Saturday 16 December is already noted in the agendas of the members of the Royal Haarlem Men’s Choir Zang and Friendship. Then the choir sings a special musical program in the Philharmonie. Reporter Rob Wtenweerde took a look at the public rehearsal and even made a brave attempt to sing along.
There I am on a rainy and cold Monday evening in front of the building of Zang en Vriendschap in the Jansstraat in the center of Haarlem. What have I started? I responded to a call from the choir for ‘project singers’. These are singers who are specially recruited for a specific concert. This way you learn a lot, but you are not really committed to membership.
I thought it would be fun to write a report about it for NH Nieuws, since the oldest men’s choir in the Netherlands is an institution in the city. But chairman Bert Koopman thought it would be even more fun if I would sing along myself. The more the merrier. But I’m not a chorister at all and I can’t read music. So I wonder: how do I get through this?
“It really is a warm group of friends. The name Zang en Vriendschap fits us perfectly”
The chairman welcomes everyone and introduces the four newcomers of the evening. I am handed a folder with songs and I am shocked. I had never had so many staves in front of me before. Conductor Arno Vree directs me past the tenors and baritones towards the basses. The choir starts The Lion Sleeps Tonight. I take a deep breath and try to participate as quietly as possible so as not to look out of place.
Luckily Nico takes care of me. After I started the part of the tenors twice, he explains which stave is for the basses. That helps enormously. I’m slowly but surely gaining a tiny bit of confidence.
Oldest male choir
The choir was founded in 1830 and will therefore exist exactly two centuries in seven years. And Zang en Vriendschap still manages to attract enough young recruits. Well yes: young…. at 55 years old I am one of the benjamins in the group.
Chairman Bert Koopman: “In 1830 there was a wealthy merchant who founded the choir. At the beginning of the twentieth century we even had about 200 choir members, now there are 70. That is still a lot for a men’s choir today. make beautiful music.”
“It’s not just singing what we do here”, Koopman continues, “We also have a lot of fun together, it really is a warm group of friends. The name Zang en Vriendschap therefore suits us very well.”
The two hours of rehearsal fly by. The singers gather around the bar and I get a pat on the back from my buddy Nico afterwards. “When new singers arrive, they are placed next to someone who helps a bit in the beginning. You have to do it together, listen carefully to each other, because then you are only a choir.”
Good voice
Of course I fish for a compliment from Nico. With success: “You have a good voice, easy to hear, so I would say: keep going. Put it on!”
At the bar, one of the choir members is sung to by the rest. He’s celebrating his birthday. That will surely be a bit late. I leave the men behind and cycle home, humming softly, satisfied.
The next concert of Song and Friendship is during Remembrance Day in the Grote or St. Bavokerk in Haarlem, where everyone except me will be heard. I think I’ll stick with journalism after all.