The contributions of Justice Norberto Romualdez, Sr. to Philippine music

• Main Author: Romualdez, Joaquin Gallego
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2005
• Subjects: Music > Philippines; Composers > Philippines; Music
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_masteral/3340; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=10178&context=etd_masteral
• Institution: De La Salle University

The Filipino people has produced a good number of outstanding musicians: Antonio Molina, Francisco Santiago, Nicanor Abelardo and Lucio San Pedro, to name a few. Many others, however remain unknown for lack of researches about their individual life and their contributions to the Filipino nation despite the many works by these individuals Norberto Romualdez, Sr., is one unknown great Filipino who can possibly be this role model of the Filipinos because he was an exemplary student, a good lawyer, a good father and an excellent musician as will be shown in the chapters that follow this chapter. His early death at 66 years of age, was a major reason why he is generally unknown to most Filipinos today. Justice Norberto Romualdez, Sr., was well known before World War II. He was the first native Filipino who became Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines.This study will attempt to answer the following questions: Why was Justice Romualdez interested in music? When did he start studying music? What important contributions did he make to music? and Why did Justice Romualdez’s musical compositions remain unpublished? What is the context of his musical compositions? These questions will be answered by focusing on the musical scores of Norberto Romualdez, Sr. and by stating in his brief biography when he started studying music and why. This study shall have the following aims: To increase the awareness of the Filipino people about Norberto Romualdez, Sr. as a musician, not just as a judge, lawyer and legislator; To present and to discuss the contributions of Justice Romualdez to Philippine music through his published and unpublished musical compositions and, finally, to increase the collection of musical works of well-known Filipino composers. This study is done in a semi-biographical and narrative form with some details in the trends of the nationalist tradition in music. It is based on library research done in De La Salle University and the National Library and also from the private papers and collections of Norberto Romualdez, Sr., which are in the custody of his only surviving daughter. In the third chapter a brief biography will be written covering the period of 1875 to 1941. From the birth of the subject to his death in 1941 in order to give the reader a bird’s eye view of the subject’s life and to show that despite his informal training in music, Norberto Romualdez, Sr was talented in music. The second chapter will touch on the millieu of the time in which Romualdez lived. The fourth chapter will be a catalogue of his unpublished musical compositions and musically arranged songs. The fifth chapter will be the conclusion of the study. This is how the thesis is structured.