“If you can’t say it, it will sing,” they say. But they actually do not do anything else at Stichting Diva. Divas and divos, as the singers are mentioned there, are blissed with their singing along the beds in healthcare. It is a final greeting, a heart under the belt or a welcome distraction. Everything that music is good for.
“Droomland, Droomland, Oh, I long for Droomland. There is always Vree, so go with me. Together to the wonderful dream country.” Mr. Mol whispers, very softly, with the song. It is his favorite number. “I also sang it myself,” he says. “But I can’t do that anymore.”
Mr. Mol is incurably ill. He has cancer, no longer gets better and wears his last days in peace in the Anna Hospice in Schijndel. To the left of his bed, singer Sofie is singing. His daughter is on the right. And he does the second voice.
Even the nursing is crying. “Thank you, how nice,” says the man. “How nice, how nice.” Sofie looks at him straight, takes his hand occasionally and seeks eye contact with his daughter. “Shall we do another?” She asks him. He doubts: classic or Dutch. “Or do ABBA.” Sofie nods and starts the melody of thank you for the music. She puts her hands on her pregnant belly.
It almost seems symbolic, how death and new life can sing around in a room so close together. “But it is always special whether I am pregnant or not,” says the singer. She has been doing this work for eight years now, but it remains special. Baby or no baby.
“It’s not for everyone.”
With Stichting Diva close by, Sofie comes where people can use a serenade. Because they are sick, demented, are in psychiatric aid or as the last station of life. “It is not for everyone,” she admits. Not everyone can do it.
She sometimes sees people who have not been talking for a while and still suddenly sing along with a song. Whether anyone soften and defrosting, no matter how great the anger for the world is for that person. “Sometimes you see them laughing, sometimes crying very loudly. But it is mainly the recognition in the songs that is so dear.” The music is safe for everyone.
“You have to stay curious who man is behind the disease.”
“I think it’s the most beautiful profession there,” concludes Sofie. According to her, that is due to the curiosity. It is a dance of feeling, responding, listening and singing. It is mainly open, to the other. “You have to stay curious who man is behind the disease. You make the difference in that.”