First Music Impressions: Congo 4

Each day, on our way to the primary school in the ramshackle bus, we used to sing during the quite long trip. One day Dutch songs, the other day French ones. A nice compromise for the Dutch speaking and French speaking children. But actually we were all bilingual.

In the forth class - I was eight- my teacher was Brother René. He started each day with an hour singing. And it was at that moment that my love for singing together or choir singing began. The first time I heard Brother René sing a second voice with the whole class, it was as if my heart stood still.

Of course I had heard enough choral works with tree or four voices when I listened to my Dad's favorite choral works but what Brother René did felt 'real' to me: I could distinguish the other sounds immediately and I enjoyed how different and beautiful a song became with a second voice.

Quietly humming I tried to sing the second voice and soon I realized I could improvise by singing a 'third' higher or lower: of course I didn't know what the meaning of a 'third' exactly was, musically spoken. I just felt I could invent a harmony that was higher or lower than the first voice and that it fitted exactly with the song.
It was a big discovery for me and I remember that since that moment no other matter really interested me anymore.

After a while Brother René heard I could sing along: since that day he allowed me to sing the second voice with him in front of the class. And every time I felt that feeling of musical complacency ; a feeling that is hard to describe but which brought me in seventh heaven every time.

Since then, music predominated my mind. My head was constantly full of sounds, melodies and harmonies which made me try to invent and create new musical stuff.

Once twelve I started real musical studies: it felt so enormously good and I never stopped loving, enjoying and appreciating music.