European Ethnology:

 

WINTER SPIRITS ON MAIERS HILL (Satis Shroff)

 

 

The winter spirits have been driven away and Fastnacht is over in Freiburg-Kappel. Even the famous Morgestraicht in neighbouring Basle (Switzerland) has come to an end.

 

In a last ceremony, the members of the Schauinsländer Berggeister gathered broken pieces of wood from the woods in the vicinity of the hamlet. When it became dark in the distant hills surrounding the Dreisam Valley, the people made their way along the Eschenweg to the Maiersberg, where a bon-fire was had been made. After some time the big flames started licking the starry sky above Kappel.

 

Burning wooden slabs with holes in the middle were put at the ends of long sticks and then young men and a blonde girl took turns at hitting a ramp. The glowing piece of wood flew into the dark sky and landed after an elleptical trajectory into the valley below, like stardust.

 

When the Berggeister (mountain-spirits), who were not in their usual scary costumes, but wore black straw hats, white shirts like during the Hemdenklunker ball, black trousers, swung their sticks they were obliged to speak rhyming words like a mantra to whom the flying wood was dedicated: to the chairman of the verein, a teacher, a lover, a dear grandma, or a grandpa. It’s expected that the red-hot wood leaves a beautiful glowing spur on its way to the valley below. There were quite a few duds too, which is regarded by some as a sign of some mishap in the future for the person to whom it was dedicated. The opening words of the wood-flying ceremony are: ‘Schiibi, Schiibo, wem soll die Scheibe go?’ in German.

 

Scheibenschlagen is an old Allemanic tradition to banish winter. And this was a long, cold, bitter winter interspersed with gloomy, rainy and slushy days. During the Scheibenschlagen ceremony the spirits of the mountains and the cold season are driven away by burning Fasnacht, which is an effigy donning human clothes and a painted straw-head. This figure, which symbolises winter, is burned and the motley clad people around him, as well as the witches (hexen) make a feigned hue and cry as the flickering flames lick the sky. 

Normally, the hamlet dwellers and Fasnet association or clique members gather branches, twigs and other wood from the Black Forest to make a big fire, like the one at Meiersbergsweg which lies in the vicinity of Eschenwegle, a lovely meadow with prussian blue pine trees on the top of the hills. After it becomes dark, a big bonfire is made with the twigs and branches put together in the shape of a wigwam frame. Instead of German sausages, the young men of Kappel put long hasel-nut sticks into the fire, the end of which are inserted into square pieces of flat wood sawed in squares with a hole in the middle. When the square wood glows it is shot on a ramp that is set-up for this purpose.

 

The glowing scheibe flies up like a comet in the starry wintry sky and lands in the valley below. The children of the hamlet Kappel run about gleefully to grab the black burnt pieces of wood as souvenirs of a delightful winter evening. The young men sing a wish in verse for themselves, or their friends, relatives, fiancees, women they admire, or even the CEO of their firms.

Today, we do it on Facebook and Twitter but this olde Allemanic tradition is a lot more fun. If the scheibe doesn´t fly and is a dud, it might bring your relationship, your house, family or your firm etcetera misfortune. Reminds me of the Bada Dasain ritual sacrifice of the asiatic buffaloes and goats at the Hanuman Dhoka Palace, where the Gurkhas use their khukris to decapitate the sacrificial animals. If a Gurkha is not successful and the animal still lives, it´ll bring his regiment bad luck. Perhaps they might be killed in combat.

Schiebe, schieba, schiebo

Where should the slice of wood go?

The slice should go to Claudia!

If it doesn´t fly,

Then it´s not true.

The Hill Spirits of Schauinsland staged the traditional slice-of-wood shooting on top of the Maier Hill in Kappel, below the place where the ores were washed previously. This big fire was to be seen from as far as the Big Valley street so that visitors could find their way to the hill. 

Wood-shooting or as we Germans call it ´Scheibenschlagen´ is an old pagan ritual to banish winter, which was later integrated into the Christian days of fasting called ´fasnet.´ The date of this tradition goes back to the old calendar of fasting in which the people indulged in, even on Sundays, which is normally regarded as ´the day of resting´ or Ruhetag. In Freiburg and the surrounding areas, the wood-shooting is carried out after Ash Wednesday. The ritual took place in Tuniberg-Orten and St. Georgen last week already and Kappel celebrated it a bit later. The Schauinsland Berggeister have good relations with their fellow knaves from the Dreisam Valley such as: the Firey Salamander from Ebnet, the Forest Spirits of Stegen (Waldgeister).

In Eschbach, for instance, only young men aged 18 to 26 years are allowed to take part in the wood-shooting. Their duties among others are: to uphold the old traditions, gather Christmas trees, cut wood, find a Schiebe girl for the Schiebe-dance later in the evening, cut the wood in shape (10 x 10 cm) and to alternatively work as bar-keepers. The straw witch placed at the tip of the stake is burned to symbolically drive away the winter. When the pyre of gathered wood really starts burning, its orange and red flames licking the sky, the boys begin to pray when the village bells ring. They go around in circles thrice, wearing their hats like punters at Oxford, with long white smocks.

Hitting a glowing piece of glowing wood cut in the form of a 10 cm square, is a traditional custom in the Black Forest. This takes place at the end of the Fasnet time, which is incidentally, the beginning of the period of fasting, and takes place normally on the first Sunday. You wait till it becomes dark and a fire is made at an elevation above the hamlet you´re living in.

For young men it´s fun and pride to take part in the wood-shooting ceremony. The flattened pieces of wood have a hole in the middle and are raised on four sides, so that they can fly like a small frisbee into the nocturnal sky like a wee meteorite. The route of the wooden plate depends on the strength and skill of the person hitting it. In Kappel there was only one woman who was allowed to take part in the ritual. She was a heavily built blonde lady and shot the wood with all her might. Either it must have flown to outer space or it never left the ground. The crowd gathered in the cold, starry night are young and old, and often jeer at the participants when their shots are flops sometimes. This is supposed to bring them bad luck and is inauspicious.

The wooden plates are made of birch, beech, alder or elm-wood. Each person shoots at least 20 such pieces, which are burnt at the end of a swinging stick in a separate, smaller fire till they glow. The slabs of wood are placed on a ramp and with a swing, away it goes into the starry, wintry night. Behind us, above the hillock with its rows of pine trees looking like sentinels, was the silvery moon appearing behind the grey clouds. Each slab of wood is dedicated to a friend, wife, lover, a couple, even firms and chefs, and people who have been engaged or have married since the last ´Funken´ or spark Sunday.

If he piece of glowing wood flies far and wide, this is regarded as a good omen. The fireball can attain a distance of 120 to 150 metres. Unlike the Scheibenschlagen in the Black Forest, in Allgäu (Bavaria) they differentiate between Ehrenscheiben for friends and people higher up in the social ladder, and a curse-wood (Schimpfenscheiben) in which certain people who have done something bad or forbidden in the hamlet or have not been brought to court yet, are lampooned. In the early days, if a glowing piece of wood reached a house roof, window, or even the hay in a stall, it was not retrieved and held as auspicious, according to the old folk´s belief: ´A burning slab of wood doesn´t cause a fire.´ 

Clemens Fruttiker, a thick-set guy, with greying hair at the sides like George Clooney, who is in charge of Kappel´s Fire Brigade says: ´We´re ready for any fire and always on standby when there´s a wood-shooting ceremony in the area.´ He sure knows what he´s talking about because he´s my neighbour and a big reassurance to us all.

Schiebe, schieba, schiebo

Wenn soll d´ schiebe go?

D´ Schieba soll der (Name) go!

Fliegt´s nit,

So gilt´s nit.

---------------------------

Glossary:

Go oder gehen: to go

Schiebe, Scheiben: wooden slices or slabs, 10 x 10 cm

Schiebetanz: dance after the wood-shooting ceremony

Schlagen: hit, shoot

Ehren: do someone the honour,

Funken: spark

Schimpfen: curse, rail upon someone

Schauensländer Berggeister: Hill spirits of the Schauinsland

Fliegt´s nit: doesn´t fly

So gilt´s nit: It doesn´t count, it´s not true 

Funken: emit sparks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

                                      Fasnet: A Seasonal Masked Festival (Satis Shroff)

 

                                                        

                                   The loathsome mask has fallen, the man remains.

   Scepterless, free, uncircumscribed, but man

                                   Equal, unclassed, tribeless and nationless. 

(PB Shelley)                                                                                  

 

Since ancient times masks have been regarded as living images of spirits and gods...and these beings receive tribute and homage through sacrificial offerings carried out with ancient rites.

 

In some cultures the very glance at a taboo mask can bring illness or death when one is not initiated. When the African tribe of Dan is on the warpath they take special care not to damage the sacred masks of the enemies, because they want to be at peace with the spirits for they fear the power of the spirits.

 

Whether in the Alps, Dolomites or the Himalayas people have believed in spirits and demons in the forests, bush and the mountains with the result that there are so many legends and myths about primordeal forest spirits (Urwaldgeister) and mountain-spirits (Berggeister) And masks have been created to depict and appease these demons, gods and spirits.

 

In the lovely Black Forest town of Kappel, as in other parts of Germany, we have the Brauchtumsabend with the goal to present old beliefs and traditions authentically. But the problem with such events is that the more historical character they have, as in the case of town-festivals, market-celebrations, village-markets, the more research is done by social scientists and European ethnologists. However, the withholding of such olde traditions (Brauchtumspflege) must not be dated back to the Third Reich period. The tradition began much earlier and has been the working fields of sociologists, historians and pedagogues. In the seventies intensive research was done about festivals not only in Germany but also in Europe, where interdisciplinary field research was done on themes like: daily-life, pastime and direct communication with the participants and organisators at all levels.

 

As a result all sorts of festivals were documented, analysed and their meaning for the respective societies was researched and this became the central theme for anthropology (Volkskunde and Völkerkunde) and European ethnology and all relevant aspects for the social interaction in such festivals. Every country and area in Europe has its own customs, traditional costumes, clergical and seasonal events.

 

In addition to academicians, journalists from television have also joined the bandwagon  and they present and comment about the Allemanic-Swabian fasnet, fasching, carnival masks, attires, traditions as well about other season events, which are very important in the provincial areas in the valleys in the Schwarzwald and the Alps and Dolomites, where the mountain villages are isolated from the rest of the world, despite skype and internet.

 

Interdisciplinary research and analysis have been introduced since a long time in the field of folklore, traditions and festivals. The reality of such festivals-for-all and the aspirations of the folk in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, or for that matter Himalayan states like Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim (India), have found their outlets in calendars, with where and when they take place, so that the tourist agencies of the hamlets, towns and cities can use them for their ads.

Folklorism is one such term which denotes the mask-tradition, whereby the masks have been changed, the traditions removed from their original functional aspects and changed to suit new purposes and given new contexts to make them seem original and authentic. Hans Moser  said back in1962 thus about folklorism: ‘ Folklorism is the calling of old traditions that never existed, with emphasis on so-called ‘real.’

 

With tourism getting even to the most remote corners of the world, ritual and sacred masks and statues are displayed as though they are common everyday objects and are often sold to all and sundry. As a result the once treasured sacred and awesome objects become reduced to conversation-pieces in the living-rooms of western cultures.(The gods seem to be leaving Kathmandu Valley). It was Picasso and the German expressionists who discovered the styled power of the masks (from Africa) and shaped and painted them in pastel colours to suit European tastes in impressionistic styles.

 

When a European takes a chisel in his hand, he has a subjective idea in his head which he wants to create in a concrete way, thereby following abstract aesthetic categories. But an ethnic Nepali (Newar or Lama) African or Indio will try to recreate a time-tested form which recall the Gods or Spirits of his pantheon. (The same thing is happening to traditional carpets. We rob their very  ethnicity when we order modern designs in pastel colours. The ethnic Nepalis and Tibetans oblige and soon the traditional designs with dragons and mandalas become  things of the past). The traditional carpet-makers of Afghanistan in Heart and Kabul started producing carpets with war-themes like weapons, helicopters, jets and the dying and dead in their attempt to tell the world.

 

Masks have functional purposes and can be sacral works of art and express thoughts about life and death, heaven or hell and life after death.

 

Masks have an integrative function which binds and makes the humans melt in their surroundings.

 

Masks are used in ritual dances by the initiated (or people who have done a course) and express religion (temple dancers of India and Nepal, lamas dancers at the Mani Rimdu festival etc), sexuality and all the emotions like joy and sorrow, hope and fear and sexual desires.

 

Masks for different occasions: People wear masks and dance to celebrate the change of season, the birth of a child, to celebrate a marriage or even to mourn a death in the family in some cultures. Masked dances were always a deeply religious expression of feeling and a means to communicate with Gods and Spirits. Masks have indispensable in religious dances.

 

Types of masks: There are masks which only cover the faces, the entire heads and sometime the whole anatomy, painted faces, wooden masks, fasnet, fasching, carnival masks.

 

Sacred dances are held on full moon nights, whereby the moon plays a big role.

 

In some cultures the intensity of sexual ecstasy during ceremonies is related to the moonlight, and places with  moonshine are thought to be frequented by spirits and demons.  

 

Every hamlet has its own sacred places and own Gods who live in a holy forest, rock, cave or river. Dead people are buried with vedic rites (or other rites in other cultures).

 

In animism the natural environment is regarded as living and has a soul eg. trees, mountains, rivers, lightning and thunder, sun, moon and rain. One can speak with them, beckon them and ask them for help. Like the Christian cross and holy statues of saints, the Hindus and Buddhists also have their shiva-lingams. The Hindus and Buddhists aren’t ‘pagans’ and ‘heathen’ either, because the effigies they worship merely symbolise higher beings.

 

Are You Tuned In? (Satis Shroff)

Cars are mostly mass-produced wares. But how can you make them special, individual? Through tuning. At the fair 4 in Freiburg there was the biggest new car fair in South Baden, and the 2^nd Tuning and Sound Convention, with great cars and entertainment for the visitors, because cars have always had a cult-status in the society. I knew two workers from Romania and Sri Lanka who worked in a microchip factory. No education, no scope in Germany, aside from the factory job, but they were contented and drove big, fat Mercedes Benz cars. It was a sign that they’d arrived in Germany. The car was the symbol of attainment in their lives.

 

Back to the tuning. Caroline Schubert from Gundelfingen, who is the Tuning Convention Girl, was looking for a successor. Katherina Kuhlmann, a TV moderator, racing driver and model and Jo Scholz were also there. Besides the Miss Tuning and Sound Girl competiton there was also body-painting , grid-girls, games amid the smell of petrol and rubber permeating in the air, in addition to sound measurement, chip-tuning and car-styling.

 

At this year’s Tuning and Sound Convention some 50 promoters were present with their products: 22 latest brands from nine countries: Audi, BMW, Citroen, Dacia, Fiat, Ford, Hundai, Iveco,,KIA, Mercedes Benz, Mini, Mitsubishi, Opel, Peugeot, Renault, Seat, Smart, Subaru, Toyota, Volvo and, of course the exclusive Wiesmann automobiles.

 

There was even a Miss Freiburg competition and the winner could take part in the Miss Baden-Württemberg competition, which in turn could be used as a jumping-pad for the Miss Germany selection. No wonder the current Miss Germany Ann-kathrin Kosch sat in the jury. As a treat for soccer fans you could pose with the UEFA Champions League Cup.

 

As in the year 2011, the passion for cars seems to increase unabated, despite the financial problems of European countries. Although tuning seems to be a domain for men, where there’s a lot of horse-power involved, beautiful girls aren’t very far. Most of the visitors were obviously male but the number of ladies interested in automobiles is rising gradually. Styling is ‘in’ in the case of cars and female models.

BLACK FOREST CLASSIC (Satis Shroff)

 

Who hasn’t dreamt as a child of cars? As boys you read comics and were fascinated by the sleek, streamlined form of the batmobile, a Porsche, a Bugatti or Ferrari. I went to the Black Forest Classic Days at the local fair (Messehalle) at the invitation of Dr. Franziska Pankow, who runs the Freiburg Commerce Tourism and Fair. And there they were: the Oldtimers from different epochs.

 

Why are we fascinated by old cars (as well as new ones)? How much does it cost to gather old cars? Where can you find beautiful cars? And what does the exhibition-cum-fair called ‘Automobil (e) have to show lovers of Oldtimers?

 

Dietrich Grossblotekamp, an author on cars and the PR man of the German Automobile Veteran’s Club in South Baden says: ‘The term ‘old car’ is not precise for an Oldtimer. Such a car is a historical vehicle, at least 30 years old in original condition or restored. Old cars become Oldtimers when they fulfil certain conditions.’

 

Four historical cars that caught my eye were: a pre- World War II one, and from the fifties, sixties and seventies.

 

One of them was the stately rarity called Sunbeam Speed 20 Monte Carlo from the year 1934. The English firm manufactured bicycles first, then motorbikes and since 1899 also cars. The Chrysler Sunbeam was the last model in the year 1977. The Sunbeam in question was a pre-war, black English Sport limousine of the upper class. 30 such wagons were produced, of which only five exist today. It has a three litre six-cylinder motor with 72 horse-power and attains a maximum speed of 135 km per hour.

 

The next attractive car was the Fiat 500 Topolino, which was produced in Turin (Italy) in 1936 in three versions. The Italians dubbed it ‘Topolino’ which means a wee mouse. The exhibition model belongs to the series C, which was built from 1948 till 1955. All in all, 370,000 left the factory. It had a 4-cylinder motor with 16,5 HP.

 

Jaguar began producing cars in 1931 and till then it had manufactured motorbike side wagons. There was  a Jaguar MK II, a sporting limousine built in 1967, with a 6-cylinder motor and a 165 HP. The maximum speed was more than 200 km/h. Good for the autobahn on the left spur (track).

 

There was even a Volkswagen 1303 LS Cabrio. The first carosserie factory in Osbabrueck started rolling in 1949. This one was built in 1978. I love cabrios. The car had a 4-cylinder  motor with 60 HP and used to cost 8840 euros in 1972. In Deutsche Marks that would be quite a lot. Exactly 320281 VW cabrios were produced from 1949 till 1980 by Karosseriefabrik Karmann. It might be mentioned that there’s an Oldtimer Stammtisch, where Oldtimer fans sit around a table and talk about their cars, in Holzhausen (South baden). Holzhausen had also BMW-motorbikes like the one-cylinder R25 and the two cylinder R51, mopeds built by Messerschmidt, BMW-Isettas, BMW 600, an unrestored NSU Prinz 2, and even a Goggomobile. A Mercedes 170 DS from the year 1953 was also on exhibit.

 

The Hippies who drove all the way via Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and sold their VW T1 buses in Katmandu to chillax with hash in Nepal’s capital and Pokhara, before flying home was also on exhibit. We Germany called the bus ‘the bulli’. The closed version of the bus was called ‘Die Ratte’ (rat), perhaps because you could scurry with it everywhere.

 

Whether the cars in the old days were better is a matter of taste. In the old days the automobiles were individual in design and upholstery, unlike the uniform carosseries constructed in the wind canals today.

 

Can only rich people afford such Oldtimers? Not at all, because there are enough historical vehicles that even people with small wallets can afford. And cars that are no longer in demand can be inexpensive and come from people who can’t part from their favourite cars, which they hide in old barns and garages. Or you can buy them cheap in other countries. I know a medical colleague who bought a vintage Mercedes in India, and had it shipped to Germany. There’s an Oldtimer rally with participants from a lot of European countries from 10^th of May till the 13^th of May in Kirchzarten, near Freiburg-Kappel, where I live. Welcome to the Schwarzwald Classic Days. 

 

 

Are You Tuned In? (Satis Shroff)

Cars are mostly mass-produced wares. But how can you make them special, individual? Through tuning. At the fair 4 in Freiburg there was the biggest new car fair in South Baden, and the 2^nd Tuning and Sound Convention, with great cars and entertainment for the visitors, because cars have always had a cult-status in the society. I knew two workers from Romania and Sri Lanka who worked in a microchip factory. No education, no scope in Germany, aside from the factory job, but they were contented and drove big, fat Mercedes Benz cars. It was a sign that they’d arrived in Germany. The car was the symbol of attainment in their lives.

 

Back to the tuning. Caroline Schubert from Gundelfingen, who is the Tuning Convention Girl, was looking for a successor. Katherina Kuhlmann, a TV moderator, racing driver and model and Jo Scholz were also there. Besides the Miss Tuning and Sound Girl competiton there was also body-painting , grid-girls, games amid the smell of petrol and rubber permeating in the air, in addition to sound measurement, chip-tuning and car-styling.

 

At this year’s Tuning and Sound Convention some 50 promoters were present with their products: 22 latest brands from nine countries: Audi, BMW, Citroen, Dacia, Fiat, Ford, Hundai, Iveco,,KIA, Mercedes Benz, Mini, Mitsubishi, Opel, Peugeot, Renault, Seat, Smart, Subaru, Toyota, Volvo and, of course the exclusive Wiesmann automobiles.

 

There was even a Miss Freiburg competition and the winner could take part in the Miss Baden-Württemberg competition, which in turn could be used as a jumping-pad for the Miss Germany selection. No wonder the current Miss Germany Ann-kathrin Kosch sat in the jury. As a treat for soccer fans you could pose with the UEFA Champions League Cup.

 

As in the year 2011, the passion for cars seems to increase unabated, despite the financial problems of European countries. Although tuning seems to be a domain for men, where there’s a lot of horse-power involved, beautiful girls aren’t very far. Most of the visitors were obviously male but the number of ladies interested in automobiles is rising gradually. Styling is ‘in’ in the case of cars and female models.

Who hasn’t dreamt as a child of cars? As boys you read comics and were fascinated by the sleek, streamlined form of the batmobile, a Porsche, a Bugatti or Ferrari. I went to the Black Forest Classic Days at the local fair (Messehalle) at the invitation of Dr. Franziska Pankow, who runs the Freiburg Commerce Tourism and Fair. And there they were: the Oldtimers from different epochs.

 

Why are we fascinated by old cars (as well as new ones)? How much does it cost to gather old cars? Where can you find beautiful cars? And what does the exhibition-cum-fair called ‘Automobil (e) have to show lovers of Oldtimers?

 

Dietrich Grossblotekamp, an author on cars and the PR man of the German Automobile Veteran’s Club in South Baden says: ‘The term ‘old car’ is not precise for an Oldtimer. Such a car is a historical vehicle, at least 30 years old in original condition or restored. Old cars become Oldtimers when they fulfil certain conditions.’

 

Four historical cars that caught my eye were: a pre- World War II one, and from the fifties, sixties and seventies.

 

One of them was the stately rarity called Sunbeam Speed 20 Monte Carlo from the year 1934. The English firm manufactured bicycles first, then motorbikes and since 1899 also cars. The Chrysler Sunbeam was the last model in the year 1977. The Sunbeam in question was a pre-war, black English Sport limousine of the upper class. 30 such wagons were produced, of which only five exist today. It has a three litre six-cylinder motor with 72 horse-power and attains a maximum speed of 135 km per hour.

 

The next attractive car was the Fiat 500 Topolino, which was produced in Turin (Italy) in 1936 in three versions. The Italians dubbed it ‘Topolino’ which means a wee mouse. The exhibition model belongs to the series C, which was built from 1948 till 1955. All in all, 370,000 left the factory. It had a 4-cylinder motor with 16,5 HP.

 

Jaguar began producing cars in 1931 and till then it had manufactured motorbike side wagons. There was  a Jaguar MK II, a sporting limousine built in 1967, with a 6-cylinder motor and a 165 HP. The maximum speed was more than 200 km/h. Good for the autobahn on the left spur (track).

 

There was even a Volkswagen 1303 LS Cabrio. The first carosserie factory in Osbabrueck started rolling in 1949. This one was built in 1978. I love cabrios. The car had a 4-cylinder  motor with 60 HP and used to cost 8840 euros in 1972. In Deutsche Marks that would be quite a lot. Exactly 320281 VW cabrios were produced from 1949 till 1980 by Karosseriefabrik Karmann. It might be mentioned that there’s an Oldtimer Stammtisch, where Oldtimer fans sit around a table and talk about their cars, in Holzhausen (South baden). Holzhausen had also BMW-motorbikes like the one-cylinder R25 and the two cylinder R51, mopeds built by Messerschmidt, BMW-Isettas, BMW 600, an unrestored NSU Prinz 2, and even a Goggomobile. A Mercedes 170 DS from the year 1953 was also on exhibit.

 

The Hippies who drove all the way via Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and sold their VW T1 buses in Katmandu to chillax with hash in Nepal’s capital and Pokhara, before flying home was also on exhibit. We Germany called the bus ‘the bulli’. The closed version of the bus was called ‘Die Ratte’ (rat), perhaps because you could scurry with it everywhere.

 

Whether the cars in the old days were better is a matter of taste. In the old days the automobiles were individual in design and upholstery, unlike the uniform carosseries constructed in the wind canals today.

 

Can only rich people afford such Oldtimers? Not at all, because there are enough historical vehicles that even people with small wallets can afford. And cars that are no longer in demand can be inexpensive and come from people who can’t part from their favourite cars, which they hide in old barns and garages. Or you can buy them cheap in other countries. I know a medical colleague who bought a vintage Mercedes in India, and had it shipped to Germany. There’s an Oldtimer rally with participants from a lot of European countries from 10^th of May till the 13^th of May in Kirchzarten, near Freiburg-Kappel, where I live. Welcome to the Schwarzwald Classic Days. 

 

 

European Culture: From Adiemus to Blue Spanish Eyes (Satis Shroff)

 

This year’s Christmas Concert in Kappel’s Festhalle began at 8pm with a song from Spain sung by the MGV-Kappel with the title ‘A la nanita nana,’ with Johannes Söllner as its conductor, a serious-looking young man with a bald head, and a goatee, but with an elegant gait. The way he sways his torso and extremities, you’d think a panther is about to pounce you. Johannes is a perfectionist and he has the talent to coax out the best performance from his singers of the men’s choir from Kappel. Every song bears its characteristic lilts, sudden burst of energy in the form of loud men’s voices that peter away. Ah, it’s a delight to watch this dynamic conductor lead his charges to new heights and it’s an honour and a pleasure to sing under his baton.

 

Next came a song from neighbouring France but in the German version with the title: ‘Hört der Engel Jubellieder.’ It  begins slowly but I love the part when you have to sing ‘Gloria’ in excelcis deo..’ You do hear angels sing.

 

We went back to the 16^th century and sang ‘Gaudete’ with much pomp and gusto. Söllner calls it ‘mit schmackes!’ That was our share of spiritual songs for the evening.

 

We went to the Heimat chest and fished out a German folksong ‘Nun Ade, du mein lieb Heimatland’ about a son who remembers his beloved country while travelling to foreign shores. The Heimat laughs benignly with its azure sky and greets the traveller with its meadows and fields. God knows, my heart is always with, sings the wandering son, but he has to go afar to seek his fortune.

 

The fifth song was another volkslied, as a folksong is called in German, penned by Friedrich Silcher: ‘Durch’s Wiesental gang I jetzt na,’ a long song with a sad ending sung in a light  style with a heavy refrain: I have no treasure anymore. The treasure implied is the lover who doesn’t seem to be in his grave because he wasn’t true in his love towards her. The roses and the carnation have to wilt away like my love, she says, for I have my Schätzele no more.

 

Then came a jolly song about plantation workers from Jamaica: the Banana Boat song made popular by Harry Belafonte. Johannes Söllner sang the lead part and the labourers of the banana plantation were the men of the MGV-Kappel. The song was sun with the usual swing and a good piano beat. The song came to an end and suddenly the choir members had Bio-bananas in their hands as a gag. The audience raved and loved it.

 

The ‘Day-O’ song was followed by a love-song about a Mexican beauty and her ‘Blue Spanish Eyes’ sung by Satis Shroff with the Kappeler men’s choir singing the chorus. This brought the house down. The people love schmaltz and quite a lot of elderly Germans could remember the hit from the sixties composed by Bert Kämpfert and made famous by Al Martino.

 

The evening of international songs was ended with Karl Jenkin’s ‘Adiemus.’ An encore ensued with a song from Israel: ‘Hine ma Tov,’ with lovely, manly Hebrew intonation. The moderation of the men’s choir ‘Liederkranz’ was performed by Johannes Söllner, who established himself as an animator and made the audience answer his quiz and pranced and hopped around on the stage. The audience was putty in his hands.

 

Since Karin Peters was busy with her family affairs, a moderator of the South-West 4 did her job and received a lot of appreciation for his im promptu interpretations and announcements. The Musikverein began with ‘A Celtic Christmas’ with music by James L.Hosay and the conductor was Manfred Preiss, a thick-set man with a bald head, who has been conducting the Musicverein Kappel orchestra since over 30 years. Noah Schroeder’s rendering of ‘alla Milanese, Siciliano, Rondo Veneziano on his fagott was a treat for one’s ears with music by Kees Vlak, accompanied by the brass-orchestra. Other notable numbers were: ‘The Bremen Town Musicians (Hayato Hirose), the Images of a City (Francesco Sessini, Op.42) and the New York Overture (Kees Vlak). The last piece was one with feeling: percussions, clarinets, flutes reaching a crescendo only to melt away in recurring waves. Samba rhythm in the first half, followed  German brass in a slow tempo mingled with bells chiming, a trumpet solo reminiscent of  Milies Davis, a foxtrott played on the clarinet and the evening vanished like stardust on a dark Schwarzwald sky. 

 

The history of the MGV-Kappel dates back to 1920 and initially it carried the name ‘Musik und Gesangverein’ under the leadership of Hermann Steiert. However, it was in Mai 1, 1932 that the official MGV_Kappel ‘Liederkranz’ was founded. Whereas in those thrifty days the membership-fee  for the singers was 1 Reichsmark, today it is 15 euros per annum. Politics brought new changes in the vereins of Germany in general and on November 23,1933 the Singers’ Association (Bund) demanded that a meeting be held whereby the key word in those days of the Third Reich was ‘Gleichschaltung’ meaning thereby that all associations in the country had to have a common function: to serve the nation under Adolf Hitler. New terms were introduced: Vereinsführer, vice vereinsführer.

 

The World War II broke out on September 1, 1939 and a lot of MGV singers had to go to the battlefields. It was on may 8, 1945 that the big ethnic murders were brought to an end in Europe. Where ever you looked, you saw piles of rubble, dust and ashes left by the krieg. It was on July 13, 1947 that the MGV-Kappel ‘Liederkranz’ was given permission by the French military government to re-start the men’s choir.

 

Since the Musikverein and the men’s choir in Kappel have a common origin and split up later and hold the annual Weihnachtskonzert together, it would be wonderful if the two vereins would cooperate and coordinate music and songs together in future. Miteinander instead of hintereinander or nebeneinander, for through togetherness we can win the hearts of the audience.