The Search for Harana
Hello Everybody! Welcome to the maiden voyage of the Harana the movie blog. We are embarking on a journey to the motherland - the Philippine Islands.
Our movie is about the search for practitioners of a once popular courtship tradition called the harana. There once was a time in old Philippines whereby men serenaded women under the window at night. This was a custom widely practiced in the rural areas. While the custom itself has died out, the beautiful haunting songs remain.
While anybody who can sing these songs may label themselves haranistas, the movie's search focuses on the old masters who were employed or recruited back in the days in the service of love.
Men who wished to serenade but lacking the musical talent reached out to the best musicians in town. A master harana singer is of course a must - talented enough to woo a woman through his crooning, albeit to woo for someone else. In that respect, a master haranista is sort of variation on the theme of Cyrano de Bergerac.
It is precisely this kind of haranista, perhaps now in their seventies or eighties, that the movie, through the eyes of yours truly, searches for.
Why him?
Because part of my interest as a musician is discovering previously unknown harana songs. I mean if you're Filipino, you are familiar with popular songs such as O Ilaw and Dungawin Mo Hirang. But I know there is a treasure trove of other equally haunting harana songs. I am particularly interested in the "real" harana songs - songs that were written specific to the endeavor. With the proper slow habanera rhythm mostly played on guitar, with lyrics that beautifully portays the ambience such as Natutulog Ka Na Ba, Sinta? (Are you Sleeping, My Love?) and Kay Lungkot Nitong Hatinggabi (How Lonely Midnight Is).
The master haranista holds the key! I wish to discover the vast repertoire that were written for this specific endeavor and not for the radio. Does he exist?
Our search in the remote provinces of the Philippines must yield such a jewel! And it is this very search which we will document in film.
We embark on this exciting musicological search!
