Having composed significant choral and orchestral sacred works using traditional Latin texts, I’m hoping that our National Artist for Music, Ryan Cayabyab, will allow me the use of this title, as it’s what ran through my mind as I observed the rapt audience that attended his second MaestroClass concert series at the Proscenium Theater, Rockwell Center, Makati. The three-night affair happened over this year’s Valentine's weekend, and on the Friday night I watched, it was an outpouring of enthusiastic nostalgic love for the classic Original Pilipino Music (OPM) that formed the backbone of the night’s playlist.

From left: Basil Valdez, Celeste Legaspi, Ryan Sayabyab, and Ogie Alcasid

Entitled Love Letters, the concert spotlighted the music of George Canseco, Jose Mari Chan, and Willy Cruz, interpreted by Ryan's own voice and OPM icons Basil Valdez, Celeste Legaspi, and Ogie Alcasid. Also on hand were the impressive Marielle Montellano and JM Dela Cerna, winners of the Tawag Ng Tanghalan Duets. Directed by Rowell Santiago, the night was like an extended version of the Ryan Ryan Musikahan TV show, which many in the audience vividly recalled while it was on air from 1988 to 1995.

So yes, Alcasid, ever the mischievous raconteur, made the observation early on that practically everyone in the audience that night had availed of a Senior Citizen discount when purchasing their seats. And when Cayabyab mentioned apps like Spotify, he would pause and quiz the audience to see if they even knew the app existed.

The lovely part of the evening was how Cayabyab encouraged the audience to sing along, and for some segments, the lyrics would flash on the ‘wall’ - something the audience seemed not to need, as the lyrics to these songs were etched in their memory banks.

As in the TV show, Cayabyab would take opportunities to offer little lessons in Musical Theory. On the night I watched, it was the difference between Verse-Refrain and Verse-Chorus. Then he went into the provenance/evolution of how a Jose Mari Chan-penned song called Mr. Songwriter became Mamang Sorbetero. And that was the wonderful cue to bring on stage Legaspi. 

Ever the ‘Queen’, Legaspi then teased Cayabyab into expanding his roster of ‘C’ composers to go beyond Canseco, Chan, and Cruz, and include the C of Celerio. And proceeded to perform her rendition of Ang Pipit by Levi Celerio. 

Valdez was stoic and quiet, with no chatter between songs. His medley of Canseco tunes visibly moved the audience, and this was for me the height of the night’s nostalgia rush. He doesn’t perform regularly, so this was truly a magical moment, a rush of ‘love scribbles’ for those gathered that evening. 

Basil Valdez

He’s so down to business and singing that, when he finally spoke, Alcasid had to poke fun and comment, "Valdez speaks pala." This obviously brought down the house.

In fact, Alcasid was the ‘Joker’ in the Royal Flush of cards that Cayabyab had assembled for the night. It wasn’t lost on me how his years on Bubble Gang had honed his comedic timing to near-perfection. That he’s the true quality hyphenate was proven time and again with the songs he performed. 

Being topical with his humor, he even spieled about how the next song was being dedicated to those searching for Atong Ang and securing the offered reward - and then broke into Hahanapin Ko. 

I’m certain each member of the audience would have their own favorite moment, as there were so many of them. It’s no secret to say that in the case of some of the musical guests, they are past their prime, but the strength of their vocal cords did not matter, as it was the fact that they were there on stage that was conjuring up the magic of nostalgia that night. 

Congratulations again to Cayabyab on this MestroClass series, and to Rockwell for being such a great partner in bringing these concerts to life. Got excited listening to Ryan mention that come the weekend of mid-May, he would be back with the 3rd in the series. This one would feature the music of Burt Bacharach, and his guests that weekend go by the first names of Bituin, Gigi, Jett, and Sofronio. Count me in for that one!