Die Hartseerwals ("The heart-break waltz") is the name gien to a number of popular Afrikaans folk songs, recorded by a variety of artists, but more relevantly here, it is the title of a short story about music and life by Hennie Aucamp (1934-2014).

The story has been adapted for presentation on the stage, radio and TV.

The song

The original story

One of Aucamp's best known stories, it is set among the sharecroppers of rural South Arica in the 1930s, it tells the tale of Hetta, who seeks to find expression for her own loneliness and despair in her collection of recorded music, notably in seeking a truly sad "hartseerwals".

Published in the collection Die Hartseerwals: Verhale en sketse by‎ Afrikaanse Pers-Boekhandel in 1965.

Stage version

1970: Performed as a dramatic reading in the Libertas Theatre, Stellenbosch as part of a programme called Hennie Aucamp: Kortverhale en Eenakters ("Hennie Aucamp: Short Stories and One-act Plays"). Directed by Marie van Heerden and performed by Annelize van der Ryst.

Sources

Go to ESAT Bibliography

TV film version

The story was made into a TV film in 1985, directed by Annie Basson with script credited to Hennie Aucamp (short story) and Leon van Nierop (screenplay). The cast included Estelle Venter ("Hetta"), Trudie Taljaard ("Kotie"), Ernst Eloff ("Theuns"), Zack du Plessis ("Sagrys van Deventer"), Kelsey Middleton ("Trees"), Dale Cutts ("Benson") and Stem Thamaga ("Abraam").

The film was produced by Herman Binge and Dick Voorendyk, with cinematography by Digby Young, film editing by Ester Worst and costume and set design by Birrie le Roux. Other technical credits include Darrell Roodt (property master) and Koos Voorendyk (set builder), Barrie Kriel (sound), Rüdiger Payrhuber (sound transfers) and Eddie Pearse (final mix). Script and continuity by Meg Tainton.

Sources

IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9325454

Go to ESAT Bibliography

Radio version

The story was again used as a dramatic reading in 1987, this time as part of an SABC series called Musiek in die verhale van Hennie Aucamp ("Music in the stories of Hennie Aucamp"), compiled and presented by Margot Luyt, in conversation with Hennie Aucamp. The story itself was once again read by Annelise van der Rijst.

Sources

Heinrich van der Mescht. 2006. "Dat ek my boodskap insing in mense se harte": Musiekkunstenaars in die kortverhale van Hennie Aucamp, in Stilet (XVIII:1 – March)[1]