Here’s a BukasPalad song arranged by my best friend, as performed by the Philippine Madrigal Singers.

Aside from being a splendid arrangement (and of course I always want to support any of my friends), there are a couple of facts I wanted to point out that merited it being posted on the blog.

I actually have a claim to fame with regards to this song’s arrangement. GP and I can claim without a doubt, that we started singing the correct pronunciation of the word “hirap” in the song.

If you would listen to other versions, chances are you’ll hear the word with the inflection on the A instead of the I – which converts the word into a state commonly used as a descriptive element. This state is not how it was used in the song.

As an example, taking the original pronunciation of hirap in the old recordings, it should take on the meaning cited in the following examples.

• Hirap na tao – People who are facing difficulty.
• Hirap siya maglakad – He/she is having a hard time walking.

So the mis-pronunciation of the word hirap, when used in the line

…mga hirap na dinaranas

Literally would either translate to either of two meanings:

1. The troubled experiences – which is still wrong because it should now be “karanasan” (and still wouldn’t make sense either way)
2. The troubled people (you can use Hirap to describe this collective idea) – which renders the rest of the sentence senseless because you’re waiting for something to finish the idea. Mga hirap… na ano? The people that what? It then should be “mga hirap na dumaranas ng insert something here. I’m not even sure if my Filipino is right at this point… but simply put, either way is wrong for the purpose of the line.

Hirap as used in the song was supposed to a noun representing trials or tribulations – and that should have the inflection on the I, not the A.

Anyways, GP and I made it a point to sing it this way when we were in the Music Crew of Days With The Lord, which eventually caught on. I’m not certain as to how far our “modification” has gone, but I can say if you hear it sung correctly, I guarantee you that was because of us!

Now that the Philippine Madrigal Singers sing it that way (and hopefully use that version a lot) I guess one man (in our case, two) can make a difference.