On “Ballade vir ’n Voshaarnooi”, the Villiersdorp singer brings a song she has long loved into a new collaboration featuring Eddy Strings.

By Martin Myers

One of Petronel Baard’s all-time favourite recordings is Louis van Rensburg singing “Voshaarnooi”. One of the songs she makes a point of performing at every show is her own arrangement of Boerneef’s “Die Berggans het ’n veer laat val”. Those two choices tell you something about why her new single feels so personal. With “Ballade vir ’n Voshaarnooi”, Baard returns to a poet whose words already travel with her from stage to stage and takes a song she loves into new company.

Released on 16 October 2026, the Afrikaans single pairs Baard with Jerome Rex (pictured below ) and features Eddy Strings. The lyrics are credited to Boerneef and Rex, and the melody to Louis van Rensburg, Monde “Mondzz” Mthombeni, Pieter van Rooyen and Baard. Mthombeni and Van Rooyen produced the recording.

When I spoke to Baard last week, she was candid about the creative process. “I find co-writing stressful, but I love performing with different artists and in that we collaborate in many ways.” She is equally direct about what draws her to a piece of music. A feeling or something she notices in nature can set her off, and arranging gives her a way to hold on to the beauty she finds there.

“Music is the essence of my soul and emotions the river that runs it,” she told me. “I feel deeply and express in music.”

From Villiersdorp to the cabaret stage

Baard grew up in Villiersdorp in the Overberg, where, according to her biography, townspeople would see her dancing in the wind and singing to the trees. In 1999 she won the national ATKV-Crescendo singing competition and went on to tour South Africa with her own cabaret shows. The media dubbed her “Die Lang Vrou”. She also answers to “Die meisie van Villiersdorp”. Ask what makes her stand out and she gives you three words: “I stand tall.”

At 24, that meant carrying speakers up two flights of stairs in high heels, then walking onstage looking as if she had done nothing more strenuous than check her lipstick. There were three musicians, the budget was tight, and she was determined to give the audience the sound they had come for. Years later, asked what she complains about most, her answer is equally concise. “My back.”

Then there was the night she missed a cue and realised, at the same instant as her pianist, that neither knew where the other was going. He went into the chorus. She went into the bridge. The opening notes were close enough to make the collision awkward, so she sang what she calls a “jazz note” and turned herself around. The audience seldom catches those moments, she says. The people onstage feel every second of them.

That mix of preparation and instinct runs through her work. Classically trained, Baard plays piano and guitar and writes, performs and produces her own music and shows. Poetry is a thread through much of it. Asemhaal brings her music together with the work of Hannes Visser. The Hovering, released on 4 July 2025, sets poetry by Louisa Punt-Fouché, whose Die Kantloper she was reading when we spoke. She also launched Vrou, Vrouer, Vrouste, an album built around Lidi de Waal’s poetry, at Die Kalfiefees in Hermanus on 5 August.

Her productions have taken her from arts festivals with ’n Blom in Elke Vrou to Verdubbel die Geluk with Stef Kruger and Triptruuk with Kruger and Soetmelk. She has paired music and wine with Schalk Maas, hosted the monthly Salty River Sunset Soirées cabaret in Klein Brak River and performed with Jan-Erik Swart’s South Cape Children’s Choir. Under the banner Musiek van die Lang Vrou, her solo shows draw on originals, arrangements and songs that shaped her. In Ek het jou Onthou, she revisits the musicals she grew up with.

Across live stages and television, Baard’s collaborators and fellow performers have included McCoy Mrubata, Karin Hougaard, Riku and Jackie Lätti, Sarah Theron, Gert Vlok Nel, Piet Botha, Mel Botes, Min Shaw, Nico Carstens, Jannie du Toit, Bacchus Nel, Churchill Naudé, Frazer and Deniel Barry, Deon Meiring, RAAF, Gian Groen and Ramon Alexander. Her biography also lists performances with conductor Eric Rycroft and the Pretoria and Cape Town philharmonic orchestras. She has toured with Jannie Moolman and released a single with Theron. Among the projects listed in her biography are an ATKV-Crescendo show with The Voice winner Craig Lucas and a Christmas single and show with Moolman.

Making room for other artists

Baard told me she has been involved in community development through the arts from day one. In Great Brak River she serves as musical director of an annual cabaret for local charities. She has mentored talent through ATKV-Crescendo, served as a patron of Mossel Bay’s MOCCA cultural forum and spent six years on the Western Cape Cultural Commission, chairing it in her final term. She has also worked through theatre development committees and collectives to create opportunities for other artists.

Her career has brought SAMA and FNB Theatre Award nominations, including recognition for her cabaret work, and two Cordis Trust honours. She received the Orde van die Beiteltjie in 2020 for her support of Afrikaans culture and Die Orde van die Ster in 2024 for her contribution to South African arts and culture.

When I asked about her heroes, she named Diana Krall, Tori Amos and Laurika Rauch, whose “Donker gang” she says changed her life. She singled out Jannie du Toit for what he has done for the kind of Afrikaans music she makes. Then she turned the question towards the musicians who pave the way with little recognition. “True talent is not always honored,” she said. Her own definition of fame is simpler. “Fulfilling your true potential.”

The work still ahead

Baard is documenting more than 26 years of music, writing her life story and considering further study so she can share what she has learned about how intimate theatres work in South Africa. She has more tours and projects planned through Lang Vrou Produksies. Her dream is a world tour of small rooms, with one exception she would happily make for the Royal Albert Hall.

For Baard, slowing down might change the shape of the work. Once musicians tour less, she says, they can spend more time recording the stories others might learn from. When I asked her to name her greatest achievement, she said, “I am writing that down. Keep you posted.”

That instinct to keep a song in circulation, and to give the next artist something to work with, brings us back to “Ballade vir ’n Voshaarnooi”. The Louis van Rensburg recording still has its place on her playlist. Now there’s a version with Jerome Rex and Eddy Strings for someone else to discover and make a favourite of their own.

Petronel offstage

• What guides her Her parents taught her respect and compassion, and to do what she can to leave the world better for those who follow. She wants her music to uplift and heal. The closest she comes to a motto is “Peace and Strength”.
• Home and happiness Her husband and their cats are the loves of her life. She treasures her family, her cats and her soul. Given another path, she says she would love to raise children with her husband. Happiness is peace and quiet. Her drink is gin and pink tonic with lots of berries.
• Style and character She appreciates beautiful things and takes her cue from a healthy attitude more than fashion trends. Her five words for herself are passionate, hard-working, loyal, truthful and whole. Her favourite expression is “100%”. Asked what she doesn’t do, she answered, “I do.”
• Film and books She still loves Dirty Dancing and is reading Louisa Punt-Fouché’s poetry collection Die Kantloper.
• Fear and kindness Her biggest fear is “Fear.” Her best life lesson is to be kind to yourself and to others. Asked about her favourite journey, she chose her life. Onstage, she says, “I perform my heart out.”

Five songs on Petronel’s playlist

1. Louis van Rensburg, “Voshaarnooi”
2. Sibongile Khumalo, “Life Is Going On”
3. Herman van den Berg, “Windliedjie”
4. Soetmelk, “Vermaaklikheid”
5. Diana Krall, “Narrow Daylight”

Single credits – Ballade vir ‘n Voshaarnooi

Title	“Ballade vir ’n Voshaarnooi”
Artists	Petronel Baard & Jerome Rex featuring Eddy Strings
Lyrics	Boerneef and Jerome Rex
Melody	Louis van Rensburg, Monde “Mondzz” Mthombeni, Pieter van Rooyen and Petronel Baard
Producers	Monde “Mondzz” Mthombeni and Pieter van Rooyen
Duration	3:29
Language and country	Afrikaans, South Africa
Labels and publishers	Lang Vrou Produksies and Jerome Rex
Release date	16 October 2026
ISRC	700573355513

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