SINGING OLDE GERMAN AND BROADWAY SONGS (Satis Shroff, Freiburg)

 I’d never imagined that I’d be singing olde German and Broadway songs with fellow Germans of the Männergesangsverein (men’s choir) in Freiburg-Kappel. In the past years I’d been asked to sing by Alois of Zäringia a couple of times but I’d been reluctant because I’d been too busy with my lectures and kids. Meanwhile, old Alois has died of heart-attack and I miss his friendly face as he greeted me with a smile every time I met him in Zäringen. Here I am singing as a second tenor in Kappel, and it’s really exciting.

 20 euros for the membership and another 100 euros for the blue coat, and you’re part of the choir, ready for the singing galas in different parts of the Dreisam Valley as guest singers. I couldn’t believe it. Yours truly rehearsing German and English songs at Hochdorf with the ladies there, and the other choirs from the Dreisamtal at Buchenbach with 600 Germans listening and applauding.

The Dreisamtal comprises Kirchzarten, Oberried, Buchenbach and Stegen. A ‘tal’ is a valley in German. You get a wonderful view of the Dreisam Valley by going from Buchenbach up the Vale of Hell (Höllental) via Himmelreich. The adjacent valleys are very romantic with green meadows, gushing streams and picturesque Black Forest farmhouses, a mill which is still in use and the ruins of the Wiesneck castle. There’s also a farmhouse museum named Hansmeyerhof located in Wagensteig. Nearby lies Stegen, on the sun-kissed side of the Dreisam Valley. The castle of Weiler built in the year 1663 is worth a visit, as is the snake-chapel in Witten Valley. The barock church at Eschbach is one of the most beautiful in the Freiburger area. There are many Black Forest farmsteads to be discovered by you. From Lindenberg you have an excellent view of the Dreisam Valley.

 The choir-members had their traditional costumes on. What a wonderful feeling. You felt the adrenalin surging in your blood-stream as you sang with the others. ‘A choir is not individualists. It must have one harmonious sound,’ was the young conductor Felix Rosskopf’s admonition when we were rehearsing.

 It was the first time after the World War II  that the Dreisamtal choirs came and sang together. During the War the Germans were obliged to sing war and Vaterland songs. Buchenbach seems to have a problem that is commonly evident in most singing clubs in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The older generation’s becoming invalid due to old age and lack of mobility and the younger ‘love-parade’ generation doesn’t care about carrying on the old tradition of the Vaterland. The singers of Buchenbach sang: Sing with me, Oh Shenandoah, Mit Musik geht alles besser. The St. Peter singers from the high Schwarzwald sang: Freude am Leben which was more spoken than sung, O du schöner Rosengarten which was a declaration of love and another lyric called Rot sind die Rosen. Love is always a favourite theme.

The singers from Ebnet turned up with a mixed choir ‘because the men have died out or have left the church choir,’ according to Klaus. The Ebneter singers sang: Capri Fisher, I’ll break the hearts of the proudest women, a lady-killer song in German, and a waltz for me and you. The men’s choir from Kirchzarten sang: Die Sonne erwacht, a traditional German song, Hymne, O Iris composed by Wolfgang Mozart. I noticed a lot of singers had receding foreheads that shone under the lights of the stage. The majority of them wore glasses and were all dressed up for the occasion. The ladies were wearing long flowing evening dresses or came in the traditional dirndels of the Black Forest, and the men in impeccable trachten suits. Kirchzarten lies on the way to Hirschsprung, Hinterzarten and Titisee, a glacial lake. In Kirchzarten you can do Nordic Walking, play golf, relax in the Kneipp centre using water as a therapy and play the French game of boule like Peter Mayle (A Year in Provence).

 The singers from Zarten sang: Heimat, deine Sterne, Strangers in the Night, Are you lonesome tonight (German version). We, from Kappel, sang: Ein Freund, ein guter Freund and La Le Lu a lullaby for young and old from an old German film with Heinz Rühmann in the leading role. The Oberried singers sang the best. Oberried is known for the highest peaks of the Black Forest: Feldberg and Schauinsland. There’s a Heimat museum called Schniederlihof, a quarry located on a hill which has been turned into a museum and, of course, the Steinwasen entertainment park. The vegetation in this part is sub-alpine. In summer you can do a lot of rock climbing and enjoy walks and picnics on its lush, green meadows. In winter Oberried is a ski paradise. There’s also Germany’s first mountain nature graveyard. 

On another occasion we were invited by the Hochdorfer to sing at their council hall. We sang songs from: Adiemus, Jungle Book, the Blue Angel, Truxa, Gasparone, Lena’s song, Gabriella’s song, Fünf Millionen suchen einen Erben, Frauen sind keine Engel (women aren’t angels), True Love, my Heart Will Go on (Titanic), Nur nicht aus Liebe weinen, In mir klingt ein Lied, Für ein Nachtvoller Seligkeit (Kora Terry), Moon River (from Breakfast at Tiffany’s), Midnight Blues and Conquest of Paradise. A big screen near the stage was used to project scenes from the movies. Even the choirs have to go digital.

The receptive German audience and the singers became one, and Felix Rosskopf gave his best. The applause was thunderous in the Hochdorfer hall. We were delighted to receive a standing ovation in the end. That was a great feeling when we all sang The Conquest of Paradise with gusto. The text is actually silly and artificial but the effect on the audience is grand. You could feel the spark spreading from the conductor to the singers and back to the audience. Singing all these songs was a fantastic, wellness experience and extremely therapeutic in effect. It did you good in your heart.

After the singing is over it’s the done thing to sit and drink local German beer or wine together and talk about the concert, crack jokes and discuss private matters if one feels like it. If you’re living in a hamlet you are bound to know almost everything about that’s up in the Dorf.

They say when three Germans get together they create an association (Verein). And it was 75 years ago that a verein was created in an old song attempt to rescue the old songs. In Buchenbach they founded the Edelweiss and one of the mottos are: ‘We’ll amuse ourselves to death.’ A song-verein is a place where you are entertained, where you speak about your problems with your singing comrades and help each other. This was the way it was since generations, and this tradition has been continued. For instance when my friend Klaus Sütterle wants to renovate a part of his old house, he just asks someone from the verein during one of the social drinking sessions, and help is already underway without bureaucracy. It’s a policy of give and take as in the old days.

Many search for a reason in life. And through the lyrics of the songs and the process of chanting in the choir the people experience help and action, which in turn leads to meetings and exchange of ideas and fun in life. The lyrics help to maintain the values that might be lost in this technological world where jobs get rationalised and the fear of losing one’s job hangs over one’s head like a Damocle’s Sword. It’s in the choir that you talk about your worries and happiness, invite people to parties or get invited. There are certainly a lot of virtues and advantages in joining a verein, club or association.

I personally think that there’s nothing better for the soul than to sing aloud, like reciting a poem loudly, because we are all endowed with a voice with which we can create melody. When you sing together with others you realise how good you can sing and improve your voice, breathing and social capabilities. In a choir you can get rid of your daily stress, be creative and make an eustress out of it, instead of dystress. You have an elated feeling when the last chords of the song end. Ah, there’s such pleasure in singing. Instead of depressing , frustrating thoughts, you have positive images and feelings, and you develop power in your voice and go, and grow, with the song. You’re making music with your vocal chords. You see the smiling faces around you, and you smile back. This feeling is infectious. You are creating goodwill which spreads to others in front of, and behind the stage. If you’re alone and sad, you sing and cheer yourself up. Your singing cheers up others too and you’re socialising even before you realise it.

You’re singing suddenly in concerts and are making the old German and new English songs known to the younger and older generations. Singing helps to break down inhibitions and social barriers and leads to togetherness among people. There’s a Miteinander instead of prejudice and egoism. You do something for the others, and not expect them always to do something for you. You’re sharing your delights.

Through the songs we express our feelings of happiness and joy, of sadness and sorrow. We cheer ourselves up and find solace in the lyrics of the song, and experience even moments of transcendence through sacral music. The effects of singing through the release of hormones like endorphines and epinephrine (adrenalin) in the circulatory system even promotes our health.

In Germany we say you ought to settle in a place where they sing. That’s exactly what I’ve done. A wonderful place on earth, this Schwarzwald. Welcome to the Black Forest!