S7E1: Foreign Piano Devils

It’s the late 1800s, and all across the Pacific seaboard, in places like Singapore and Yokohama, Medan and Selangor, the music of town bands drifts across the esplanades. Many of these groups proudly hail from one port of call: Manila. This is their story.Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdeptFollow us on TikTok: @thecolonialdeptEmail us: [email protected] of “Wiener Schwalben Marsch” is from the Discography of American Historical Recordings.References: Affan, Muhammad (2023). “From Riverside Hub to Urban Center: Understanding The Metamorphosis of The Sultanate of Deli's Capital Landscape.” Al-Tsaqafa: Jurnal Ilmiah Peradaban Islam, 20(2), pp. 194-203.“The history of Medan” (26 December 2020). Stories from Deli—Chinese coolies life in Deli. https://storiesfromdeli.com/2020/12/26/the-history-of-medan/Columbia matrix 87055. Wiener Schwalben Marsch / Kapelle Militär. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved May 15, 2025, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/2000112570/87055-Wiener_Schwalben_Marsch.Birgit Krohn Albums, Vol. 2 (n.d.) “Porpourri Populaire, George Renaud (1835-1913).” Furman University Scholar Exchange. https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/krohn-album2/8/Yamomo, Mele (2015). “Brokering Sonic Modernities: migrant Manila musicians in the Asia Pacific, 1881-1948.” Popular Entertainment Studies, 6(2), pp. 22-37.Castro, Christi-anne (2018). “Colonized by Rote: Music Education at the Outset of the US Colonial Era in the Philippines.” In Tan, Arwin Q. (ed.), Saysay Himig: A Sourcebook on Philippine Music History, University of the Philippines Press, pp. 39-44.Chua, Maria Alexandra Iñigo. (2018). “The Appropriated Villancico Filipino in the Rituals of Philippine Christmas.” In Tan, Arwin Q. (ed.), Saysay Himig: A Sourcebook on Philippine Music History, University of the Philippines Press, pp. 91-99.Chua, Maria Alexandra Iñigo. (2018). “Music Printing and Publishing in Urban Colonial Manila, 1858-1942.” In Tan, Arwin Q. (ed.), Saysay Himig: A Sourcebook on Philippine Music History, University of the Philippines Press, pp. 215-223.Buenconsejo, Jose S. (2018). “Keyboards in the Nineteenth-Century Philippines.” In Tan, Arwin Q. (ed.), Saysay Himig: A Sourcebook on Philippine Music History, University of the Philippines Press, pp. 234-242.Tan, Arwin Q. (2018). “Social Networking in Musicians’ Unions and Musical Associations.” In Tan, Arwin Q. (ed.), Saysay Himig: A Sourcebook on Philippine Music History, University of the Philippines Press, pp. 365-371.Jando, Dominique (n.d.) “Giuseppe Chiarini: Equestrian, Circus Entrepreneur.” Circopedia. https://www.circopedia.org/Giuseppe_Chiarini“The Overseas Market for Filipino Entertainers (March 2004).” TESDA. https://www.tesda.gov.ph/About/TESDA/60Ng, Stephanie Sook-Lynn (n.d.) “Overseas Filipino Musicians and the Geographies of Migrant Creative Labor.” Dissertation Reviews. Yu Jose, Lydia N. (2007). “Why are Most Filipino Workers in Japan Entertainers?: Perspectives from History and Law.” Kasarinlan: Philippine Journal of Third World Studies, 22(1), pp. 61-84.Piquero-Ballescas, Ma. Rosario (1993). “The Various Contexts of Filipino Labor Migration to Japan.” Kasarinlan: Philippine Journal of Third World Studies, 8(4), pp.125-145.