'Bohemian Rhapsody' on beer

Germany’s tradition of the choir is undergoing a revival in Berlin with young people in particular taking to singing when the mood is right – and the alcohol level.

The other night, a bar called Suess war Gestern (Yesterday was Sweet) in Berlin’s Friedrichshain district was packed out. Just as the last singer was stepping down from a table, a round of schnapps was quickly downed before the next song began.

About 25 people were singing songs such as Rihanna’s “Diamonds” and the soundtrack hit from the movie Dirty Dancing, “Time of my Life”.

The group, the Berliner Kneipenchor, has a touch of the karaoke spirit about it, but it turns out it has high musical standards as well, according to founder Mathias Hielscher. Together with Nino Skrotzki, Hielscher launched the choir two years ago.

“Nino was looking for a choir in Berlin but all he could find were gospel choirs,” recalls Hielscher. He then sent emails to friends and 15 of them came together for the choir’s first session.

Today, the choir has 30 members between the ages of 19 and 45. Most work in Berlin’s media sector, in marketing or run start-up businesses. They meet once a week to rehearse, with bar-room tours every few months.

A few members used to be professional singers and most have years of experience in other choirs behind them. Becoming a member is difficult and only “really good” soprano and bass voices have a chance of being accepted.

Berlin has 2,000 choirs with about 60,000 members, estimates Meiko Koehler from Berlin’s choir association, the Chorverband. He believes the bar-room choir is a trend with a future.

“Lots of choirs have been founded in the last three or four years,” he says. Koehler gets about 20 requests a month from people who are looking for a suitable choir to join.

But in the rest of Germany, the overall number of choirs is on the decrease. According to figures from Germany choir association there’s been a steady decline in choir membership over the past decade.

On the other hand, musicologist Gunter Kreutz from the University of Oldenburg says there is growing awareness in Germany about choirs. “Singing is still a good way to help you search for happiness.”

Kreutz says that’s because choir members are never bored or overstrained. They go into a “flow”, to use Kreutz’s expression. “It’s a state of deep satisfaction.” A choir member is typically a well-educated person. “There are a lot of people with university degrees,” says Kreutz, who carried out a study on Germany’s choir culture last year.

Choir members are five times more likely to have a degree than the average German.

Choirs are a good place to meet people with a similar outlook on life. Germany’s choir scene ranges from politically minded choirs to gay and lesbian choirs. “Many choirs are like families,” says Kreutz. That’s the impression you get when watching the Berliner Kneipenchor in action. Arm in arm, choir members depart after the performance at the Suess war Gestern to move on to the next bar.

Many of the members bear the trademarks of Berlin’s hipster scene: thick-rimmed spectacles, colourful scarves and printed linen bags. Mathias Hielscher says the typical choir member is an extrovert with a “certain sense of self-expression”.

So is Berlin’s hipster choir culture on its way to becoming a mass phenomenon? Meiko Koehler doesn’t think so. “We’re mainly seeing a growing number of senior-citizen choirs.”