The second good news is that – and this you know already – Ryan last year placed second in the Onassis International Cultural Competitions in Germany, the highest honor ever achieved by a Filipino musician.
The third good news is that Ryan – or Mr. C as he is fondly/popularly called – has just come up with his first a cappella album, One More, for BMG Pilipinas, Inc. (now available in record bars) and a concert (as musical director) with Basil Valdez on Valentine’s Day at the Philippine Plaza grand ballroom.
Many people (you won’t believe it) have been wondering if the coconut song is Ryan’s favorite, or the first one he has ever sung, so when I got hold of Ryan for a brief interview, I asked him about that and other music-related topics besides.
I wondered, what was the very first song that Ryan ever sang?
"I will tell you something," Ryan laughed. "It was recorded. I was only 9 then and it was none other than the Beatles’ Till There Was You. Naka-record ’yan, ha! We were having fun. My sisters were singing something else and my brother was singing a Beatles song. When my turn came, I sang Till There Was You, tape-recorded for posterity."
At nine, did Ryan have any idea that he’d end up a music man?
"No," said Ryan. "As a matter of fact, even when I was this high, never did the thought enter my mind that I’d be a songwriter. You see, my mother, Celerina Pujante, was an opera singer. Before she died when I was six, my mother reminded my father not to let any of us children take up music as a career dahil mahirap daw. She wanted us to finish a business course or to be anything else but musicians."
But things changed when Ryan was granted a scholarship by then Sen. Doy Laurel and his wife Celia at the UP College of Music. His fate was sealed. Since then, Ryan has been blithely flying on the wings of song, much to the delight of the legions of fans (this one included) he has won over through the years.
"When the scholarship came my way," recalled Ryan, "my father couldn’t say no anymore."
But Ryan composed his first song not during or after college but when he was 11, entitled Dirge, inspired by a poem of the same title he wrote when he was in second-year high school. Ryan has been keeping that "collectors’ item" in his, well, treasure chest.
Now, what was the first song that made Ryan cry?
"Isang Awit, one of my first commercial songs. It’s about my mother who, in that song, supposedly taught me how to sing. Isang Awit was recorded by Hajji (Alejandro) in 1979, included in one of his albums. Another song that made me cry while I was composing it was called Mama. I was crying and crying while composing it. Mama is about mothers who have to work abroad for their families, even if they have to leave their children home."
Among his compositions, Ryan’s favorites are Kahit Ika’y Panaginip Lang (recorded by Basil Valdez) and Tuwing Umuulan at Kapiling Ka (first recorded by Basil and then by Regine Velasquez)."
His favorite songs by other composers include Willy Cruz’s Kapag Puso’y Sinugatan, Louie Ocampo’s Ikaw and George Canseco’s Hanggang sa Dulo ng Walang Hanggan. For Ryan, however, the most romantic song is All The Things You Are whose composer and singer he couldn’t quite remember.
What inspires Ryan to compose songs is, you won’t believe it, boredom (ennui). Ninety-five percent of his songs have been written with specific singers in mind.
His concert with Basil is some kind of a reunion because the two of them have worked on several projects before.
"When Basil was just starting, ako na ang musical director niya. This time around, our repertoire is made up of a lot of Basil’s original songs, including those he used to sing when he was new in the business, such as With These Hands and The Harder I Try. What do I like about Basil? Well, he possesses a real great baritone voice. When he sings, talagang bigay na bigay…galing talaga sa puso niya."
And what, you too must be wondering, is Ryan’s idea of a dream song, the definitive Ryan Cayabyab song?
"You won’t believe it but I want to do a song that blends the styles of Willy Cruz, Louie Ocampo and George Canseco, done in the inimitable Ryan Cayabyab style."
Jiang, a winner of the All China Music Competition and a Tchaikovsky Laureate (like our own Rowena Arrieta) and recipient of the Van Cliburn award, first came to international attention when he appeared with Russian pianist Vladimir Ashkenazy in a BBC film about the latter’s historic visit to China. He has also finished doing a documentary film called Into The Music, a biographical piece that chronicles his music, artistry and his family’s sacrifices during the infamous "Cultural Revolution" in China when classical artists were forced to do menial work. (For ticket inquiries, call 09187376901 or tel. no. 6437428 or 8152651.)