TOMORROW, April 30, is a doubly special day for composer Lourdes "Bing" Pimentel. Starting at 6 p.m. at the ballroom of Club Filipino in Greenhills, she and her husband, Sen. Nene Pimentel, will be celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary with a Mass, followed by dinner and dancing. And, during the same occasion, Bing will be launching her first album, "Buhay, Isang Awit."

The album contains Bing's best and most memorable compositions which she's written for more than 30 years. Most of the songs correspond to the highs and lows of her life, while the rest come from the shows she has written music for and produced, like the religious revue "Nasaan si Hesus?" and the electoral reform primer, "Huwag Pumayag sa Dagdag-Bawas."

Some of the songs in the album are sung by name stars like Nora Aunor, Freddie Aguilar and Rico J. Puno.

During tomorrow's launch, six of Bing's songs will be performed by Pinky Marquez ("Pahuway Na"), Rosanna Ordoñez ("Hinahanap-Hanap Kita"), Vonz Arroyo ("Say No to Drugs"), Gelyn Oñate ("Batang Lansangan"), Rosanna and Joel Villaflor ("Why I Must Go on Living") and Rosanna, Joel, Andy Bais and Rito Asilo ("Pagkakataon").

Songwriting has always come naturally for Bing. Even before she married Nene, she wrote songs that touched on or summed up significant moments in her young life. As wife and mother, she was busy from morning till night, but she made it a point to get some "quiet time," during which she would reflect on the things that were happening to her, and then she would write songs about her most significant experiences.

At the start, Bing's songs were mostly romantic ballads and light pieces. However, when Nene was put behind bars during the dark years of Martial Law, Bing found her songwriting style evolving, deepening. Her songs during this sad and troubled period acquired bite, insight and pertinence.

Bing found that, by writing songs that articulated her pain, anger or fear, she was better able to process the terrible things happening to her family, to deal with them or to rise above them.

Later, Bing used her songwriting ability to be of service to relevant causes or issues, and to remind listeners of their responsibilities to society.

Among her most stirring songs is the patriotic anthem, "Pag-ibig sa Bayan," which Freddie Aguilar sings with nationalistic fire and passion:

"Bakit ba ang pag-ibig sa bayan / Ay tibok na di matanggihan / Tulad ng anak sa magulang / Di kayang itakwil at iwan.

"Bayan ko, ang tibok mo'y gayuma / Utos mo agad tatalima / Buhay ay handa sa iyo iaalay / Makitang malaya kang tunay…"

On the other hand, in "Batang Lansangan," the "invisible" streetchild acquires a face and a voice: "Ako ba ay kapwa mo, tao ba sa iyo / Ako ba ay kasama sa bilang sa mundo? / Batang lansangan, kay daling kalimutan / Batang lansangan, kay daling pabayaaan / … Asan na, asan na / Ang pag-ibig sa bata / Asan na?"

As she starts another decade of songwriting, Bing has acquired greater focus in her work, and a heightened sense of fulfillment as people who have watched her musical-theater productions share with her how much her lyrics and music have touched them or impelled them to action.

In "Huwag Pumayag sa Dagdag-Bawas," Bing's songs exposed electoral fraud and showed what could be done to fight it. The show was so effective that Bing has received requests to present it again before the next elections in 2001.

Her religious revue, "Nasaan si Hesus?" is currently on a national tour that will culminate in performances at the CCP in June. It is a special presentation of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines for the current Jubilee Year and has moved audiences with its depiction of the problems that confront Christians today, and their possible solutions.

It is in this musical revue that Bing's spiritual side comes forcefully to the fore, as her songs plumb the hearts and souls of Christians contending with the pressures and temptations of the modern world.