(Remnants of Eternity)
for Flute, Violin, Bb Clarinet, Pianoforte, Violoncello, and Gandingan
The piece attempts to embody as well as
alter Jose Maceda's concept of infinity.
While the elements of repetition and drone
which contributes to the massive sonic activity in
Maceda's music remains faithful to the principles of Asian indigenous music, this piece takes off from the vantage
point of such principles as it remains under the domination of Western thought. The Gandingan gongs, a
Philippine instrument pitted against five
western instruments, plays "phrases" that have the tendency to
sustain a continuous drone, but are unceasingly interrupted by the insistent accents of the rest of the instruments.
The western instruments, in its attempt to imitate the patterns of that of the Gandingan, advances instead as
disturbances of the Gandingan's untempered frequencies. Although this piece has vague metaphorical
implications, it remains true that the Asian, particularly Filipino village culture's music continue
to struggle in a society where western ideologies persist despite the profitable concepts of
equilibrium
glaring in the lifestyle of a forgotten culture.