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Kalesa Music Sheet: A Guide to the History and Meaning of the Song



A kalesa or calesa is a two-wheeled horse-drawn carriage used in the Philippines.[1] It is commonly vividly painted and decorated.[2] It was a primary mode of public and private transportation during the Spanish colonial era of the Philippines, though in modern times, they largely only survive as tourist attractions.


Use of the kalesa declined in the mid-20th century, when mass public transportation was largely taken over by motorized jeepneys and tricycles. Pressure to phase out kalesas began in the 1940s when the 7000 or so kalesas still operating in Manila started holding up motorized traffic.[4] Kalesa in modern times are largely only used as tourist attractions. They are still preserved in some areas of the Philippines, such as in San Fernando, Pampanga, Vigan and Laoag.[5] Kalesas can also be found in Intramuros, where they cater to tourists and Binondo in Manila, as well as in Iligan, where decorated kalesas can be taken for a ride along a specific street. In Cagayan, kalesas are common, especially in Tuao, Tuguegarao, and other municipalities of the province.




kalesa music sheet




The colorful decorations of the kalesa was also inherited by the post-World War II jeepney (which were known as "auto calesa" from the 1910s to the 1940s). The legacy of the kalesa is also evident in the horse hood ornament of most jeepneys.[2]


The kalesa looks like a two-wheeled inclined cart, and is drawn by a single horse. It is made from wood, metal, or a combination of both. Traditionally it had a single forward-facing bench that can accommodate two passengers. The kalesa driver commonly called as kutsero (Spanish cochero) sits on the driver's seat in front.[6] Both the driver and the passengers are enclosed by a canopy originating from the back of the cab.


American colonial-era kalesas with two side-facing benches (each able to fit two passengers) are known as tartanilla. In modern versions, they can seat eight to ten people. They remain an iconic form of transport in Cebu City.[7]


Large four-wheeled versions of the kalesa were known as karwahe (Spanish carruaje); while drays drawn by carabao (usually used to transport cargo) were known as garetas or kareton (Spanish carretón).[3]


Celebration of Praise is a weekly four-hour program that endeavors to bridge music divides and unite Christians in worship. Hosted by Roy Patterson, Celebration of Praise encourages listeners to remember that heaven will be a place of diverse worshipers from every tribe, nation and kind.


Moody Radio produces a variety of daily and weekly programs showcasing Christian music that is familiar, meaningful and popular with listeners. Our music is an enjoyable blend of inspirational and contemporary favorites from many of today's most popular Christian music songwriters and musicians. Listeners can trust Moody Radio's music to be lyrically sound. We also feature special programs on Saturday and Sunday nights to reach out to a wider audience, showcasing urban gospel on Celebration of Praise, and classic Christian songs with Faith on Record. At Moody Radio, inspirational music is another way we help listeners take the next step in their walk with Christ.


Many of his choral compositions have been performed by the best choirs in the country, such as the world-renowned Philippines Madrigal Singers, UST Singers, and the Novo Concertante Manila, and have won for them numerous awards in international choral competitions. The technical requirement of his choral pieces is almost at the tip of the scale that many who listen to their rendition are awed, especially because he incorporates the many subtleties of rhythmic vitality and intricate interweaving of lines inspired from the songs of our indigenous tribes. He not only borrows these musical lines, albeit he quotes them and transforms them into completely energetic fusions of sound and culture that does nothing less than celebrate our various ethnicities.


Born in Tondo, Celerio received his scholarship at the Academy of Music in Manila that made it possible for him to join the Manila Symphony Orchestra, becoming its youngest member. He made it to the Guinness Book of World Records as the only person able to make music using just a leaf.


A great number of his songs have been written for the local movies, which earned for him the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Film Academy of the Philippines. Levi Celerio, more importantly, has enriched the Philippine music for no less than two generations with a treasury of more than 4,000 songs in an idiom that has proven to appeal to all social classes.


His return to the Philippines marked a new path in his style. After immersing himself in indigenous Philippine and Asian (Javanese music and dance, Chinese nan kuan music), he became more interested in open-ended structures of time and space, function as a compositional concept, environmental works, non-conventional instruments, the dialectics of control and non-control, and the incorporation of natural forces in the execution of sound-creating tasks. All these would lead to the forging of a new alternative musical language founded on a profound understanding and a thriving and sensitive awareness of Asian music aesthetics and culture.


An intense and avid pedagogue, Santos, as Chair of the Department of Compositiion and Theory (and formerly, as Dean) of the College of Music, UP, has remained instrumental in espousing a modern Philippine music rooted in old Asian practices and life concepts. With generation upon generation of students and teachers that have come under his wing, he continues to shape a legacy of modernity anchored on the values of traditional Asian music.


Folk Songs of the Philippines - Traditional Filipino music is reflective of the country's history as a melting pot of different cultures. Kundiman is a genre of traditional Filipino love songs. The lyrics of the kundiman are written in Tagalog. The melody is characterized by a smooth, flowing and gentle rhythm with dramatic intervals. Kundiman was the traditional means of serenade in the Philippines. The kundiman emerged as an art song at the end of the 19th century and by the early 20th century, its musical structure was formalised by Filipino composers such as Francisco Santiago and Nicanor Abelardo; they sought poetry for their lyrics, blending verse and music in equal parts.


Other popular songs by Cuenco are Bato sa Buhangin, Kalesa and Kahit Na Mag-tiis, the lyrics of which was written by former President Joseph Estrada during one of their many nightly informal musical sessions. 2ff7e9595c


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