When we learned about the release of a new album of world-class artist Lea Salonga and newly declared National Artist for Music Ryan Cayabyab, we immediately felt that this one will be a music collector’s item and surely destined to be a classic many years from now.
Our good, old Filipino-Chinese friends from Curve Entertainment Inc.—Narciso Chan and Rudy Tee—took charge to make this album, beautifully titled Bahaghari (Rainbow), a reality. Chan and Tee know the music business by heart, having led labels like BMG Pilipinas and Sony Music Philippines to the top during the prime of the local music industry in the ’90s.
The project was initiated when Salonga was introduced to GLP Music founders Angela Jackson and Rex Niswander. The label produces music that would introduce children to world languages and international cultures.
Bahaghari aims to present the charming and colorful music of the Philippines to the world, and it features 15 traditional folk songs we’ve come to know during our younger days. The dialects from some of the more than 7,000 islands that make up the country are also represented—Tagalog, Ilocano, Kapampangan, Bicolano, Bisaya and Ilonggo. Included are these titles: “Bahay Kubo,” “Leron Leron Sinta,” “Sarung Banggi,” “Paruparong Bukid,” “Pamulinawen” and “Sitsiritsit Alibangbang.”
Chan added, “The release of this special album is aimed at reaching the consciousness of the younger generation of Filipinos in and out of the country, in order to revive awareness of traditional Filipino music and preserve the importance and beauty of this fading musical genre.”
We learned that the album was produced by Cayabyab, whose deep knowledge of Filipino music proved essential to the completion of this dream project. Cayabyab successfully made the album musically interesting, tapping a diverse lineup of arrangers to give each song the flavor and spice the album needed.
“The songs had to be varied in subject, in emotion, and in tempo and rhythm,” Cayabyab noted. “The collection couldn’t all be slow songs or only celebratory songs. We had to have a good representation not only of language but of a variety of subjects and emotions. This would hopefully make for a lovely aural spread.”
For her part, Salonga is excited to share this with her fans from all over the world. ”Because the arrangements were all so different from one another, I needed to stylistically adapt my vocals to fit them while holding on to my own voice and how I sing,” she said, adding. “The more playful stuff, like ‘Pobreng Alindahaw,’ was just so much fun to do during the recording; and some of the more dramatic music, like ‘Matud Nila,’ was straight from the heart. The melodies are just as informative as the lyrics, so I latched on to them.”
Some media colleagues teased Salonga about becoming a future National Artist for Music, and she had this to say: “I don’t think that any National Artist did his or her work thinking, ‘If I do this I might one day be a National Artist.’ That’s not the intent and it will never be the intent. You do the work for the work per se. You do the work to share whatever God-given talent you have. You do good work for artistic expression.”
Bahaghari is now available on Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music, Deezer and all digital platforms worldwide. CDs with a special booklet containing cultural notes written by award-winning writer and director Floy Quintos, and original lyrics with English translations will be available at local record stores beginning December 17.