Opus Katha, No. 1 - Luminous Revolution (Simoun)

Character Bio: 

Simoun is the main character of José Rizal's two novels, Noli Me Tángere and El Filibusterismo. His real name is Juan Crisóstomo Ibarra y Magsalin. Thirteen years before the events of El Filibusterismo, he was hunted down and presumably killed.  He cast out his old ideals and took on a new identity as Simoun. He changed his appearance, became a wealthy businessman and gained powerful political influence through the Governor-General. But beneath his eloquent, elitist and somewhat arrogant demeanor, lies a revolutionary intent. This intent was born from the pain and suffering that he experienced from the Spaniards, his encounter with Elias, and his desire to reunite with his beloved Maria Clara. His ultimate plan was to ignite an armed uprising, but failed to do so and had his true identity revealed. He escaped and found refuge at Padre Florentino’s residence. To avoid capture, he ingested poison (a connection to his name Simoun, which means poisonous wind in Arabic). He died but not long before he had a heartfelt conversation with Padre Florentino upon revealing his true identity. 

Composer Notes:

I wrote this song based on the intensity of his character development, his grief and sorrow, and the culmination of his life until the bitter end. The piece starts off Simoun's state at the beginning of the second novel, gradually climaxing to the events of the wedding where his revolution plans were foiled. The solemn piano section at the end represents his conversation with Padre Florentino moments before his death and the double sounding piano reflects his dual characters as Crisostomo and Simoun.