“Ang Basura” is a 1998 chamber music piece composed by Lucrecia Kasilag. Composed in two parts, the first, Maraming Basura with lyrics by Roy Alvarez was written 1998 October 8. The second, Ang Basura, Bow!, with lyrics by Odette Alcantara was written 1998 October 9. Composed for Mother Earth, these were premiered at the “Jose Rizal Balikbayan” concert at the Quirino Grandstand 2000 December 30.1
Originally composed for voice and piano2, the only recorded version actually has a different instrumentation: voice, guitar, kulintang, and dabakan. This adaptation for Saw Peep Pan-Asian Ensemble is scored for flute, violin, percussion, gongs, and keyboard.
First rehearsed on Sunday, 2026 May 24 during Saw Peep’s regular weekly rehearsal at the Louisville Title Building, 223 South 5th Street, Louisville, Kentucky. Musicians in the first read-through:
- Penelope Quesada – flute
- Denise Collins-Martinez – oud
- Angela Thomas – bass
- Helen Holifield – percussion
- Roxell Karr – keyboard
Upcoming Première: June 13, 2026 | Philippine Independence Day Festival at Fourth Street Live in Louisville, Kentucky. Musicians:
- Penelope Quesada – flute
- Rachel Hofmeister – violin
- Helen Holifield – percussion
- Roxell Karr – keyboard
- Jon Silpayamanant – gongs, adaptation/arrangement
NOTES
- See Ateneo Blue Sound (2018). ↩︎
- Im Walde lists the instrumentation as voice and piano in their YouTube score video. The score clearly looks like a grande staff, yet the treble line is actually also the vocal line (though not in vocal notation) so likely doubling of the piano right hand and voice is intended. Ateneo Blue Sound lists the instrumentation is voice, guitar, kulintang, and dabakan presumably from what’s heard on the recording and presumably what instruments the ensemble (PWU Kulintang Ensemble) uses. ↩︎
REFERENCES
Ateneo Blue Sound. (2018, December 22). Ang Basura Sa Isip, Bow! [Online]. https://ateneobluesound.wixsite.com/blue-sound/single-post/2018/12/22/ang-basura-sa-isip-bow
Im Walde. (2021, September 1). Lucrecia Kasilag – Ang Basura (1998) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9ono1Wusug.