Composer's Note

These Five Philippine Folk Songs for solo piano are little renderings of songs I grew up hearing in my native country. They are somewhat tongue-in-cheek and meant to be taken lightly. The first three songs are rather straightforward (though the second one begins to hint at surprises to come); by the fourth, a familiar motif gives way to a quotation from Mahler's first symphony. And finally, the fifth song keeps wanting to break out into the Waldstein sonata.

Duration

5 minutes

First Performance

16 March 2016, The Juilliard School, New York, NY
Joshua Cerdenia, piano