In honor of Asian Heritage Month, Suzanne Yeo and I are releasing an Art Song Podcast mini-series celebrating Kundiman, the art song of the Philippines!
Sixteen (!) years ago, I presented a lecture-recital about the Kundiman at Lawrence University as my senior project. These beautiful pieces evolved from simple folk songs to complex love songs that were actually a covert (and sometimes not-so-covert) form of nationalism. Kundiman have stuck with me over the years and I’m thrilled to share four of my favorites with you this month!
Our first episode features “Sa Libis Ng Nayon” (At the Edge of the Village), whichshows the folk roots of the Kundiman and celebrates the simple life in the beautiful Filipino countryside.
Episode 2 highlights “Bayan Ko,” the so-called “unofficial second national anthem” of the Philippines.
Episode 3 is a beautiful love song “Bituing Marikit” (“Beautiful Star”) in which you can hear the strong Spanish influence in the musical rhythms and structure.
Our final episode (“Kundiman”) will air this week! You can listen to our Podcast episodes on Spotify or head over to The Art Song Podcast to watch our performances of each piece (with English subtitles).
Maraming salamat!
Daniella 💕
P. S. Show us some love and subscribe to our podcast! 💖