The Inventory Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) in the Netherlands contains ICH of which the communities, groups or individuals involved have written a safeguarding plan. Those plans are reviewed by an independent review committee. Every three years an evaluation of the safeguarding takes place.

Description

The so-called bovenstemzingen (upper voice singing) is a way of singing that is still done in some protestant fishing villages. Followers of Calvin usually sing the psalms as a single line in the worship service. There are, however, some exceptions. In Genemuiden people know the tradition of the upper voice, tenors sing above the melody. They are encouraged and inspired to do this by the way the organist plays his organ. For many this massive, simple way of psalm singing has an extraordinary beauty. Organist and congregation reach touching musical highlights. Shivers run down the spines of the members of the congregation when they experience this group singing. Upper voice singers say that they sometimes tremble with emotion while they sing the psalms. Ministers leading services in Genemuiden experience that the singing of the community is blown towards the pulpit like a hurricane.

Community

Three reformed protestant churches in Genemuiden sing psalms from the psalm collection that was issued by the States General in 1773. The choirs have psalms with upper voice notation in their repertoire. The Christelijk Genemuider Mannenkoor STEREO (Genemuiden Christian Men’s Choir STEREO) and the Christian Men’s Choir Harpe Davids often perform outside Genemuiden and then they invariably sing some upper voice psalms. Furthermore there are the mixed choral societies Excelsior and De Lofstem. Practice evenings are visited by both young and old supporters of all denominations.

 

History

Genemuiden relies on being the cradle of upper voice singing with psalms. Whether Genemuiden really is, is doubtful. Other fishing villages around the former Zuiderzee are to be considered. Some 150 years ago, when there was no organ yet, men with powerful voices supported the community singing by singing a counterpart. Research has shown that the reformed congregation of Genemuiden sang with the upper voice in 1880 already. In the twentieth century this tradition was kept alive. Singing was part of the Genemuiden identity and it occurred spontaneously and at places where you would not expect it, like during work. Even the rush cutters in Genemuiden sang psalms with the upper voice during the harvest of rushes on the Zuiderzee coast. The Genemuiden community singing gained national fame by recordings in the years between 1962 and 1967. During the last decades organists, but even so the choir Stereo, have played an important role in passing on the tradition of upper voice singing. When the Bovenstemgroep (Upper voice group) Genemuiden was established, in 2008, the upper voice of a number of psalms was set to music under the heading ‘The Genemuiden Upper Voice’. As of that moment uniformity in singing is a fact and the upper voice is now sung in the same manner, in all the churches.

 

Contact

Christelijk Genemuider Mannenkoor STEREO
Langestraat 181
8281 AJ Genemuiden
Genemuiden
Overijssel
Netherlands
Website