Thank you for the music!

I am sitting at my desk and listening to a new group called Teatro. I think they are supposed to be the new Ill Divo, but it is safe to say that they missed that boat completely. Their CD is suppose to give you an all-out best of Andrew Loyd Webber theatre classics. Stretching from Edelweiss to Music Of the Night from Phantom of the Opera. It rather gives you a pain in your anoesh area (not self-inflicted). Comments in the office about their voices included: “Their balls definitely haven’t dropped” ... “If in Afrikaans you say “jy verkrag die liedjie vir my” then they have just gang-raped Andrew Loyd Webber”. Hehe... Yes any kind of rape should not be laughed at but you have to admit that was a funny comment. Anyway truth is there is nothing wrong with their voices, but also nothing really that stands out... They also never really reach that immaculate pitch that we all look for in music. That moment in the Celine Dion’s Power of Love where she belts out: “Cause i’m your lady, and you are my man...” That moment you get tears in your eyes and thank God you are alive...

Why i’m telling you all this... Well they attempt to bring justice to the most beautiful – Edelweiss – and that suddenly reminded me of something. When I was little – around 7 (Sub A – Grade 1) I started singing in our school choir. Now we lived in Queenstown and the pre-primary school i attended could not have had more than 100 pupils. But I was so proud of that choir and Edelweiss was one of our favourites. The principal (who directed the choir) always made me stand in the front row, because i sang the loudest of everyone and because i was cute (i looked like shirley temple okay) i was a real crowd-pleaser. I even had a song book full of beautiful songs – mostly English because it was a bilingual school. I used to practice at home on a daily basis and was always so excited when we learnt new songs...

One of the songs was called: “Whistle daughter whistle”... and i absolutely loved it:

Whistle daughter whistle and you shall have a goat.

I can’t whistle daddy because it hurts my throat.

Whistle daughter whistle and you shall have a cow.

I can’t whistle daddy you never taught me how.

Whistle daughter whistle and you shall have a man.

... i’ll do the best i can!

I would really give anything to be able to do that again!