
May 24, altares are carried out just before the
Pontifical Mass. Four small altars will be set up
outside the four doors of the church with the image
of the Virgin in each altar. Cantoras and cantores
together with the congregation perform chant verses
and oremus and sing hymns accompanied by an orchestra
and the brass band. An example of the repertory
would be - Altares 1 "Virgen sa Guadalupe" by Marcelo
Varquez, Altares 2 "Bulahan" (Bendita), Altares
3 "Afectos" and Altares 4 "Maanyag nga inahan."
These compositions are sung in Visayan in 2 or more
voices. Mrs. Librada Balbin, a 77-year old cantora
felt teary-eyed whenever these songs are performed.
She told me that her mother used to sing alto 2-
part and every time she sings or hears these melodies,
Mrs. Balbin fondly remembers her. Mrs. Norberta
Varquez Baliran, Mrs. Balbin's mother, was an important
cantora of the church during the turn of the 20th
century. The altares is also performed during the
feasts of St. Peter, feast of the Sacred Heart of
Jesus and of the Corpus Christi, during which the
monstrance with the Holy Host is displayed in the
make shift altars.
 For
three days beginning from the day of the fiesta
of the Virgin, a ritual devotion of dance and music
is executed to commemorate the healing of the people
during the cholera outbreak which is attributed
to be a miracle of the Virgin. This is the bolibongkingking
called as such because of onomatopoeic principle.
The name is taken from the sound of the guimbao,
the drum (bolibong) and the sound of the agong,
the gong (kingking). This devotion is also believed
to be a healing ritual. With the intricate beat
of the drums and gongs, the dancers move the different
parts of their bodies particularly those that are
experiencing aches and pains, in front of the image
of the Virgin. Anybody can participate in the dancing
even infants and children who are held and carried
by the dancers. This tradition is fascinating and
of great importance since this is the only instance
when indigenous instruments are used, although the
devotion originated from a Christian point of view.
The feast of Christmas
is the central focus of all Christian celebrations.
The Lobocanons celebrate this occasion with a Pontifical
Mass during the nine-day Misa de Gallo where the
music is always sung in Latin by the cantoras and
cantores usually with an organ accompaniment. On
the vespers of Christmas, the Misa Pastorela, a
mass cycle in Latin, is sung accompanied by the
band and the orchestra. It is also during this occasion
that Spanish songs are performed to quite a large
extent. These are villancicos (Spanish songs) like
En Belen, Id a Belen, Alegres, Vamos Pastorcillos
(in 2 voices) and Vamos Pastorcitos and the gozo
of the dawn mass "Bendito Sea El Niño Que Dios."
The Mass is subsequently followed by a fascinating
musical tradition that is fondly referred to as
Calenda. This ritual is performed, as a 'rite of
passage' by a male teenager who will "graduate"
as a full pledge musician. The initiation will get
him accepted formally as member of the Loboc Band.
Sung entirely in the plainsong tradition, the Januarii
Octavo Calenda, is done in the Visayan language.
It talks of the history of the world from the creation
until the coming of Jesus Christ. No one knows the
origin of this music but it has been handed down
from generation to generation and continuous to
be actively performed. This tradition is believed
to have started around the 1870's since the Loboc
band was established in 1871. With its utmost expression
of musicality and spirituality, this ritual exemplifies
and encapsulates in its purest form the complex
essence of the Lobocanon culture.
 The
musical celebration of Christmas does not end with
the Calenda. This continues with the suroy (to go
around), a tradition of caroling that begins in
the morning of December 25 and goes on until February
2, a total of 40 days. This unique Lobocanon tradition
consists of going to all the houses in the different
barangays of the town to bring the joy and spirit
of music making. Such activity is truly remarkable
and awe-inspiring. Specific dates have been permanently
assigned to the different barangays with regards
to the celebration of the suroy. Owners of the various
houses prepare food for the members of the band
as well as the visitors from other towns that grace
the event. It is said that preparing for a suroy
is even more expensive than for the fiesta since
you don't just provide food for the people but give
money to the musicians as well. The Loboc band takes
the center stage in this tradition. Accompanied
by cantoras, cantores and tiples, they perform music
and sing a mixture of Spanish, Latin and Visayan
songs. The repertoire of the suroy is not limited
to Christmas songs such as the daygon and the villancicos.
In fact a broad range of musical compositions are
sung during this event - from Hay Que Celebrar,
a Spanish song in celebration of one's birthday
to Liberame, which is a requiem or a song for the
dead which is quite intriguing. An inquiry as to
why these songs are performed provided some elucidation
on this subject. According to the people interviewed,
songs to be sung depend on the request of the owner
of the house. Hay que celebrar is asked if there
is a person that would be celebrating his or her
birthday while Liberame is basically requested as
a form of prayer for their long departed relatives
and loved ones. There would also be the singing
of Salve Regina of Echegoyen or Prado if there is
a statue of the Blessed Virgin inside the house,
while the sagaliejos is sung if the Senor is the
one on the altar. Other musical repertory in the
suroy are the Toquina which is performed before
the altar when they enter the house, the Coradang,
a courtship dance accompanied by the band, the Que
Bibo de Amor, which is sung once the band members
are on the table before they partake of the food
prepared for them and the oic or more appropriately
pronounced as uwi which is the farewell song before
the band leaves the house. After the band plays
the oic, the tiples or children studying solfeggio
and music under the band members and who serve as
their assistants in this event, will perform pastores
to solicit money from the owner of the house. It
is interesting to note that for the duration of
the suroy the band members take a leave from their
work and that participation in this musical activity
is a priority for them. With free food everyday
and bottles of rhum served on the table, who wouldn't
want to be part of these 40 days of festivity. Another
Christmas tradition, the bina¢ba (pertaining to
the mouth) is a kind of Christmas carol done by
the cantoras and cantores in different houses to
herald the coming of Jesus Christ without the participation
of the band. This is usually done a few days before
Christmas. However, this tradition is seldom practiced
today.
Easter is another significant event observed and
awaited with much adoration and reverence by the
Catholics. In Loboc, as in other towns in the province,
this occasion is celebrated with the staging of
the hugos (literally means "to hang"). The hugos,
like the salubong, is a re-enactment of the meeting
of Mary and Jesus at the dawn of Easter Sunday and
the coming down of the angel Gabriel, memorialized
through chants and songs. A tiple, a boy of about
10 years old, garbed in beautiful angel's garment
will be tied on the waist to be brought down from
inside the hugusan while singing the Regina Caeli.
A delightful musical performance of antiphonal singing
between the angels and the congregation follows.
In the month of May, flowers surround the Virgin
with the celebration of the Flores de Mayo where
little girls and dalagas, together with the cantoras,
sing different melodies of Dios de Salve Maria.
Aside from these big church celebrations, each barangay
chapel has its own fiesta to commemorate a religious
observance like the feast of St. Joseph, the wedding
of Mary and Joseph called the Disposorio, the Virgen
de Patrocinio, of San Vicente, San Roque, and the
Inahan sa Kanunay. In these occasions melodies of
the gozos and salves resonate in the silence and
solitude of the night. As if all this singing were
not enough, the Lobocanons practice the singing
of the Salve Regina and of Joseph Fili David every
Saturday after the six o' clock mass. Indeed, the
faith of the people and their love for music has
molded this society into its present being.
OF TRANSMISSION
AND PERFORMANCE PRACTICE:
THE ROLE OF THE MAESTROS,
CANTORES AND CANTORAS
What brought about the perpetuation
of this remarkable tradition of Hispanic sacred
music? To attempt to answer such inquiry I propose
to examine the transmission process of these music
traditions to present a basis for such a phenomenon.
There is no formal institution in Loboc that teaches
music nor is there a professionally paid music instructor.
The preceeding and present generation of musicians
depend on the tutelage of a relative who is a musician
in learning the rudiments of music. It is also done
through a recruitment process where present band
players or cantores choose students to be their
apprentices. Their participation in all the musical
activities provide the necessary training ground
for learning musical skill. This is honed by the
many opportunities provided by participation in
the cultural activities and traditions of the town.
The basic training for all aspiring Lobocanon musicians
is the Metodo Solfeggio Book I to IV by Eslava.
Every musikero in Loboc went through this. In fact,
it is a source of pride for them to tell at what
age did they complete the four solfeggio.books.
Mr. Alfonso Varquez or Nong Ponso as he is fondly
called, beams with pride every time he states that
he finished the four books at the age of ten. Mrs.
Balbin, on the other hand, started learning solfeggio
at the age of five with her father as instructor.
The Eslava book is their gateway, their license
into being a musician. Participation in a choir,
particularly a children's choir provides the early
training. Roy Vincent Requirme, who performed the
Calenda in the video tape, was a former member of
the Loboc's Children's Choir. Roy is now a member
of the Loboc Band and plays the trombone.
A clear
lineage of musicians of the town can be traced easily
since people still remember most of the them. Mrs.
Carmen Varquez Requirme, one of the resource persons
and mother of Roy Vincent, is the daughter of Marcelo
Varquez. Marcelong Obod, as he is fondly called
is the great grandson of Maestro Anoy (Mariano Varquez)
who was the founder of the Loboc band. Marcelong
Obod wrote quite a number of musical compositions
such as Misa Coral de Santa Cecilia, Misa Bonafonte
Ago-go style, Ave Maria (sung by his wife during
nuptial ceremonies),and Una Sabatorum, a Latin psalm
sung by two angels during the Hugos on Easter Sunday.
He is also attributed to have written the Magellan
and Bon-suela songs of Yoyoy Villame. Nong Ponso,
himself, an 83 year old cantor, organist, conductor
and maestro of the church, still has a very keen
memory. Many of his compositions that were lost
in the numerous devastating floods are still kept
in his brain, as he would always tell us by pointing
to his top "it is all in my head." The number of
musicians who can write music are already dwindling.
Nong Ponso with his long experience in music has
the ability to write and notate music as perceived
by the ears.
 Another
major source of data on musicians is the souvenir
program that came out in 1971 to commemorate the
100 years of the establishment of the Loboc band.
The names of all the members of the band were listed
and a short narrative on its founding was provided.
There are many more musicians that helped shape
the musical landscape of this town and this would
be a good topic for another research investigation.
It is important, indeed, to look into the people
and agencies that actively intervene into these
on-going practices of living tradition. It is without
doubt that the musicians, namely the cantores, cantoras,
maestros and band members are the main precursors
responsible for the perpetuation of these musical
traditions. Since many of the music performed today
lives only in the memory of the senior performers,
transmission and performance practice greatly depend
in their admonition. There is therefore a need for
documentation to prevent the further lost of this
music and lessen its malleability.
CONCLUSION
Indeed, the process
in which musical actualities operate presents countless
views and perspectives on the dynamics and trajectories
of cultural politics. It is the intricate and complex
web of realities i.e., of Hispanization, assimilation
and acculturation that molded and formed Lobocanon's
identity. As we have deliberately or arbitrarily
forgotten our Hispanic past as a nation, the musical
traditions of Loboc stand as a living testimony
to our complex colonial legacy. As Russell Skowronek
puts it, "The Spanish colonial empire was not a
static monolith, but rather an interactive system
that reacted and changed in response to changes
in the world as a whole. The material legacy it
left behind can be deciphered and used to help understand
these interactions." The Loboc cantorales have opened
a window, inviting us to look back to our colonial
musical past.
Acknowledgement: *This paper
was made possibly through grants received from
the UST Centre for Intercultural Studies, The
Parish of St Peter the Apostle, Loboc , Bohol
and the Metropolitan Museum. I would like to express
my outmost thanks to the people who helped in
this research. Fr. Kiking, Fr. Milan Ted Torralba,
Lutgardo labad, Ino Manalo, Alfred Valenzona,
Nelia Lungay, Alfonso Varquez, Engr. And Mrs.
Boy Varquez, Albina Bernasor, Carmen Requirme,
Nicanora Varquez, Adolfo Varquez, Amelita Balansar,
Antonio Acuñas Jr. Librada Balbin, Ricarda Cal,
Eutemia Sarigumba, Inday Cal, Edilberto Pancha,
Castor Fudalan, Roy Vincent Requirme, and the
members of the Loboc Band.
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