Seares: How must one sing the anthem?
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
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THERE'S little room for doubt about how the state wants the national anthem sung or played: according to composer Julian Felipe's musical arrangement and composition. The Anthem is a march, not pop or rock, reminds the National Historical Institute (NHI).
Mangle the song in a bathroom or karaoke bar, but not when you sing the anthem before a public gathering, surely not at a boxing championship fight seen on international television.
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Most Filipino singers, however, apparently can't be restrained by law: Sarah Geronimo, Charice Pempengco, Christian Bautista, Martin Nievera, to name a few violators.
On March 14, in Manny Pacquiao's title defense against Joshua Clottey, Journey vocalist Arnel Pineda was caught in the same swirl of controversy.
Variations
The singers made variations that incensed purists. Nievera sang the first few lines slowly like a ballad, then hit high notes towards the end. Pineda changed tempo and also raised pitch in the last line.
Despite uproar over the offense and demand for apology after each violation, the offending singer eventually got away with it.
There are also some people who find the restrictions stifling on "artistic freedom" and don't see changes in style as bad form, much more a crime. It's not the notes that matter but the feeling behind the song, says Eleazardo Kasilag, president of a group of private school administrators.
There may be a need to revisit the law to give artists some space for creativity but not a license to corrupt the song. It must sound celebratory and still solemn, martial yet uplifting.
