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Jose H.Valdez; Life and works of the cornerstone Philippine Guitar by Ivar-Nicholas I. Fojas M.M. Applied Music PWU School of Music

Introduction:

The Classical Guitar in the Philippines today is an emerging yet vibrant art form. It is offered as a music course in five of the leading Schools and Universities in Manila. International and local artists artist’s are regularly featured in concerts. As a testament to the advancement of Philippine guitar artistry, Filipino’s have been recognized and awarded in prestigious international guitar competitions. Already, we have Filipinos with advanced degrees in Classical Guitar, Two of whom obtained doctorates from universities in the U.S. There is little doubt, the Classical Guitar in the Philippines has gone a long way from its nascent state, due in great part to the tireless effort of one man, Maestro Jose H. Valdez, the Philippine’s recognized champion of the Philippine Classical guitar. He is cited by the CCP Encyclopedia of Music and Arts “as one of the pioneers of classical guitar in the Philippines.” The aim of this research is to explore and document an extraordinary life dedicated to establishing the Spanish guitar as a uniquely Filipino art form. This paper presents a biographical research on the life of Jose Valdez, looking into his contributions as a scholar, pedagogue, performer and author. As a pedagogue, the Maestro has produced the Philippine’s leading guitar teachers who in turn are continuing his legacy in guitar pedagogy. As indicative of the Maestro’s gift as a pedagogue, his students have consistently been awarded prizes in the NAMCYA guitar competitions. As an author, his scholarly output and transcriptions have made it possible to establish a repertoire of distinctly Filipino works for the guitar, thus forging a path for future Filipino guitarists embarking on their own careers. With a concert career spanning thirty years, he was hailed by King Juan Carlos de Bourbon of Spain as a true virtuoso following a command performance at the Malacañang Palace. This research began as an introduction to graduate school course in 2003 at the University of the Philippines College of Music, a musicology course under Dr. Felicidad Prudente. The data collected in this research is a culmination of six years of professional and personal mentoring with the maestro, initially as a student of the maestro and later on as a colleague at the University of the Philippines.

Research Procedure / Methodology

The majority of data collected in this research were obtained by means of a series of interviews with Jose Valdez which were conducted at the Philippine Women’s University on July 7, 2009 and through recorded phone interview conducted on  October 23, 2009. Additional data such as Curriculum Vitae and a comprehensive collection of Jose Valdez’s press clippings were provided by the resource person himself in 2004.

Resource Person The primary resource person of this research is the subject himself Prof. Jose H.Valdez. Due to my professional and personal relationship with the primary subject, I am fortunate to have special access to the person himself as well as his personal collection of press clippings.

Equipment Computer Laptop Voice recorder (Acer Aspire 4920) Cell Phone Voice Recorder (Nokia 6288)

Presentation of  Data

Biography: Early life Born on October the 7th 1953 in Manila, Jose H. Valdez, the future champion of the Philippine guitar suffered from polio at an early age. He recounted at around the age of four, how his father, a Philippine Military Academy and west point graduate would measure his leg daily, this experience dealt a humbling blow to the colonel and military band conductor. With a sense of resignation, his father gave him a small 14 peso guitar that he could occupy himself with while the other more able bodied children would play outside. This guitar turned out be set up in the proper Spanish fashion of having six strings as opposed to the five string guitars popular in Cebu at that time. Young Jose was assigned a nanny that was given a standing order to carry him in and out of bed. Everybody had seemed to give up on the young Jose, except his mother who religiously went to Quiapo church in Manila to pray for young Jose’s healing. In the morning, while left unattended, young Jose would crawl out of bed and try to make it to a furniture, slowly he was able to make it from furniture to furniture then back to bed, without the knowledge of his parents this escapade continued on for a month, and in two months his right leg miraculously grew back to normal size. Jose Valdez recounted waking up one morning seeing an angel sitting on the foot on his bed. Upon his recovery, His father a classical clarinetist and military band leader taught the young Jose the rudiments of music, very soon he would be proficient with the guitar.

Musical Education Due to the difficulty of acquiring written music for the guitar, His first pieces were transcriptions of Kundiman pieces such as Hating Gabi, Sampaguita, and Pakiusap, all favorites of his mother. He studied at the University of Sto. Tomas from elementary to college, earning himself a Bachelor’s degree in Economics. Later he would study Music Theory and Orchestration under Jerry Dadap at the sta. Isabel College of Music. Listed in his Curriculum Vitae, Valdez provides a glimpse of his special studies in guitar through a listing of Master Classes conducted by the following artists; Betho Davezac (May 9, 1972), Ernesto Bitteti (December  8 1975), Ma Luisa Anido (Sept 7, 1977), Angel Gracia Peralta (October 7 1980) and Antonio Pucherrette ( October 24, 1981).

Early performances Ironically Jose Valdez was never encouraged to enter the conservatory of the University he was enrolled in, but it was his activities outside of the university would prove most fruitful. During this time Valdez developed his craft by engaging in concert tours, of which one particular unexpected performance would prove to one of his most memorable and prestigious performance. While in Cebu for a scheduled concert, Valdez received an urgent call from the presidential palace was ordering  Jose Valdez to immediately be flown by helicopter to Malacañang Palace. There awaited Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos who was hosting the visiting Spanish Monarch, King Carlos de Bourbon. Valdez found himself in an Impromptu command performance, performing for the King of Spain and the Philippine president, after the performance Valdez was praised by the King for his “extraordinarily prestigious”  command performance.

Pedagogue Aside from performing, Valdez also dedicated his efforts to giving seminars and clinics, as well as lecturing for other colleges and universities in Manila, this would be a prelude to what would be Joe’s unsurpassed pedagogical career. Later Joe would find himself teaching in the country’s leading conservatories and Music Schools save for his Alma Matter. From 1970-1986 Valdez gave lessons at Guitar Masters, located in, Edsa corner Mercedes St in front of Bela Air Village in Makati City. Mainly a guitar factory, the Guitar Masters International was run under the proprietorship of Michael Romero and was considered at the time, the center of classical guitar activity in the country. Here the likes of Flavio Bilbao, Adolfo Timuat would congregate and make and play classical guitars. Students would come in and have their lessons with Valdez and there were times when particularly gifted students would turn up at the center and accepted by Valdez as a personal scholar, One such student was Bong Rosario. In 1971, St. Paul College in Manila was to be the first of many prestigious schools Valdez would teach in. Then in 1989, he began teaching at the Philippine Women’s university, a position which he continues to fulfill until this day; Such would be the case for the following institutions in which  he would serve. Today Maestro Valdez divides his teaching among the following institutions; St. Scholastica’s College which he entered in 1983, in 1996 he began lecturing at The University of the Philippines College of Music, and in 1997 both  the Philippine Normal University and La Concordia College. Present activities Today Maestro Valdez sits as the head jury member for the NAMCYA guitar competition. He is also spearheaded the First Philippine International Guitar Festival which will brought together local and international names in classical guitar at the Cultural Center of the Philippines on January 28-30, 2010. Among the artists scheduled to perform or give master classes are, Lester Demetillo and Tabs, U.P. Guitar Orchestra, P.W.U. Guitar Ensemble, Kasilag Trio, Butch Roxas, Perf de Castro, Florante Aguilar, Michael Dadap and international artist Steve Lin.

Guitars and Guitar makers: Jose Valdez has contributed to the art of guitar making in the Philippines by building friendships with the leading guitar makers. He has owned guitars made by all the premiere makers and has closely worked with them as a consultant and as a supporter of their craft.

Flavio Bilbao Bilbao hailed from the Southern Philippines and worked for the Guitar Masters International. He would be the first maker  to build a 10 string guitar in the country and also for Jose Valdez. In the early 1970’s Valdez encouraged Bilbao to build a 10 string guitar from Guitars Master’s library of guitar plans, in particular the Ramirez 10 string model. This resulted in the country’s first ten string guitar which gained attention from the press and was debuted by Valdez in his concert.

Javier Domiguez Don Javier is one of the countries earliest pioneers and respected names in guitar making from the 1970’s to the early 1990’s. A former government official of Cebu, Javier was one of the first to experiment with newer methods of bracing guitar soundboards. Valdez recounts his initial meeting with Javier. Javier had heard about Jose Valdez through an article in Panorama Magazine, this spurred on Javier  to build a ten string guitar from what he had seen in the  magazine  without any  plans. Javier then travelled to Manila and sought out Valdez at Guitar Master in Makati. Upon their initial meeting Javier presented the guitar to Valdez asking only for his opinion on the guitar. This prototype proved promising but not suitable for concert use. Valdez gave his honest and objective assessment of the new instrument for which Javier gratefully received, he quietly left leaving the guitar behind was not heard from again until about a year later when he returned with a 2nd instrument. This guitar immediately impressed Valdez and before Valdez could contact Javier for his assessment of the second guitar, Javier had come out with a third ten string which remains Valdez’s main Javier Guitar.

Armando “Tabo” Derecho “Tabo” as he is fondly referred to by friends is classical guitarist and guitar maker who learned his craft from Mario Rodriguez, Tabo studied guitar at the University of the Philippines College of Music. Although he hails from Cebu, Tabo has since been based in Marilkina City in Manila. With the help of his extremely talented apprentice Narding Ompad also a Cebuano who is related by affinity to the luthier Leonardo Apa. Derecho guitars have been gaining respect amongst the guitar community, his guitar’s prices range from PhP 50,000-70,000. Recently Tabo had built a ten string guitar for Valdez, one of the rare multi stringed instruments that Tabo has built. The guitar featured custom specification and design which were a result of an interview conducted by the guitar maker to assess the technical needs of Valdez. In the interview Tabo asked Valdez up to which string did he actually fret, to which Valdez replied “only up to the 7th string.”  “Strings 8-10 I play as open strings.” This prompted Tabo to do away with the fingerboard under the 8th-10th string. For this guitar only strings 1-7 would have a fingerboard underneath them. Eventually this guitar would be bought from Valdez by his American student Mr. Ray Cunningham. As to the quality of the sound, Valdez commented that it had a beautiful sound.

Adolfo Timuat Toyoda Adolfo is a Filipino flamenco guitar player from a Japanese descent. He moved to Spain in the early 80’s where he learned the craft of guitar making from the likes of Archangel Fernandez. During the year 2003, Adolfo set up a small guitar shop in a guitar making community called Abono Pajac in Lapulapu city in Cebu. Here with the help of legendary Filipino guitar maker Demetrio Aying, Adolfo built guitar “numero uno,” an Eight string guitar built as a gift to this author, and guitar “numero dos” which was a ten string built for Valdez. These two guitars were Identical in material, which used German Spruce for the soundboard, local mahogany for the neck and Ipil wood for the back and sides. These two guitars were part of Adolfo’s efforts to fuse locally available solid woods with traditional tone-woods from Europe. Eventually as with the other guitars owned by Valdez, this was purchased by his student with the proceeds returning to the guitar maker.

Lenardo “Tata” Apa also hailing from Cebu, Tata built guitars in his shop in Cogeo Antipolo City. Having recently passed away, Tata will be remembered as one of the best guitar makers in the country. His guitars had a thick strong sound that easily suited the concert stage. His son Eugene was given a special scholarship at the St. Scholastica’s School of Music with the help of Jose Valdez. The ten string built by Tata for Valdez used Indian rosewood for th back and sides and spruce for the soundboard, Valdez rated the sound of this guitar as “one of the best” and coincidentally rated Cebu based guitar maker Bebot Allegre’s guitars amongst the least, due to the fact that Bebot does not attempt to produce concert guitars suited for concert use but opting to build souvenir guitars for Japanese tourists visiting his shop. Although his guitars are somehow endorsed by Valdez, Bebot was the only maker unable to produce a ten string guitar for Valdez for the sole reason of not having the technical knowledge to do so. Ironically Bebot is the most financially successful amongst all the guitar makers in the country. He uses the best materials shipped from around the world and has a fleet of workers making his guitars in an assembly line style.

Raul Manikan Valdez not only had a guitar built by Raul Manikan but also performed in concerts together with Manikan at the CCP. Manikan is an Engineer who pursued the guitar as a maker and as a performer. Their friendship began at Guitar Masters where the best guitar players at the time could be found. Nakade and Asturias Ten String- Valdez was given two Japanese made ten string guitars by Tommy Sasaki, a Japanese businessman and guitar aficionado. The first was the Asturias ten string which was replaced by the superior Nakade ten string. These guitars have found itself in the hands of Valdez’s students including Phil Valdez, Perfecto de Castro and Francis Bax.

Performances and Master-classes: May 29, 1972- (Southern Philippines tour) Sacred Heart Auditorium, Cebu City Entitled as “Guitar Masters in Concert”, this concert tour features Jose Valdez and Flamenco guitarist Andres El Leton in a three part recital sponsored by the Guitar Masters International. Jose Valdez’s program consists of works by;G.F. Handel, Joaquin Rodrigo, Manuel De Falla, Leo Brouwer, Joaquin Turina, Antonio Lauro, Allard and Francisco Tarrega. The second part of the program consists of Valdez performing American pieces, operatic arias, Filipino works and flamenco pieces of Sabicas and Paco de Lucia. El Leton will complete the third part of the program with his Flamenco Puro music in the forms of “cante jondo” and “cante chico” in the rhythmical styles of Alegrias, Sloeares Malaguenas, Tarantas, Rumba, Granadinas and Rosas. (May 17, 1972 Bulletin Today), (Times Journal, May 22, 1972)

Dec 8, 1973 Philamlife Auditorium, Manila At 20 years of age Valdez featured in a solo guitar recital at the Philamlife Auditorium sponsored by Guitar Masters International. Valdez performed on the new “Imelda” model guitar which was inspired by then Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos. The concert featured music from Spain, Mexico as well as Flamenco and original music by Valdez. Guest guitarist Brigido Fernandez provided second guitar accompaniment for the Flamenco music. The program included the Manila String Ensemble conducted by Jerry Dadap. The program includes works by Gaspar Sanz, G.F. Handel, Luigi Boccherini, Heitor Villalobos and Antonio Vivaldi’s “Concerto for lute in D major.” The Filipino part of the program presented song forms such as the kundiman, kumintang, danza, balitaw in the works by Nicanor Abelardo, Francisco Santiago, Manuel Velez, Constancio de Guzman and Jerry Dadap’s arrangements of Filipino folk songs. December 14, 1973 Philamlife auditorium, Manila Head lined as “Jose Valdez classic and flamenco guitarist in a solo concert” and sponsored by the Guitar Masters International. This concert also included the Manila Chamber Orchestra conducted by Jerry Dadap. (Bulletin Today Dec 8, 1973)

April 10 - 22, 1977 Sta. Isabel College of Music, Manila Valdez conducted a seminar on guitar playing headed by composer and conductor Jerry Dadap from April 10-22, 1977 at the Sta. Isabel College of Music.(Manila Bulletin April, 1977)

November 26, 1978 University of San Carlos, Cebu City This concert featured the country’s first ten string guitar constructed by Flavio Bilbao of Guitar Masters International. Also to accompany Valdez in his Concerti is the Cebu Executive Strings Ensemble. This concert was presented by the Cebu Classical Guitar Society. The article written by Jamie Picornell of the Morning Times provides a concise biography and information on the accomplishments of Jose Valdez and most notably the mention of Valdez as soloist of prominent orchestras and performances of concertos such as Rodrigo’s “Concierto de Aranjuez”, Giulliani’s Grand “Grand Concerto in A major”, Bocherini’s “Fandango” and Vivaldi’s “Concerti in A major” and D major.” (The Freeman November 26, 1978) (Morning Times November 21, 1978) (Bulletin Today, Esther Timbol ed.)

Program Suite Espanola-Gaspar Sanz Chaconne in A major – S.L.Weiss Estudio Charactersitico – Emilio Pujol Estudio no. II – Heitor Villalobos Fandango – Joaquin Rodrigo Capricho Arabe – Francisco Tarrega Oriental – Enrique Granados Sevillana – Isaac Albeniz Theme from Piano Sonata in C Minor Op. 13 (2nd Movement)– L.V. Beethoven Theme from Piano Sonata in C Minor Op. 27 (1st Movement)– L.V. Beethoven Choral Cantata no. 47- J.S. Bach arr. Valdez (w/ Cebu executive string ensemble) Concerto in D major for lute – Antonio Vivaldi

Dec 19, 1979 Philamlife Auditorium, Manila December 19th concert at the Philamlife Auditorium accompanied by the MMSO string Quartet. Performing on his ten string guitar his repertoire includes Renaissance, Baroque, Spanish and Filipino Classics. Joining him onstage are Willy Arca, Adolfo Timuat and Philip Oliva. (Bulletin Today Dec 18, 1979)

December 14, 1973 Philamlife Auditorium, Manila For this concert Valdez performed a varied program of Spanish, Mexican, Flamenco and Filipino music. (Philippine Daily express) Programme Concerto in D- Antonio Vivaldi Sarabande con Variacones – G.F. Handel Pavane – Gaspar Sanz Minuetto –Fernando Sor Aragonesa – Francisco Tarrega Fandango – Luigi Boccherini Sevilla – Isaac Albeniz Variacones- Sabicas Flamencas-Sabicas Costa Brava -Sabicas Puente de Triana – Jose Valdez Sacromonte – Jose Valdez Embrujos del Agua – Jose Valdez Mutya ng Pasig – Nicanor Abelardo Ako’y Anak kng Dalita – Francisco Santiago Ako’y Kampupot – Manuel Velez Maala-ala Mo Kaya – Constancio D Guzman Pieces No.2 and No. 4- Jerry Dadap

April 23 to May 1986 Sta. Teresita Church in Kanlaon St. in Quezon City Valdez conducted a Guitar Workshop at the Sta. Teresita Church in Kanlaon St. in Quezon City from April 26 to May 1986 in support of the charitable projects undertaken by Sta. Teresita Church. Workshop topics include rudiments, interpretation, harmony and guitar technique. (Business Day April 23,1986)

April 4 - May 23, 1984 Tom Lee Music, Cameron Lane Kowloon, Hong Kong Tom Lee Music Foundation LTD. Hong Kong May 4, 1984 offers guitar master classes by Jose Valdez along with composer and pianist David. The course consisted of eight two hour sessions and commenced on April 4, 1984.

June 9, 1993 Bayanihan Paseo Performance Garden, Taft, Manila Entitled “A Night of Classical Guitar”, Eight guitarists performed at the Bayanihan Paseo Performance Garden along Taft Avenue. Produced by National Artist Lucresia Kasilag and features Prof. Jose Valdez, Prof. Tomi Sasaki, Benchito Cariño, Edgardo de Dios, Phil Valdez, Leo Leoncito, Benedict Ofalia and Jed Roque. (Manila Bulletin June 7 and 18 issues)

July 15, 1994 Paco Park, Malate Manila The television program “Parco Park Presents” features Jose Valdez and his prize winning students in concert highlighting the PWU guitar ensemble. The ensemble’s members are Jed Roque, Benchito Cariño, Edgardo de Dios, Phil Valdez and Benedicto Ofalia. (Malaya July 15, 1994)

Programme Sanctify us by Thy goodness – J.S. Bach Sheep may safely graze –J.S. Bach Nahan – Ernani Cuenco Matad Buklad sa Bulak – Cabase Alegrias-Flamenco Cavatina – Stanley Myers Eine Kleine Nacht Musik – W.A. Mozart Capricho Español –Rimsky Korsakov Manuel de Falla’s Alborada Andante con mot Scene and Gypsy song Fandango de Asturiano Ritual Fire Dance Philippine Medley – Jose Valdez

October 24, 1997 Paco Park, Malate Manila Jose Valdez serves as musical director for the St. Scholastica’s Guitar Students concert in Paco Park Presents television program. The performers include Victor Jan Abella, Martin Cornelius Veneracion, Jao Miguel Manikan and Joseph Guiles Guzman.

October 25, 1994 Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino, Cultural Center of the Philippines “Father and sons quartet guitar” features Jose Valdez and Raul Manikan along with their sons Joao Manikan and Jose Lavern Valdez in a guitar quartet concert at the CCP. (Manila Bulletin October 20, 1994)

Programme Concerto in D Major- Antonio Vivaldi Prelude and Fuge – J.S. Bach Eine Kleine Nacht Musik – W.A. Mozart Nahan – Ernani Cuenco Maal-ala Mo kaya – Cocnstancio de Guzman Three Songs – Lennon and Mcartney

Publications: Philippine Guitar Review The Philippine Guitar Transcriptions for Classical Guitar Simplified Arrangements of Familiar Tunes for Classical Guitar Volumes 1-2 Arrangements of Familiar Tunes for Classical Guitar Volumes 1-2 Inspirational Music Vol. 1-2 Piano Master Pieces for Classical Guitar Volumes 1-3 Most loved Christmas Carols for Classical Guitar Selected Philippine Music for the Classical Guitar Favorite Spanish-Latin American Music for Classical Guitar One Heart for God’s Glory Volume 1-2 Original Pilipino Music Vol 1- ) OPM Top Hits

Philippine Guitar Review This is the first and only journal dedicated to the classical guitar. This was published in July 1986 and had only one issue. Valdez spoke about the interview with Jose Silos Jr. a pioneer Filipino guitar recording artist who was famous for his numerous recordings with Villar Records. Juan Silos recounted his first encounter with the tremolo technique, it was while watching a movie in the cinema that he was introduced to the new technique. A particular scene of a guitar player playing the Recuerdos Dela Alhambra by Francisco Tarrega fascinated the young Silos, In an attempt to figure out the secret behind this new and fascinating technique, Silos spent the whole afternoon in the cinema waiting for the repeat of this particular scene. Initially Silos wondered why the right hand a-m-i fingers were used for the tremolo technique, then he realized that this was the most natural motion for the fingers when scratching which was similar to the tremolo movement.(Valdez 1986)

Compositions Philippine Medley (unpublished) A virtuosic arrangement of Filipino folksongs scored in four parts. In 1999 the PWU guitar ensemble needed Filipino music to perform at the CCP Guitars Galore Concert featuring the three Major Schools of Guitar in the country. Featuring the PWU guitar ensemble, the UP guitar Orchestra and the UST guitar ensemble, This tour de force work is a result of that particular concert which also premiered Chino Toledo’s composition for guitar orchestra entitled “Huntahang Guitara.”

“Sarung Bangi” Fantasy Variations composed and dedicated to Ace Agcaoili for the latter’s Doctoral Dissertation, this is a fantasy variation based on the Bicolano folksong Sarung Bangi. This composition attempts to portrays and tell the story of  the Philippine struggle for independence from its foreign oppressors. For the opening theme, Valdez explains that the peaceful tranquil mood depicts the Filipino as an artist, the text of the folksong “ako ay natutong gumawa ng awit” characterizes the opening main theme. This according to Valdez portrays the Filipino as a poet or as a composer or as an artist in a peaceful state. The faster “Con Fuoco” section depicts the wars that the Filipinos fought in keeping outside invaders at bay which is followed by a slow gloomy theme which epitomizes the suffering endured by the Filipinos in the aftermath of war and colonization. The next section is the kundiman section which Valdez stresses is a song of tragedy more than of love, the kundiman should be played with this tragic sense in mind, to do so without thus would be according to Valdez “Blasphemy.” The final Festive part called the “Fiesta” represents the Filipino accepting himself as a result of his tragic history.

Himig Bilang 4 According to Valdez, the Himig is merely a simple tunes or Air. Composed during the 1980’s, this tune reflects the popular music of its time and is written in the Ternary A-A-B-A form. (2002 Agcaoili)

Kundiman in D This Kundiman was first published in Valdez’s “Philippine Guitar” book and was written at the request oh his student Edgardo “Dong’ de Dios (2002Agcoili).This composition written in the tragic kundiman style opens in the key of D major. Written in A-A-B Binary form, the main theme (A) features a hauntingly sad melody in D minor which is contrasted by the second section (B) in the parallel major. Unpublished newer works- The following pieces are mentioned by Vladez in our interview but has so far not been published or performed. Unpublished compositions in progress Panaginpan (unpublished) Damayan (unpublished) Unamed Kundiman(unpublished)

Discography of Recordings by Jose Valdez and of his works.

Classical Guitar. Valdez, Jose Study Guide. Philippine Women’s University. Cassette tape. A collection of “ kundiman” classics arranged masterfully by  the performer for solo guitar, this was intended as a study guide and was commissioned by the PWU school of music.

Kasilag Guitar Quartet. Cariño, Benchito. Perfecto De Castro, Edgardo de Dios, and Phil Valdez,.Manila: 2002. Compact disc. This recording represents the first attempt of Philippine guitarists that caters to an international market, the beautiful selection is a balance of baroque classics, original Filipino contemporary music and even contemporary chorale music, thus giving it a global palette. Included in this album is the only recorded version of the The Philippine Medley, a tour de force arrangement of Filipino folksongs namely Bahay Kubo, Ili-ili, Ti Ayat, Manag Biday,Itik-itik, Ati Cu Pung SIngsing, May Isang Bulaklak, Leron-Leron Sinta,Sitsiritsit, Tinikling and Jota Manileña. La Guitar Filipina Guitar Music of the Philippines. Agcaoili, Angelito (guitar). Ph.D diss. Arizona State University,2002. Compact disc. A landmark in Philippine guitar music, the performer records a selection of previously unpublished and un recorded original contemporary Filipino guitar music as part of his doctorate dissertation at the Arizona State Variations on Sarung Bangi which is dedicated to Dr. Agcaoili. This is the first extended piece written and recorded for solo guitar by a Filipino save for Chino Toledo’s Cuadernos for Guitar recorded by Kazuhito Yamashita. Himig bilang 4 by Jose Valdez Kundiman in D by Jose Valdez Fanatasy Variations on Sarong Bangi by Jose Valdez.

The Art of Harana – Serenades for guitar. Aguilar, Florante (guitar). New Arts Media, 2008. Compact disc. One of the finer Filipino guitar albums available, this is the debut recording of U.S. based Filipino guitarist Florante Aguilar, an alumnus of the U.P. College of Music. Aguilar performs two compositions and five transcriptions by Jose Valdez. Himig (Melody) by Jose Valdez Kundiman in D by Jose Valdez Nahan (Where) by Ernani Cuenco, Arr. by Jose Valdez Usahay (Sometimes) by Juanito Gonzales, Arr. by Jose Valdez Babalik Ka Rin (Return to Me) by Constancio de Guzman, Arr. by Jose Valdez Minamahal Kita (Loving You) by Miguel Velarde, Jr., Arr. Jose. Valdez Himutok (Whimper) by Nicanor Abelardo, Arr. Jose. Valdez

Bibliography:

Dissertation Agcaoili, Angelito Sy. “The Guitar in the Philippines: A Recording of SelectedMusic for the Guitar by Contemporary Filipino Composers.” DMA diss., Arizona State University. 2002.

Journal Article Valdez, Jose.”Juan Silos,Jr.” Philippine Guitar Review 1 (July 1986): 7-8,15.

Encyclopedia _____________, ed.Philippine Music. Vol.6, The Cultural Center of thr Philippines’ Encyclopedia of Philippine Art S.v.“Guitar,” by E.M.M. Martinez and R. Mojares.

Musical Scores

Soriano, Manuel and Jose Valdez. The Philippine Guitar: A book of Traditional Songs for Solo Guitar. Quezon City: Faithful Servant Marketing, 1998.

Soriano, Manuel and Jose Valdez. The Philippine Guitar: A book of Traditional Songs for Solo Guitar. Quezon City: Faithful Servant Marketing, 1998.

Valdez, Jose. Favorite Spanish-Latin American Music for Classical Guitar. Quezon City: Faithful Servant Marketing, 2008.

Valdez, Jose. Most loved inspirational songs for classical guitar. Quezon City: Faithful Servant Marketing, 2003.

Valdez, Jose. Selected Philippine Music for the Classical Guitar. Quezon City: Faithful Servant Marketing, 2007.

Valdez, Jose. Vol 1-2. Inspirational Music for Solo Guitar. Quezon City: Faithful Servant Marketing, 2003.

Valdez, Jose. Vol 1-3. Piano masterpieces for classical guitar. Quezon City: Faithful Servant Marketing, 2003.

Valdez, Jose. Vol.1. Original Pilipino Music: OPM Top Hits. Quezon City: Faithful Servant Marketing, 2009.

Valdez, Jose. Vol.1-2. Simplified arrangements of familiar tunes for the classical guitar: with tablature notations. Quezon City: Faithful Servant Marketing, 2001.

Valdez, Jose. Vol.1-2. Most loved Christmas Carols for classical guitar. Quezon City: Faithful Servant Marketing, 2004.

Sound Recordings

Classical Guitar. Valdez, Jose Study Guide. Philippine Women’s University. Cassette tape.

Kasilag Guitar Quartet. Cariño, Benchito. Perfecto De Castro, Edgardo de Dios, and Phil Valdez,.Manila: 2002. Compact disc. La Guitar Filipina Guitar Music of the Philippines. Agcaoili, Angelito (guitar). Ph.D diss. Arizona State University,2002. Compact disc.

The Art of Harana – Serenades for guitar. Aguilar, Florante (guitar). New Arts Media, 2008. Compact disc.

Interviews Valdez, Jose. Interview by author, July 7 2009, Manila. Digital Audio File. Valdez, Jose. Phone interview by author, October 23, 2009 Manila/Laguna Digital Audio File.