Sometimes we have one of those days that is just perfect. Not planned for perfect, not expected to be perfect, but perfect nonetheless. Saturday was one of those days.
Matthew had stayed up late on Friday evening to see “his” football team, Germany, lose to Spain, in the European Football Championship. There is no real reason why Germany is his chosen team, he has no links to the country but he has supported them since he was 12 years old. They were then still West Germany and it was the 1982 World Cup. To his dismay Germany, the hosts of the Euro Cup, were unceremoniously kicked out by flamboyant and flashy Spain.
Despite this and the dipping temperatures, Saturday morning bloomed sunny and fine. We treated ourselves to breakfast at our favourite local restaurant, The Fat Zebra, in Linden. We have been going there since we moved in 2019. The food is good, the coffee great, the staff know us and are super friendly and the service is consistent. It was busy but we know better and book. We enjoyed a nourishing breakfast in a warm, bustling environment.
Being vocal
We had an Emotional Fitness Superpower session at Ikusasa Lethu later in the day. It was focused on the power of Voice. Being able to use one’s voice to state how you feel, speak up and self regulate is a key skill. What better way to do this than to sing?
We had a surprise for the learners. Phenye, our opera singer friend, was our guest facilitator for the session. We were excited to introduce him, a fellow African from Ga-rankuwa, an area north of Pretoria, to this group of young people from Alex.
It was a cold day and the last weekend of the school holidays so there were many learners absent. They missed out.
Phenye started by performing a rendition of Nella Fantasia by Ennio Morricone. The teens were either stunned into silence or twisted in giggling discomfort on their chairs. The lack of understanding of the genre, the unfamiliar sound of the voice and foreign words made some of the teens very uncomfortable.
Phenye introduced himself and gave the group some of his back story: an ordinary boy, from an ordinary area, whose dream was to be a soccer player or an athlete. When he sang in the school choir a teacher told him that he had a very good voice and should develop it. He didn’t take her very seriously but when he started taking part in Eisteddfods and doing well, he thought there may be something in it.
After school he went to the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) and studied opera for four years.
“But why opera? How did you come to love and learn to sing opera?” asked Chantal.
“I was introduced to Opera by a school choir conductor. It was more like forcing me to do it because she lent me her CD player and Opera CDs and I had to tell her what I listened to every morning during our practice. As I listened to this music I fell in love with it.”
The more he listened to it, the more he loved it. So exposing these young people to the genre, as unfamiliar and “uncool” as it is, expands their musical horizons and could inspire the next “Phenye” to become an opera singer.
Phenye Modiane, opera singer extraordinaire, taking the Grade 10’s through their paces
Breathe to sing
Phenye took the group through breathing exercises, something they have hummed and haa-ed about throughout the programme.
“You’ve got to breathe to sing,” said Phenye, “You think Kelvin Momo doesn’t have to breathe to sing?” He mimicked the amapiano artist showing that even he would have to breathe to perform his genre of music.
There were some laughs but suddenly the teens were listening. And breathing. Like they were smelling a flower, filling their stomachs not their chests. Holding it for longer.
Phenye challenged them a little more and got them to vocalise. As the students were sitting in three distinct groups already, he got them to do what is called a canon vocalise. This is where a group of voices sing the same melody but with a delay between the voices. This creates a harmonious layered sound that is often used in choral music.
It started off a bit wobbly, with some shy individuals mumbling and hiding behind their friends.
“You know when I was singing in a choir, we were told that if you don’t sing with the others it means you want to sing alone,” noted Phenye.
A few shuffles and wide eyes but in no time, Phenye got them to stand tall, open their mouths and vocalise. All together, in time with each other and then to come in, in their groups, at different times to create wave after wave of sound.
It was goosebump stuff. By the end of the session, everyone was smiling, humming, bursting with positive energy, thrilled that they had used their voices and pleased with the sound. It was a triumph.
The session taught them new things about the voice and different types of voices. It pushed them out of their comfort zones, got them to work together, was fun and resulted in a successful outcome: some beautiful sounds. It left them feeling confident and alive.
Matthew loves peanut butter so much that he buys it in kilograms to eat by the spoonful. It's the best peanut butter we've ever tasted and comes from Pure Bliss Products in Knysna.
An anticipated game
Puffed up with having accomplished such a memorable experience for the Grade 10’s, we turned our attention back home with anticipation. At 17h00 the rugby world champions were playing Ireland. It was a vital game where, after losing to Ireland in the world cup pool stage, the Springboks had to solidify their number one spot once and for all.
In the lead up to the Rugby World Cup the Irish, an exceptional team, had been labelled by some very astute PR as the “Number one ranked team in the world”. They were knocked out in the quarter finals of the World Cup and yet they persisted in believing that they really were the number one team in the world.
“If you have to keep on telling everyone that you are the “Number one team in the world”, then maybe you are not,” snapped Chantal, irritated at the northern hemisphere marketing, “Is Europe the world? Like the US with their World Championship Baseball, Basketball and American Football?”
Anyway, after Saturday’s tough and hugely exciting game that we shared with Chantal’s parents and friends, Ilona and Rachel, the Springboks can rightfully say they are the number one team in the World. The real one that includes north, south, east and western continents and islands.
We hosted our dear friend Elke for a couple of days as she made her way to Germany for a holiday with her family. She shared some of her pictures of our space through her eyes.
It's strange and delightful to witness something you might be oblivious to and take for granted when seen through new perspectives.
A perfect end
It was no walk over. The Springboks, a bit clumsy, and still finding their collective feet while experimenting with a more expansive style of attacking play, were up against a team who took advantage of every gap, every loss in concentration.
Risks were taken and won, or lost. Lost causes were chased, found and turned around. Our World Cup hero Handre lost his cape as his kicks sent balls veering past the posts instead of between them. But the Bokke prevailed and ended the game victorious.
A perfect end to a perfect day. A nourishing start, a melodious middle and a triumphant end garnished with the love and warmth of friends and family. Who could ask for more?
Until next time.
Yours in feeling,
Matthew & Chantal
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