after Julian Felipe went to Aguinaldo bearing a letter of introduction from Mariano Trias, he was asked to compose a different march to be played at the declaration of independence ceremonies planned for June 11. On that date, after Felipe played the march he had drafted, tentatively titled Marcha Filipina Magdalo, on the piano for Aguinaldo and other top revolutionary leaders and, after discussion between them and other top generals, Aguinaldo accepted Felipe's composition as the Marcha Nacional Filipina. Felipe's piece, with added lyrics derived from the Spanish-language poem Filipinas by Jose Palma from 1899, is still the current official national anthem under the title Lupang Hinirang ("Chosen Land"). Later years In 1903, Nakpil extended the anthem as an instrumental tribute to Jose Rizal under the title “Salve, Patria” ("Hail, Fatherland"). The only surviving copies of the original score were destroyed in 1945, during the Battle of Manila. The version which survives today was reconstructed by Nakpil from memory as a piece for piano years later. Its use was likely revived by Macario Sakay, a compatriot of Bonifacio and Nakpil who revived and continued the Katipunan and the Tagalog Republic from 1902 to 1906, years after the end of Aguinaldo's final Republic (the "First Philippine Republic"). The piece has described by historians as "very solemn, almost mournful" while other historians have opined that the lyrics and music do not quite seem to match each other, but the music is less obviously derivative of foreign pieces compared to Felipe's composition. In modern media The song appears in a 1993 biopic of Macario Sakay, titled Sakay''. The song was recorded by the folk music duo Inang Laya in 1996 but only the first verse. See also Lupang Hinirang Dalit (poem) Tagalog Republic References External links Bonifacio's April 1897 letter to Nakpil thanking him for the Himno Nacional Tagalog-language songs Historical national anthems 1896 songs Asian anthems Philippine anthems