Andrea Bocelli

Robert Harper

The first time I heard Andrea Bocelli sing was with Sarah Brightman as a duet and the song was "Time to say goodbye" The song came from the radio, and I had no idea who the singers were, and since it was almost all in Italian I did not understand a word of it.

The music was so beautiful and the voices so magestic and soaring that I found tears welling up in my eyes. I had no idea what I was crying for. It was just uncontrolable.

Perhaps it was about sadness and loss, or perhaps a deep yearning to be connected once again in a fresh way with all of my family. Music has always had a powerful effect on me, in that it stirs up my emotions.

There is nothing much I can do about it. I have observed my children taking sidways glances at my face, and wondering if their father is going to start crying when listening to a particular piece of music... and I have cried alot in front of my children, and neither me nor them are ashamed of this fact.

Long ago I decided that if I ever got the opportunity to listen to Andrea Bocelli live, then I would do it. He just happened to be singing in Helsinki on my birthday on the 19th of November, so I went to see him, together with about 10,000 other people. It was magical. He did three encores and finished the night off with a heartbreaking rendition of "Time to say goodbye"

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