Kundiman

The formalized art song structure of the kundiman is characterized by moderate 3/4 time, with the piece beginning in a minor key and ending in the parallel major.

Avella described the kundiman in his 1874 work Manual de la Conversación Familiar Español-Tagalog as the "canción indígena" (native song) of the Tagalogs and characterized its melody as "something pathetic but not without some pleasant feeling.

The melancholic lyrics in the Tagalog original as recorded in Retana's book El Indio Batangueño reads:[3] In 1916, Dr. Juan V. Pagaspas, a doctor of philosophy from Indiana University and a much beloved educator in Tanauan, Batangas described the kundiman as "a pure Tagalog song which is usually very sentimental, so sentimental that if one should listen to it carefully watching the tenor of words and the way the voice is conducted to express the real meaning of the verses, he cannot but be conquered by a feeling of pity even so far as to shed tears.

In 1905, Isabelo de los Reyes wrote the kundiman and other written pieces including "Ang Singsing ng Dalagang Marmol" dedicated to Josefa 'Pepita' Tiongson y Lara from Baliwag, Bulacan, whom he courted.

The Filipino composer, conductor and scholar Felipe M. de León Jr., wrote that the kundiman is a "unique musical form expressing intense longing, caring, devotion and oneness with a beloved.