Klaus Doring

Friday, January 11, 2008

Philippine-German Relations (XIII)

One thing Germans and Filipinos have very much in common: they love music and dance. Regarding music I was many times amazed being on air with my radio show “Classics at Night” for more then three years. The feedback of Filipino listeners between 12 (!) and 79 (!) was absolutely incredible. Also the knowledge about the Classical Masters such as Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Chopin and many others made me speechless. Hosting that show has been always a great pleasure for me.

“The love of music is something that Germans and Filipinos hold in high esteem. There is no language barrier between us because music is a medium that needs no translation,” stressed already before the Philippine Ambassador to the Federal Republic ofGermany, Hon. Mauro Calingo in Helen F. Samson’s “The Bamboo Organ of Las Pinas” (Las Pinas, 1977) pp. 100-101. This is, by the way, the best book so far, which deals with the origin, nature and development of the famous Bamboo Organ of Las Pinas.

The love of music was shown in the repair of this world-famed organ, which is still a major tourist attraction. It was constructed by Father Diego Cera de la Virgin del Carmen, a Recollect Missionary and parish priest of Las Pinas. It took nine years to build and complete the construction (1816-1824). Originally, it had 54 notes and 23 stops. It was composed of 832 bamboo tubes and 121 metal tubes.

(To be continued!)

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