1/2 Reactions to the death of Pierre Kartner
Music producer Manfred Jongenelis from Etten-Leur had known Pierre Kartner for years. Not only did he make songs with him, they also had a special bond that grew into a real friendship.
With a smile on his face, music producer Manfred Jongenelis looks back at images from a clip he recorded with Pierre Kartner in his studio in Etten-Leur. “This was one of the last times I saw Pierre. With his bowler hat on.”
The clip is from John de Bever, who recorded a cover of the song ‘Het kleine café aan de harbour’. Kartner was allowed to play a part in that clip, just like Jongenelis himself. “I look back on this with warm feelings. Unfortunately, we can never do it again, but we have this anyway.”
Yet there is also a bit of melancholy. “I can feel it inside. He’s never coming to my studio again, he’s never coming to make a song again.”
“Pierre was always there for me, as a person and as a friend.”
Jongenelis can hardly comprehend Kartner’s death. “I read the news on the Omroep Brabant site. I didn’t want to believe it at first. But then one message after another came and I realized that unfortunately it had to be true.”
Boyelis has to think carefully about the question of what the most beautiful memory of Pierre Kartner is. “I have done so many beautiful things with him. We recorded beautiful songs together. And a carnival song for which we had drummed up a lot of extras. I look back on that with great pleasure. But the most important thing is that he was always there for me when human being and as a friend.”
That Kartner was a real friend became clear when the daughter of Jongenelis died in 2004. “When Esmeralda died he was one of the few artists who called me to ask how I was doing. He was with me within ten minutes. Pierre was a real person, it wasn’t just about the music for him.”
“If anyone deserves a statue, it’s him.”
According to Jongenelis, Kartner has increasingly withdrawn in recent years. “I think he felt disappointed. His songs were no longer the successes of the past. But he was also very proud of himself, of what he had achieved.”
From a glass display cabinet, Jongenelis takes a bronze statue of Pierre Kartner. He proudly says: “I once got this from Pierre out of friendship. They only made a few of them, very special.”
Jongenelis would like a large statue to be erected to Pierre Kartner somewhere. “I don’t know if that will work. But if anyone deserves a statue, it’s him.”