IN the 1960s, the rising singer Berlin Meneses recorded a very stylized and unconventional version of “Silent Night” that caught popular fancy. Meneses’s interpretation was so popular that one could hear it sung any week and any month of the year.
You can monkey with a well-loved Christmas carol but you don’t mess with the National Anthem. Many well-known singers have tried interpreting “Lupang Hinirang” their way and all they got was a nonmusical boo.
The talented Geneva Cruz sang the anthem the way she thought it should delivered at the opener of the Pacquiao-Solis fight but many of her countrymen did not approve. The day after, unhappy citizens called up their radio and TV talk shows to complain that Ms. Cruz had mangled the anthem.
Some said she sang “Lupang Hinirang” as if it were a love song, while others described her version as approaching a funeral dirge. Some said she sounded so melancholic they were afraid she would upset Pacquiao and sour his fight.
The spokesman of the National Historical Institute, the official arbiter in such matters, said Ms. Geneva should have sung the anthem in its original arrangement—a brisk march. This calls for vigorous singing, a full-throated song that begins and closes in one minute.
The representative of the Philippine Sports Commission agreed with the NHI. He added that if everyone asked to lead the anthem would deliver it in a very stylish, unconventional way, the public would have a hard time participating in the song.
He’s right. What if the next lead singer interprets “Lupang Hinirang” in the manner that Meneses jazzed up “Silent Night”? Everyone would have a hard time following the beat or the pitch. We would get lost in the next line or catching the correct pause. Everyone would sing the song his way. We would have a rap and a march version at the same time.
Let the Americans fool around with “The Star-Spangled Banner.” After the patriotism of 9/ll, the regular Joes and the famous singers asked to lead the US anthem have begun to disrespect their national song. They chew gum, rock their body or ogle the crowd while singing. We remember (this was before Sept. 11) a famous comedienne who did a screeching number, after which she grabbed her crotch, in imitation of a professional ball player.
How to sing the anthem? Sing it with gusto. Sing it loud. Do not mumble the words. Do not mouth the lyrics. If you gasp for air at the end, that means you have sung it the correct way. The song, as written, is like a series of volleys, a dash across the field, a bout of vigorous lovemaking. Next time, notice how the senatorial candidates sing the anthem. If they do badly, you can scratch them off your list.
