Anything under the sun
Let's sing our National Anthem (2)
Third, how about the dynamics – meaning soft and loud. What parts should be sung softly and which, loudly? Let's tackle this phrase by phrase.
Part 1 – The first line of the first stanza “Bayang magiliw” should be sung loudly (forte). This was followed by “Perlas ng Silanganan” which is sung softly (piano).
The third line “Alab ng puso” is again loud followed by “sa dibdib mo'y buhay” which is soft.
The second stanza follows the dynamic pattern of the first stanza, thus: “Lupang hinirang” is loud followed by the soft “Duyan ka ng magiting.” The third line “Sa manlulupig” is again loud followed by the soft “di ka pasisi-il.”
Part 2 – This has a different dynamic pattern. The first phrase “sa dagat at bundok, sa simoy at sa” is soft and with staccato (short duration notes) style. The phrase “sa langit mong bughaw” is a crescendo (becoming louder and louder up to “bughaw”) and no longer staccato.
The next phrase “May dilag ang tula at awit sa” is again soft and in staccato style. The following phrase “paglayang minamahal” is again a crescendo up to “minamahal.”
The next phrase follows the same pattern, thus: “Ang kislap ng watawat mo'y tagumpay” is again staccato followed by the crescendo phrase “na nagniningning.”
The last line of part 2 “Ang bituin at araw niya'y kailan pa ma'y” is likewise staccato followed by the crescendo phrase “di magdidilim.”
Part 3 – The entire part is loud. But the phrase “ang mamatay” is the loudest of them all – in fact, of the entire song. This writer hopes that with this simple guide, we will be singing our National Anthem satisfactorily.
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