Francisco Beltran Buencamino

By: Denise Kathryn T. Mendoza

Francisco Beltran Buencamino

Who is Francisco Beltran Buencamino?

• Born on November 5, 1883 in San Miguel de Mayumo,

Bulacan. Died on the 16th of October, 1952.

• Buencamino, Sr. is a son of a musically inclined couple,

Fortunato Buencamino, a church organist and a band

master and Luisa Beltran, a singer.

• A Filipino composer who performed as concert pianist

during the American colonial period.

About Him

• At age 12, he could play the organ.

• At 14, he was sent to study at the Liceo de Manila. There,

he took up courses in composition and harmony under

Marcelo Adonay. He also took up pianoforte courses under

a Spanish music teacher. He did not finish his education as

he became interested in the sarswela. 

• In the early 1900s, Francisco Buencamino taught music at the

Ateneo de Manila and at the Centro Escolar de Senoritas.

• In the 1940s, he started working as a musical

director.

• He also composed music for films produced by Sampaguita

Pictures, LVN and Excelsior.

• He also collaborated on the plays written and produced by

Aurelio Tolentino.

• Some of the sarswelas he wrote are: "Marcela" (1904),

"Si Tio Celo" (1904) and "Yayang " (1905).

• In 1908, the popularity of the sarswela started to wane

because of American repression and the entry of silent

movies. Francisco Buencamino then turned to composing 

kundimans. 

• One of his earliest compositions is "En el bello Oriente“

(1909), which uses Jose Rizal's lyrics.

• "Ang Una Kong Pag-ibig", a popular kundiman, was inspired

by his wife. 

• He also created the Buencamino Music Academy in 1930.

• In 1938, he composed an epic poem which won a prize

from the Far Eastern University during one of the annual

carnivals. 

• His "Mayon Concerto" is considered his magnum opus.

Begun in 1943 and finished in 1948, "Mayon Concerto“

had its full rendition in February 1950 at the graduation

recital of Rosario Buencamino at the Holy Ghost College.

• "Ang Larawan" (1943), also one of his most acclaimed works,

 is a composition based on a Balitaw tune. The orchestral

piece, "Pizzicato Caprice" (1948) is a version of this

composition.

• As a musical director, he was involved in a number of movies

such as "Mabangong Bulaklak", "Ang Ibong Adarna",

"Mutya ng Pasig”, and "Alitaptap".

Ang Larawan

The End