(Part 2 of 2)
“Genius has no country. That’s Juan Luna (Referring to the Filipino painter of Spoliarium, who got the gold award in Madrid’s National Exposition of the Arts in 1884.) Genius is embodied in everyone’s country. Ryan Cayabyab is a genius. He is a citizen of the world, not just of the Philippines, but of the world.” — Sal Malaki
Sal Malaki effusively and passionately shared his compliments, shortly after the sold-out concert of Ryan Cayabyab and the Ryan Cayabyab Singers (RCS) at the Plaza del Sol at Cal State University, Northridge on Sunday, October 23.
From a 21-year-tenor of the L.A. Opera, who starred in 85 productions, his comment speaks authority.
A day after the concert, Nilo Alcala, a Philippine and American educated and trained musician, a celebrated composer, arranger, musician, resident fellow of LA Master Chorale posted this on Facebook, “How can such excellent vocal prowess be jam-packed into a single group?!?! Bravi, The Ryan Cayabyab Singers! I am speechless. Sobrang galing. (Over the top excellence) On their own, they were superb. But, when together, they were congruous (in harmony). Mr. Ryan Cayabyab’s arrangements add a new dimension to Original Pilipino Music.”
Even President Barack Obama joined in October’s celebration of Filipino American History Month by saying, “I am pleased to join in celebrating Filipino-American History Month and in recognizing Filipino-Americans across our country for the many ways they have enriched our country. The earliest Filipinos arrived at Morro Bay, CA in the 16th century, and Filipino Americans have long played an integral role in shaping the life of our country. They have been the artists who challenge us, the educators who keep us informed, and the laborers of our growing economy.”
Oct. 23 should have been Ryan Cayabyab and RCS’ day, as their concert enriched us with love for music, but also love for Inang Bayan, the Philippines, and the history of Original Pilipino Music (OPM) for 100 years.
Even with competing concerts on Oct. 23: For the Love of Jazz in Pico Rivera (Mon David, Tateng Katindig and Charito from Japan), Harana: the Musical in Glendale, and Gary Valenciano and Fil-Am artists at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles, Ryan Cayabyab’s concert drew a sold-out crowd, attended by professional musicians from LA, Orange, and San Diego.
Perhaps to honor the Maestro, the composer of legendary love songs, film scores, operas, musicals, and whose 46 years of traveling and performing coincide with the growth of the music industry in the Philippines. Perhaps to learn from the RCS.
Allow me to share the comments overflowing with joy, program highlights, and lastly, the RCS.
Words of praises and program highlights
The artists, all capable soloists on their own, became more than the sum of its parts, as they effortlessly combined to form an ensemble. They moved with the lyrics of the music, made movements appropriate to each word at times, without distracting our attention on their musicality.
We have not seen such flexibility, moving from one genre of music style to another: musical, opera, metro pop, ballad, vaudeville, jazz, kundimans and even revolutionary songs, carefully balanced to hold our attention for 3 ½ hours without intermission.
An excerpt of Spoliarium was shown. It is a three-act play about the eve of the revolution. The play was conceived by Fides Asencio-Cuyugan and played to the music of Ryan Cayabyab, depicting Juan Luna in a fit of rage on the eve of the revolution.
Tribeca Performing Arts described it, “Against this backdrop [referring to Juan Luna’s gold award win], life became art with the tragic drama of Luna’s private life. Immensely in love with his wife, his rampaging emotions and jealousy turned to rage, and lead him to kill his mother in law, and mortally wounded his wife, who eventually succumbed to death.”
Poppert Bernadas, a finalist of “The Voice of the Philippines,” gave life to Juan Luna, as a crazed, passionate and intense painter. His tenor voice is unforgettable as his timbre convinced the audience that he is about to kill and would kill in the name of love. Slay, he did!
Joined by Celine Fabie, who played Juan Luna’s wife, her soprano voice reached a summit of excellence displayed throughout the concert, and in this excerpt, she fully inhabited the role.
Kaye Tiuseco, who played Juan Luna’s mother, sang with a timbre, which betrayed her fear and her anxiety from watching her son unravel, a credible performance on her part.
Bob Shroder, Filipino American Symphony Orchestra (FASO) conductor, deconstructed their performance: “Awesome. I enjoyed the adjustment of voices and how they blended as an ensemble to be more than 7 voices. Yet, when they switched to being soloists, they raised up their voices to be outstanding singers,” while his wife, Amy, noticed the multiple strengths displayed onstage: singing, dancing, acting and coordinated movements.
Becca Godinez, a theater actress and a concert singer both in Manila and Los Angeles said, with smiles: “The reason tonight is so successful is about true, pure musical genius, which is what you expect from Ryan Cayabyab and the RCS.”
“Bravo to the nth degree,” I added. To math students, nth degree is polynomial infinity, an artistry which has reached a summit of excellence, and infinity forward.
There were many more highlights, from Anthony Castillo’s duet of “Hanggang” with Sherleen Delacruz whose magic was felt. They unleashed their synergies of verbalizing the lyrics, but also with depth.
It took us back to where OPM began, in 1917, with “Madaling Araw,” a completion of the circle, so to speak, of a culture steeped in romance, in reducing ordinary lives into music, whose lyrics echoed the rhythms of folks’ lives.
Even the excerpt of San Lorenzo Ruiz was received warmly as the ensemble was exceptional not just in singing but in their portrayals of the life of this martyr. After all, Catholics in the audience have seen this saint’s life once portrayed in a musical by Filipino priests in Los Angeles.
Ed Nepomuceno, the Harana Men’s Chorus’ musical director, affirmed their excellence, “Ryan Cayabyab and RCS elevated the artistry of Filipino artists.”
“I am speechless. Tumayo ang balahibo ko. (Goosebumps moments for me,” Nonoy Alsaybar, Ph.D, a four-decade violinist and music teacher in Los Angeles, added.
When Erwin Lasca sang 1917’s “Madaling Araw,” a kundiman (romantic courtship song), he led the audience to start recalling what it was, for those who once lived in the Philippines.
When VJ Caber sang “Habang May Buhay,” his medium tempo allowed us to capture the romantic sentiments of one’s life, as given to the beloved, whether in prayer, and forever. It captured an artist’s respect for his craft, even his life dedicated to the arts.
One would be remiss if there was no mention of Los Angeles Youth Ambassadors who opened the concert with “Bata ang Bukas” and “Paraiso.” It is a 34-member group of boys and girls, 7 to 18 years old, just months in existence, and showed technical proficiency.
Artists in focus
The entire program was driven by a singular force, one’s love for music as well as a desire to perform at a personal best, to match the maestro’s superior level of artistry.
I was with the Maestro on three occasions: an interview with him and the RCS, the concert in Northridge, and at a casual jam session with the Filharmonic at LA Rose Café in Hollywood.
In all three settings, his calm aura and joyfulness were sustained, with or without crowds hovering over him, as the RCS, under his direction.
With a flick of a finger from any of the group members, all assume their respective positions to sing. Group trust is high such that anyone can lead, with impeccable cooperation. No one looks to the maestro for approval, yet all perform on cue, and in synchrony with the ensemble. The group exuded a high degree of affinity, discipline, and collective confidence in one another.
Annie Nepomuceno, the show producer, rose to her personal summit, as she sang a duet with the Maestro, “Tunay na Ligaya,” an original composition for Maestro’s wife, Emmy. You could sense the love, as Annie gave life to the song onstage.
Equally good music to our ears was when Annie sang “Magbalik Ka Na, Mahal,” from the Maestro’s ballet-opera “Rama Hari,” written in 1980 and first recorded by Kuh Ledesma for her debut album.
Poppert Bernadas is from UP Diliman and a finalist of “The Voice of the Philippines.” He has been with RCS for nine years. Before RCS, he felt unsure of his artistry, but after, he got his assurance that “I am an artist, I got validation.”
He stood out as a tenor, with his rendition of “Gloria,” “Paano Na Kaya” and his memorable solo parts in the excerpt of Spoliarium and San Lorenzo Ruiz’s play excerpt. Each time he was onstage, we just knew he must be a theater actor, as he played his parts with gusto and succeeded in conveying the truth of his characters. At any given moment, he switched from different genres and we were in awe as to his resilience and his adaptability in song, dance and acting.
Another one who stood out was Celine Fabie who effortlessly moved from one solo part to ensemble, and gave distinctive performances, including the encore of “Ang Bayan Ko/To Dream the Impossible Dream.”
Coming home with the RCS
Each individual who composes the RCS added more nostalgia of home, once described by James Baldwin, “an irrevocable condition of experiencing a sense of belonging, safety and fulfillment, “a longing for the Philippines, as they slowly sang “Ang Bayan Ko,” enunciating each word slowly, with heartfelt emotion and with the same tempo, “To Dream the Impossible Dream.”
Picture this, the singers now have our hearts in their hands, as they alternately do solos, ensemble, and then, together: “And the world will be better for this/That one man, scorned and covered with scars/Still strove with his last ounce of courage/To reach the unreachable star” while the Celine Fabie sang verses of “Ang Bayan Ko” “Pilipinas kong minumutya/Pugad ng luha at dalita/Aking adhika/Makita kang Sakdal Laya. Her soprano voice lingered, as if a dream unfulfilled and a love unrequited.
What happens next? The last verse “Makita Kang Sakdal Laya” (To Witness your True Freedom) converged with “To Reach the Unreachable Star,” in a haunting soprano voice. It extracted a primal longing, a feeling for our birth country to be truly free from all vestiges of bondage, to misguided measures of success, to incorrect principles of governance, from an unreachable space of creativity and musicality in music. Now the genius manifested, and the crowd leaped to a standing ovation, literally, shouting bravos.
It could not be contained, our collective affirmation and validation at seeing a new summit of excellence in artistry had to be shared effusively! Did we make clear how much we love this concert?
Part I of this feature (Ryan Cayabyab and Ryan Cayabyab Singers’ Life Journey to Music) was published in the Asian Journal’s MDWK Magazine on Wednesday, October 19.