Zeitgeist through the Eyes of Felipe P. De Leon (1912-1992): Musical Nationalism and the Cultural Environment of the 1930s

Abstract

Zeitgeist in this article is a reconstruction of an era built from historical accounts that lead toward and around Felipe P. De Leon—reconstructing and interpreting his ideas regarding that which could be extrapolated through his musical works, writings, and campaign for cultural literacy. De Leon echoes “the general intellectual, moral, and cultural climate of an era” of the 1930s. A significant side of De Leon is his sense of history seen through his chronicles of musical events and his various views and perceptions of the Filipino audience’s reception. His writings, his musical expressions, and his interactions with fellow artists coagulate with a certain degree of interdisciplinarity to reflect the spirit of the era. Reconstructing the zeitgeist considers the tensions that exist between music histories (the practice of music such as performances) vis-à-vis music theories (the concept or constructs of tone engineering in terms of context). As articulated by Weber in “Beyond Zeitgeist: Recent Work in Music History” (1994) and seen through the eyes of De Leon, nationalists are concerned then at creating an inclusive culture, weaving a web of meaning that Renato B. Lucas University of Santo Tomas