When the corona measures were released at the beginning of this year, this led to happy faces at the Byzantine Choir Drenthe. Finally rehearsing and performing together again, just like before. That prospect made the approximately thirty men of the choir happy in advance, but that changed when the Russians invaded Ukraine in mid-February. Because the choir is also affected by the Russia boycott in the Netherlands.
“We have not yet had a request for a concert,” says Hans Katerberg gloomily. When the chairman of the Byzantine Choir checks the choir’s agenda, he sees only one concert planned so far. “In December in Rolde, and that was already planned for corona. I assume that it will continue,” says Katerberg. He can say with certainty that that agenda would have looked very different if Russia and Ukraine had not been in conflict. “Normally we have six concerts every season.”
Katerberg himself had not easily made the link between his choir and the war that Vladimir Putin has started. “Although we sing Russian folk songs like the Kalinka and the Volgalid, we are not affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church at all,” he explains. Katerberg finds no superfluous explanation, since Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, defends the war in Ukraine in his sermons.
“We sing Byzantine songs. We don’t do that in Russian, but in Slavic. You can compare that with the Old Dutch language from the States Bible from the 17th century. We no longer speak that Old Dutch language, and that’s how you should use Slavic actually see it. That is hardly spoken anymore, but the Slavic songs are still sung in church. They are just beautiful, religious songs, without a link with the Russian Orthodox Church,” emphasizes Katerberg. “In fact, you don’t even have to be religious to want to sing along with us.”
Apart from the fact that the concert agenda of the Byzantine Koor Drenthe is somewhat empty, the choir from Beilen has not yet received any direct signals that their songs are currently not wanted. This already applied to the Groninger Christian Men’s Choir Albatros from Nieuwe Pekela, which has the same repertoire as the Byzantine Choir Drenthe. “One of our members also sings there and he said that during a recent performance, they were kindly asked if the Russian repertoire could be omitted. And some of our own members have already wondered aloud whether it is still appropriate to sing Russian folk songs.” , sighs Katerberg.
The fact that the Drenthe choir is not booked does not mean that they will not perform until December. “We can of course also organize a concert ourselves,” says Katerberg. However, the question of whether this will attract the public is also an issue that concerns the choir board. “We are looking with great curiosity at the concert that will be given on April 18 in Hoorn by two Byzantine choirs, they even do it for the benefit of Ukrainian war victims. On the basis of that concert we may be able to estimate what we could expect.”