Pinoy talent being held back

It is with joy and satisfaction that we saw Manny Pacquiao demolish Timothy Bradley in their third meeting. But it was with dismay and disappointment that we heard the very forgettable rendition of our national anthem by the Singing Pastors.

It is not that the pastors lacked talent. It was just that their musical artistry was bound and fettered by the strict, legalistic implementation by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) of Republic Act No. 8491—the law that compels singers to do the national anthem strictly according to the composition of its author, Julian Felipe, or else …

Sounding like robots, the pastors sang woodenly our national anthem, in contrast to the artistic rendition of the US national anthem by the 2016 “American Idol” winner, Trent Harmon. Americans were inspired and charged by their national anthem. We were disheartened and dejected by ours.

Ours was a wrong and wasteful use of Filipino musical talent. If the Supreme Court itself allowed a probable interpretation—and not a strict legalistic one—of the meaning of  “natural-born” Filipino in connection with Sen. Grace Poe’s presidential bid, why can’t the NCCA also adopt an interpretation of RA 8491 which would be more according to its spirit, and not its letter? Methinks Julian Felipe himself would be more than glad to hear varied interpretations of his opus by musical talents, rather than solely by the mechanical metronome.

Musical talent is meant to soar freely in glory and passion, with melancholic sadness or joyous happiness, not to be bound and fettered like a caged bird—ibon mang may layang lumipad, kulungin mo at umiiyak, as the lyrics of a popular freedom song goes.

If Filipino musical artists limited themselves to the strict interpretation of their songs as written by their composers, we would not reap the cornucopia of international musical contest wins that we now have. For the past 10 years alone, the Philippines has won around 100 international musical contests. Such talented folk as Pilita Corrales, Freddie Aguilar, Dulce, Donna and Sunshine Cruz, Leo Valdez, Regine Velasquez, Rachel Alejandro and Vina Morales, to name a few, have contributed to this musical treasure trove of international wins. And singing groups such as the UST Singers, UP Chorale, Madrigal Singers, Loboc Children’s Choir, Ateneo Chorale, UE Chorale, Ateneo Chamber, AUP Choir, and Mandaue Children’s Choir, again to name a few, have also done their share in increasing this treasure trove. It has come to the point that some international music judges have wryly commented that Filipinos should be excluded from music competitions to give others a chance to win!

It is therefore a disastrous disservice to the Filipino people to have their national anthem sang according to the monotonous beat of the metronome, especially in international events. Like true art, our national anthem should inspire and motivate us, make us soar to the skies in patriotic fervor and stand us proud to be Filipino. And the NCCA, instead of threatening our artists with fire and brimstone for not singing our national anthem to the exact beat of the metronome, should encourage them to give soulful and inspiring renditions to make us really feel that … “aming ligaya na ’pag may mang-aapi ang mamatay nang dahil sa iyo”!

—SAMUEL J. YAP, [email protected]