I
do not remember what date this occurred but one early evening June (my
wife) called me into the TV room and asked me to please look and listen
to “this guy” singing. It happened to be Andrea Bocelli. I cannot
even remember what it was he was singing. For some strange reason I was
not all that impressed (yet). When Andrea was done I left the room and
that is where it ended. Believe it or not but I just forgot all about
it.
May
I first of all say that the only other tenor I ever was interested in
was Mario Lanza. And even as a kid I was very fond of his singing. And
through the years I always liked to come back and listen to his singing.
I still do this and have several of his recordings.
A
few years later after the
incident with my wife in the TV room I paid my daughter a visit in
Johannesburg where she was resident. Johannesburg is 2 hours flying time
away from Cape Town. Noelene,
my daughter, was working in Pretoria which is about 1 hours drive away
from Johannesburg. Quite a distance but long enough to listen to a full
CD. One morning Noelene
asked me to go with her to her office and I agreed. Just as we drove
away from her home she put a CD into the player of her car and the most
stunning voice I have ever heard suddenly filled the early morning mood.
It was brilliant! “WHO IN HEAVEN’S NAME IS THAT”? I asked. ” It
is Andrea Bocelli Dad” she replied. “What CD is that”? was my next
question to her. It was
“CIELI DI TOSCANA”. I asked “Hey,
but you were a Michael Jackson fan. What happened” ? She simply
replied “No more Dad. My taste for music has changed dramatically over
the years”.
I
was hooked with Andrea on the spot and the ball started rolling. And did
I enjoy the ride. As soon as I got back home in Cape Town I bought the
recording of “Cieli Di Toscana”. That was the beginning of one the
most pleasant and rewarding journeys I have ever been in my musical
career. I went back to the music shop that I was dealing with and bought
all of Andrea’s CD that they had in stock and have kept up to date
with them ever since. I now pride myself with the fact that I now have
all of Andrea’s CD’s and DVD’s. “Look and Listen”, the music
shop I buy my CD’s from already know that the minute an Andrea Bocelli
CD hits their shop they must phone me. And they have been very good with
this ever since. I never miss.
I
also started digging into Internet and other literature because I really
wanted to know what it is that make this man “tick”. Up till now I
have been unable to find his book “The music of Silence” and am
still looking.
I
am a musician and a classical pianist. Because of this I have also
acquired a few of Andrea’s Music Score albums. Not a lot as they are
exceptionally expensive here in South Africa. What I also find very
interesting to do is to play a CD of Andrea and accompany him from the
score on the piano. My favourite in doing this is the Bach/Gounod
version of Ave Maria from Andrea’s album “Sacred Arias”. And if I
really tune myself in properly it feels like I am right with Andrea. I
have a CD player situated right on top of my piano especially to do this.
This exercise is very challenging but I do it. Andrea is dead on target
with every single note or rest on the written score and never misses or
makes a mistake, so you have to study the written music really well. He
is really very professional and a genius. For this, one’s piano must
be dead set in tuning and I make sure that mine is.
I
have often wondered whether Andrea ever experiences “stage fright”.
Because he has good reason to have experienced this. I have watched the
DVD of Sacred Arias very closely and in watching became very aware of
something that has paramount importance. In a situation like that, with
a full orchestra, a full choir and a conductor behind him Andrea is
faced a tremendous responsibility. Everything depends on him. I do not
think that it is really the conductor who takes the leading role. I
think Andrea has to lead them all, the conductor, the orchestra and the
choir. The conductor is faced with a reverse situation in that he has to
follow Andrea very closely and Andrea does not follow him but is
consoled with the fact that he knows the “score” indeed very well.
Now that is one enormous responsibility.
One responsibility that will make me want to run away!
Have
you ever listened to Andrea’s opera album “Verdi”? Andrea does
something there which is very tricky and almost impossible and I have
never heard anyone get this right before. Not even Mario Lanza. Listen
to the way he ends off with “Celeste Aida”. He delivers the final
note and pulls it down gradually into nothing without any hesitation or
extra breath. And they did not have to practice this over and over for
him to get it right as I believe and have read. Andrea did it with the
very first take. Andrea can change the colour of a note in the middle of
a phrase without taking a breath.
I
have one dream and I certainly hope that it will come to reality one
day. That is to see Andrea in concert personally. I also would like to
meet him. That would give me the greatest joy in my life. I do not think
that this dream of mine is too farfetched. It can come true.
Thanks
for allowing me the opportunity to share my Andrea experience with you.
God
bless you.
MAESTRO
ANDREA BOCELLI IS A REAL GENIUS AND NOTHING LESS.
WENDELL
BAATJES (SOUTH AFRICA)
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