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Regine
Velasquez Sings Paeans to Michel Legrand
by Leah Salterio
Source:Philstar
MICHEL Legrand is "one of the most brilliant composers the world has
produced," as far as Regine Velasquez is concerned.
Regine, as far as the world-famous pianist and composer is
concerned, is "my new friend, my new star, my new bird."
The new friend from the Philippines first met the brilliant composer
in February 2002, after his Valentine concert with Kuh Ledesma at
the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC). That meeting
led to a 15-million-peso album contract, sealed when Regine visited
Legrand in his sprawling residence in the outskirts of Paris in May
2002.
Legrand is a very nice man, Regine recalls, nine months after the
Paris visit.
"He's funny," she starts to gush. "He's like a lolo.
Napaka-fatherly. The time we had together in Paris was perhaps the
most exciting two days of my entire career. He's a joy to work with.
"He's got like four million songs that he had to choose from for my
album. It was pretty hard to pick the songs, but he knows what I can
do and what I cannot do. He knows my style, my range, the songs that
fit me. He was pretty much calling the shots, but I'm flattered
because he would always ask me if I was happy with his choice. He
would always consider how I feel about a particular piece, so it was
really great."
Regine didn't mind that she had to audition before the illustrious
songwriter, who was promptly impressed with her talent.
"She's my new friend, my new star, my new bird," Legrand said of
Regine after that meeting.
He refused to compare Regine with any other performer. "We all have
special qualities and even defects," he said as he started to build
their mutual admiration club. "Regine is unique and I can't compare
her with anyone else. She is very good. She has qualities that no
one else has. There's no clone of Regine anywhere and there will
never be.
"She deserves to be known everywhere in the world," Legrand
continues to gush in his turn. "She will be an important (singing)
star. That's true."
Before she starts recording the album of Legrand songs in Manila
next year, Regine will share the stage with the composer for three
nights in the Valentine concert "Songbird Sings Legrand," Feb. 14 to
16, at the PICC Plenary Hall.
"It's an honor to be with Michel and perform with him on stage,"
Regine says, now on first-name basis with Legrand. "The mere fact
that he's worked with Barbra Streisand and all those other big
artists already excites me. This concert is a huge thing for me. I
will sing his songs and that alone is a great privilege. We will
also do some songs together.
"Then there's the album, which he is going to produce, and that's
another big thing to look forward to. What else can I hope for?" |
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