Almost Angels Page #3

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Good. And now,

come out in front, all of you.

But no, no, no, leave your music.

Let's see how you manage

when you're all together.

Come on, come on. Come, come.

Right?

Now then, group one, on the upbeat.

And hit that first note

good and firm.

Hmm?

Group two,

you come in on bar five, all right?

:singing!

- :
singing stops!

- No, no, no. Those top notes.

Not through the nose.

:mimics boys singing!

Take a breath, deep,

down here, like this.

And then sing out through your mouth,

good and full, right?

Take it from the beginning.

:indistinct chattering!

You should be outside.

lt'll be dark soon.

Yes, sir.

Arithmetic?

- Do you enjoy reading this?

- No, sir.

What are you trying to do?

Get ahead of the others?

Oh, no, sir.

They're all better than me.

And my father says,

if l don't do well in class...

Come along.

Naturally, your father wants you

to do well with your schoolwork.

- He'll take me away if l don't.

- l know.

- Are you working hard?

- Yes, sir.

Peter Schaefer says,

l just don't work fast enough.

But then, he's so smart.

Peter is very fortunate.

He's got a quick, clear mind,

and a wonderful feeling for music.

Do you think

he'll be famous some day?

Well, he's a very gifted boy.

He can even compose music.

Did you know that?

Mm-hm.

And to be able

to do arithmetic, too...

:chuckling! Cheer up, Toni.

Know who that is?

- lt's Franz Schubert, isn't it?

- Mm-hm.

- He was a Vienna choirboy.

- Was he?

Has the choir been going on

as long as that?

Much longer. Nearly 500 years.

Schubert was a choirboy in 1 808.

Well, not so very long ago, really.

And do you know something, Toni?

He wasn't any good

at arithmetic, either.

He only wanted to sing and write music.

Know this?

:plays song on piano!

Schubert wrote this

while he was still a choirboy.

- He did?

- And plenty more.

Music seemed to pour out of him.

He just couldn't write it down

fast enough.

And then, one day,

his father came to the school

and looked at his school record.

lt was terrible.

He told the director

he was taking his son away.

- And did he?

- No.

The director persuaded him

to give Franz another chance,

and so he stayed.

Do you think the director

could persuade my father?

Maybe your grades will improve.

Do you know this?

:plays song!

Yes, sir.

That's Schubert's The Linden Tree.

Hello, Peter.

This is one of your favorites.

Come and join in. lt'll help Toni.

You sing the alto line, Peter.

l've always sung the lead.

lt's a little high for you now.

Try the alto this time.

:singing!

Good. You sing well together.

When you're a famous conductor,

don't leave Schubert out, Peter.

You know what he meant.

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