My All Time Favorite Tunes

Music, William Shakespeare said, is the language of the soul. Or, in his own words,

The man that hath no music in himself,
Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds,
Is fit for treasons, stratagems and spoils;
The motions of his spirit are dull as night
And his affections dark as Erebus:
Let no such man be trusted. Mark the music.

So here it is: it's not exactly due to Shakespeare, but music is such an important part of my life. Firstly, because growing up as a boy, I was always told by my parents that I could not carry a tune. It was not until I was in high school and indulged in that ultimate teenage passion, we called the Harana, that I was somewhat convinced that I could sing, if my well being depended on it.

But my ego identity as a singing person did not flourish until I was in Japan and became either the only or one of at most three Filipino students in any gathering of foreign students. It was under such constraints that I develop the hubris to belt a tune, no matter what. Or at any rate, I was called upon to come up with something as a matter of pride.

So it came to pass that the first in the selection below, is the one piece that I had performed the most in public, including singing it in front of a crowd of 35,000 at a Kyoto University Foundation Day, impromptu, on the behest of the president of the university. It has become one of my favorites since.

The reason really that I came up with the list was this: I was looking in vain for a Tagalog version of Consuelo Velasquez' "Besame Mucho." It's a very beautiful song and I can sing it in English, Spanish, Japanese, and Bisaya. Just because I could not find the Tagalog version in the Internet does not mean it does not exist. I knew the words by heart in Bisaya even long before I heard of the tune as "Besame Mucho." For the curious, here it is:

Besame Mucho in Bisaya

Ngano ba, nga guibiya-an?

Kining nahigugmang tinu-od ug wa'ay paglubad.

Ngano ba, nga guitalikdan?

Balik kanako kay panga-on ko ikaw.

Guila-oman nga ikaw ray tag-iya ning gugmang wa'ay paglubad.

Apan sa hilom guitalikdan mo bisan walay kasal-anan.

Ngano ba, nga guibiya-an?

Kining nahigugmang tinu-od ug wa'ay paglubad.

Ngano ba, nga guitalikdan?

Balik kanako kay panga-on ko ikaw.

So I call on all the music-loving Tagalog-speaking universe out there: if you have the lyrics in Tagalog, be nice and try to share it with me the best way you can. God bless and enjoy if you can the selections below.

Begin the Beguine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FSL0I0eOHE&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzRbE211qAY&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_PGk6okq1A&feature=related

You're the Song Angels Sing (Brahms Symphony # 3 in F Major Opus 90)

http://www.uulyrics.com/music/mario-lanza/song-song-angels-sing/

With a Song in my Heart

http://www.uulyrics.com/music/mario-lanza/song-with-a-song-in-my-heart/video-mario-lanza-with-a-song-in-my-heart-sept-161951-coca-cola-show/

Besame Mucho

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jmdX9CoA_Y&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ccln1sPVHAk&feature=related