· The brothers Emmanuel and Arnulfo Briceño pay tribute to their father, maestro Arnulfo Briceño, who died 35 years ago, with an album under the Universal Music label that emotionally portrays his career and his cultural legacy, while renewing his musical catalog .
· Reinaldo Armas, Juanes, Cholo Valderrama, Walter Silva, Fonseca, Alex Campos, Aries Vigoth, María Isabel Saavedra, Esteban Louis, María Rivas, Marta Gómez, the children of the teacher Emmanuel, Arnulfo and his granddaughter Catalina Briceño, are the participating artists .
· The album Canta Llano, now available on musical platforms, is composed of 14 songs, unreleased or legendary, fusing the most traditional of the llanero genre with contemporary harmonies.
Maestro Arnulfo Briceño with maestro Marco Rayo and Los Vlamers
“All my thoughts for you become a song, land of delirium and sweetness, for you my beautiful plain, my heart is a llanero. That’s why I say sing to the plain and raise your voice to the wind, let your holy name be heard throughout the universe,” says one of the stanzas of Canta Llano, a song by Arnulfo Briceño that gives its name to the album with which his children give him tribute this 2024.
Arnulfo Briceño was one of the most important composers in the country. More than three hundred songs make up his musical legacy that includes boleros, aisles, protest and llanera music, the latter being the one that established him as one of the greatest exponents of popular music during the second half of the 20th century. In fact, he was responsible for the music of the film Canaguaro and the mass for choirs in G Major performed during the visit of Pope John Paul II to Bogotá in 1986.
Part of this repertoire is renewed because his sons Emmanuel, acting as music producer, and Arnulfo, in the position of executive producer; They commemorate 35 years since the death of the maestro with Canta Llano, a work that includes 14 cuts that emotionally portray the trajectory and cultural legacy through different spectrums of Llano music with touches of timelessness.
“This album evokes the love of a region, the people, the history, the feat of the liberation campaign that traveled through the Llanos. In this album it is the Llano that sings and represents Colombianness and for this reason, although the main genre is the llanero, each song has contemporary arrangements and each one is performed by artists who make this an iconic and immortal musical project,” he says. Emmanuel Briceno.
Canta Llano, which is available on all platforms under the Universal Music label, is the dream come true of Emmanuel, who since the death of his father had the idea of publishing a tribute. His degree thesis, precisely, consisted of taking up and arranging unpublished songs by the maestro, who locked himself in his studio to record with his voice and a cuatro.
After graduating as a Master in Music with an emphasis in Music Production, working as Juanes’ keyboardist and musical director since 2002 and being the co-producer of VidaDaily, Juanes’ album that won the Grammy in the category of Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album; Emmanuel Briceño and his brother Arnulfo are ready to present this musical work that was conceptually conceived several years ago.
Arnulfo Briceño with his son Emmanuel
In fact, this work is very special because, for the most part, it was carried out in Emmanuel’s studio, which is located in the same place where his father locked himself up to read, compose or study. As a child, Emmanuel dreamed of having a space like the maestro’s and when he grew up he adapted it as a recording studio, so it was there where Canta Llano was produced by hand with most of the musicians who participated in the producer and director’s thesis. musical.
“It has been a very long road. I didn’t want to make an album, I wanted a tribute. I want people to remember who my dad was, to remember his catalog and that his compositions are on par with the greats who left their mark on the history of Colombian music. Really, it is not possible to talk about Colombian music, about llanera music without dad’s name appearing,” Emmanuel emphasizes.
Musically produced by Emmanuel Briceño, this tribute renews and refreshes the composer’s repertoire since the songs, some known and others unpublished, are performed by recognized exponents of llanera music such as Cholo Valderrama, Walter Silva, Aries Vigoth, Reinaldo Armas and María Rivas , who with their voices transmit the feeling of each lyric written by Arnulfo Briceño.
However, Canta Llano has a wide range of genres and musical arrangements around pop, string orchestra, winds and alternative music. Likewise, the musical spectrum is expanded with the voices of Alex Campos, Marta Gómez or Juanes.
With all this musical range that fuses the most traditional of the llanero genre with contemporary harmonies, Canta Llano includes songs such as Hato Canaguay, which was the soundtrack of the soap opera of the same name; Goodbye to my Llano or Ay! my plain, a song that Arnulfo Briceño wrote without knowing this territory, but inspired by the novels La Vorágine and Doña Bárbara. This song, with which he won the Colombian Song Festival in 1967, has been the anthem of Meta since 1979.
The repertoire is complemented by the pieces Sierra de la Macarena, Madre, María, Arauca, I need to love you, I don’t always live singing, Dream girl, The hunter, Always a woman and Amo, performed by Juanes, with whom he has been working for 22 years.
Each guest artist performs a song according to their voice and style and, although each one makes it their own, Canta Llano keeps alive the musical DNA of Arnulfo Briceño, who strove to musically exalt the richness of the territory, while generating awareness about diversity and the experiences of Colombia.
Source: Lizzeth Acosta Melo / The Press Office