Kasilag, Lucrecia (1918-2008), was a Filipina composer known as the “Grand Lady of Philippine Music.” Her work combines the power and mystique of traditional Filipino music with the techniques of modern Western music. Many of her compositions reflect her interest in electronic music and percussion. Her works often combine Western and Asian instruments.
Kasilag believed that a unified national identity requires that art is accessible to everyone. Her earliest works from the late 1940’s to the early 1950’s were solo songs. She later composed song cycles and chamber music. Her most famous works include the Toccata for Percussion and Wind (1959), which won the Republic Cultural Heritage Award in 1960, and the choral work Filisiana (1965). She composed Five Portraits (1973) for two amplified pianos, gongs, mouth harp, and radio. Her piece Centennial Tribute to Filipino Womanhood (1998) uses traditional Philippine instruments.
Kasilag served as the president and artistic director of the Cultural Centre of the Philippines from 1969 to 1986. As president, she ensured there were regular performing arts presentations featuring Filipino and foreign artists. She promoted Manila as a center for artists touring in Asia. She was also the music director of the Bayanihan Philippine Dance Company and dean of performing arts, music and fine arts at the Philippine Women’s University. Kasilag was involved in the League of Filipino Composers and the Filipino Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers. She also supported the discovery and training of young musicians, such as those produced by the National Music Competition for Young Artists and the Young Artists Foundation of the Philippines.
Lucrecia Roces Kasilag was born in San Fernando, La Union, on Aug. 31, 1918. Her mother was a violin and singing teacher who taught her children to play various instruments. Kasilag was educated at the Philippine Women’s University, receiving a B.A. degree in 1936 and a B.Mus. degree in 1949. She also earned a music teacher’s diploma in piano in 1939 at St. Scholastica’s College. In 1989, she was named the National Artist in Music. Kasilag died on Aug. 16, 2008.
