There is power and strength in singing
There is power and strength in singing There is power and strength in singing ”It does something very special to sing gospel – and singing in general. It is a way of expressing yourself. I get hold of some feelings that I don't otherwise express,” says Martin Køhler. He is 36 years old and works daily to produce web TV at the Statens Museum for art. Martin began in autumn 2011 at the request of a friend. He does not experience gospel as a discipline that is particularly aimed at one gender rather than the other, but nevertheless encourages other men to sing gospel for the simple reason that men are missing in most gospelkor. ”I feel that some power and strength comes out of singing. I get hold of some spirit, soul and power that I don't feel anywhere else in my life,”. And then it's just wonderful to sing and have a good community experience,” he states. All Posts Article There is power and strength in singing There is power and strength in singing There is power and strength in singing ”It does something completely... Read more Gospel brings people together across divides The catalyst of joy in life Gospel brings people together across divides Lotte Nielsen sings gospel in her 7th year and is still straight... Read more You have to be made of stone not to be touched You have to be made of stone not to be touched You have to be made of stone not to... Read more Gospel gives energy like a run Gospel gives energy like a run Gospel gives energy like a run journalist Rikke Tjørring ”I'm a whole sack... Read more Gospel gives a sense of community Gospel gives a sense of community Gospel gives a sense of community to journalist Rikke Tjørring ”I came here last season without knowing anyone at all. But... Read more Gospel gives profit to reading Gospel gives profit to reading Gospel gives profit to reading Journalist Rikke Tjørring ”Gospel gives energy, profit and joy. I... Read more The catalyst of the joy of life The catalyst of the joy of life The catalyst of the joy of life His music is sung by choirs all over the world, and week after week the pilgrimage makes up to a thousand... Read more
Gospel brings people together across divides
The catalyst of joy in life Gospel brings people together across the divide Lotte Nielsen sings gospel in her 7th year and is still equally excited. For her, gospelsang expresses love for other people and for life itself. ”It's absolutely wonderful. I get completely filled up singing Gospel,” she states, highlighting the camaraderie with the other singers as another one of the many factors that make gospelsang a salt water injection for her. The fact that gospel brings people together across society's divides also helps to make the weekly practice day something special for 49-year-old Lotte. She works daily with recruitment and employment at Novo Nordisk. It was not for religious reasons that she started singing gospel in her time, but she says that she has become more religious by singing with others. She finds that the choral song blurs the individual's complexes and makes everyone present sing with one voice. ”From the moment you enter and are only concentrated on singing correctly and not stepping aside, you find along the way that we all sing differently and that the voices together give a fantastic whole.” All Posts Gospel There is power and strength in singing There is power and strength in singing There is power and strength in singing ”It does something completely... Read more Gospel brings people together across the divide The catalyst of joy of life Gospel brings people together across the divide Lotte Nielsen sings gospel in her 7th year and is still equal... Read more You have to be made of stone not to be touched You have to be made of stone not to be touched You have to be made of stone not to... Read more Gospel gives energy like a run Gospel gives energy like a run Gospel gives energy like a run journalist Rikke Tjørring ”I'm a whole sack... Read more Gospel gives a sense of community Gospel gives a sense of community Gospel gives a sense of community to journalist Rikke Tjørring ”I came here last season without knowing anyone at all. But... Read more Gospel gives profit to reading Gospel gives profit to reading Gospel gives profit to reading Journalist Rikke Tjørring ”Gospel gives energy, profit and joy. I... Read more The catalyst of the joy of life The catalyst of the joy of life The catalyst of the joy of life His music is sung by choirs all over the world, and week after week the pilgrimage makes up to a thousand... Read more
You have to be made of stone so as not to be touched
You have to be made of stone not to be touched You have to be made of stone not to be touched by journalist Maria Dohn People talk loudly and hand out cheek kisses and hugs when I enter Fredens Kirke late Tuesday afternoon in January. The atmosphere is cordial and light – a bit like a family gathering, where cousins, uncles and aunts who haven't seen each other for a while meet again. Virtually all the benches in the simple church room have been put into use, and it is difficult to see at first glance that the many people make up a choir, but a friendly lady shows me where the altars are located, and I find a free place among smiling women. Like banging rust During the initial warm-up –, among other things, a difficult rhythm exercise that triggers a collective roar of laughter –, my voice has it like a ship that gets rust knocked off. It's been almost ten years since I quit another gospelkor. By no means because I was tired of singing, but because a full-time job and two underage children took most of their strength. Now the children have grown up, and there has been a little more air in everyday life (and unfortunately also in the voice), and the song must once again have a place in my life. The choir is large. Counts well over 100 people, the vast majority of whom are women. The few men – that are about 20 – are located in the aisle. Our choir director, Hans Christian, is behind a digital piano and does something that seems impossible with only two hands – he plays and conducts at the same time. But it's going quite well, even. Humor an important educational trick Everyone has a small booklet with lyrics, and over the next two hours we manage to review a good handful of songs. All voice groups receive undivided attention. Some have sung in the choir for many years and know the songs in other variations, and occasionally a lively discussion arises between Hans Christian and the choir's participants about how a special passage should be sung. Other times, Hans Christian manages to argue with himself. Hans Christian is indisputably talented both as a musician, composer and pedagogue. Quite obsessed, we are a bunch of happy amateurs, and yet he manages to get us to sing relatively difficult songs, some of which he wrote himself. As a bonus, he is super charismatic. With attention to detail and without losing track, he steers us around the musical stumbling blocks, often using understated Jutland humor and thick, thick irony. With a clever smile, he teases and verbally molests the respective voice groups during the evening, something that everyone grandiosely accepts, amuses himself and forgives. Gospel is love As the daughter of a lukewarm Catholic and a ditto Protestant, I have fallen out as absolutely non-believers, and I therefore have an ambivalent relationship with the texts and their religious content. But I choose to perceive them as love songs, as a tribute to life, to people and to everything that is difficult to understand. The great emotions – from doubt, sadness and longing to heartfelt joy and ecstatic jubilation – get a voice in gospel. For me, gospel is intensity and fervor, and you have to be made of stone so as not to be touched. All Posts Gospel Uncategorized There is power and strength in singing There is power and strength in singing There is power and strength in singing ”It does something completely... Read more Gospel brings people together across divides Gospel brings people together across divides Gospel brings people together across divides Lotte Nielsen sings gospel at 7.... Read more You have to be made of stone not to be touched You have to be made of stone not to be touched You have to be made of stone not to... Read more Gospel gives energy like a run Gospel gives energy like a run Gospel gives energy like a run journalist Rikke Tjørring ”I'm a whole sack... Read more Gospel gives a sense of community Gospel gives a sense of community Gospel gives a sense of community to journalist Rikke Tjørring ”I came here last season without knowing anyone at all. But... Read more Gospel gives profit to reading Gospel gives profit to reading Gospel gives profit to reading Journalist Rikke Tjørring ”Gospel gives energy, profit and joy. I... Read more The catalyst of the joy of life The catalyst of the joy of life The catalyst of the joy of life His music is sung by choirs all over the world, and week after week the pilgrimage makes up to a thousand... Read more
Gospel gives energy as a run
Gospel gives energy as a run Gospel gives energy as a run journalist Rikke Tjørring ”I'm a whole sack of fleas when I get home,” says Cecilie Andersen, who studies Cand. Merc. Law. at the Business School and is bitten by singing in gospelkor. She compares the effect of a rehearsal evening to the effect of a run – you both use energy and get energy. At the same time, the community that gospel creates means a lot to her. ”When I started, I didn't think I would get to know others. I just thought I was going to sing myself and back home. But in the soprano group we actually know each other quite well, ” says Cecilie. The fact that it is Christian music is also important for 27-year-old Cecilie. ”I like that it's Christian music. I think these are some nice messages. I listen to them, but I'm not a Christian as such,” she explains. Her message to others who have never tried singing in gospelkor is clear: ”Come and sing along because you will be happy. And come because you might think about the messages we sing. I myself feel that the messages help to give more profit.” All Posts Gospel Uncategorized There is power and strength in singing There is power and strength in singing There is power and strength in singing ”It does something completely... Read more Gospel brings people together across divides Gospel brings people together across divides Gospel brings people together across divides Lotte Nielsen sings gospel at 7.... Read more You have to be made of stone not to be touched You have to be made of stone not to be touched You have to be made of stone not to... Read more Gospel gives energy like a run Gospel gives energy like a run Gospel gives energy like a run journalist Rikke Tjørring ”I'm a whole sack... Read more Gospel gives a sense of community Gospel gives a sense of community Gospel gives a sense of community to journalist Rikke Tjørring ”I came here last season without knowing anyone at all. But... Read more Gospel gives profit to reading Gospel gives profit to reading Gospel gives profit to reading Journalist Rikke Tjørring ”Gospel gives energy, profit and joy. I... Read more The catalyst of the joy of life The catalyst of the joy of life The catalyst of the joy of life His music is sung by choirs all over the world, and week after week the pilgrimage makes up to a thousand... Read more
Gospel gives a sense of community
Gospel gives a sense of community Gospel gives a sense of community to journalist Rikke Tjørring ”I came here last season without knowing anyone at all. But as soon as I entered, you had to greet others and tell your name –, I think that was fine,” says Agnete Emborg, 25. She greatly appreciates the sense of community and togetherness that is created all by itself when you sing gospel with others. Agnete heard about Hans Christian's gospelkor via her network, and after orienting herself on gospelnet.dk, she decided to appear. The 25-year-old pharmacy student has not regretted that. ”I get incredibly happy and I always sing on the way home,” she declares. It is not just the community but also the music that Agnete comes to experience. She enjoys that it is music that is going on. She doesn't think much about the fact that gospelmusik is church music. ”I'm a Christian, but the fact that it's Christian music doesn't play a big role,” says Agnete. In her time, she was happy that, as a beginner in Hans Christian's choir, she was allowed to come for free a few times before she had to decide whether gospel was for her. ”It is difficult to explain what it is like to sing gospel – it must be experienced,” states Agnete. All Posts Gospel Uncategorized There is power and strength in singing There is power and strength in singing There is power and strength in singing ”It does something completely... Read more Gospel brings people together across divides Gospel brings people together across divides Gospel brings people together across divides Lotte Nielsen sings gospel at 7.... Read more You have to be made of stone not to be touched You have to be made of stone not to be touched You have to be made of stone not to... Read more Gospel gives energy like a run Gospel gives energy like a run Gospel gives energy like a run journalist Rikke Tjørring ”I'm a whole sack... Read more Gospel gives a sense of community Gospel gives a sense of community Gospel gives a sense of community to journalist Rikke Tjørring ”I came here last season without knowing anyone at all. But... Read more Gospel gives profit to reading Gospel gives profit to reading Gospel gives profit to reading Journalist Rikke Tjørring ”Gospel gives energy, profit and joy. I... Read more The catalyst of the joy of life The catalyst of the joy of life The catalyst of the joy of life His music is sung by choirs all over the world, and week after week the pilgrimage makes up to a thousand... Read more
Gospel gives profit to reading
Gospel gives profit to reading Gospel gives profit to the reading of journalist Rikke Tjørring ”Gospel gives energy, profit and joy. I read best on Tuesdays when I get home from gospel,” declares 20-year-old Johanne studying law. She has been singing at Hans Christian since September 2011 and says that when the studio is heavy, the energy boost that once gospel gives is really needed. Yes, in fact, it was after a round of strenuous group work at the library that she spotted a leaflet advertising Hans Christian's choir. ”The leaflet had something like; ”Do you want a good day too?” – and then I thought; YES, I will,” says Johanne. And since then gospel has gone into her blood. ”If I have something difficult to read, I'll save it for Tuesday night because I know I'll have a surplus when I get home from gospel, she explains and continues with a laugh: ”I have planned to sing gospel every Tuesday for the rest of my life.” All Posts Gospel Uncategorized There is power and strength in singing There is power and strength in singing There is power and strength in singing ”It does something completely... Read more Gospel brings people together across divides Gospel brings people together across divides Gospel brings people together across divides Lotte Nielsen sings gospel at 7.... Read more You have to be made of stone not to be touched You have to be made of stone not to be touched You have to be made of stone not to... Read more Gospel gives energy like a run Gospel gives energy like a run Gospel gives energy like a run journalist Rikke Tjørring ”I'm a whole sack... Read more Gospel gives a sense of community Gospel gives a sense of community Gospel gives a sense of community to journalist Rikke Tjørring ”I came here last season without knowing anyone at all. But... Read more Gospel gives profit to reading Gospel gives profit to reading Gospel gives profit to reading Journalist Rikke Tjørring ”Gospel gives energy, profit and joy. I... Read more The catalyst of the joy of life The catalyst of the joy of life The catalyst of the joy of life His music is sung by choirs all over the world, and week after week the pilgrimage makes up to a thousand... Read more
The catalyst of the joy of life
The catalyst of the joy of life The catalyst of the joy of life His music is sung by choirs all over the world, and week after week up to a thousand very different people make pilgrimages to his permanent choir and workshops in Copenhagen to sing something as foreign as gospel. Hans Christian Jochimsen is Denmark's gospelkoryfæ number one and masters one art in particular; he opens people's hearts. By journalist Rikke Tjørring ”Lord, Lord Lord, do a new thing inside me”, a broadly composed group of Copenhageners shouts, literally at the full power of their lungs in Fredens Kirke on Østerbro. It's a cold and boring Tuesday evening in February, and the one and a half hundred attendees are far from particularly gospelagtige to look at with their winter-pale Danish cheeks and – for many – slightly stiff movements and tired looks. But the cheeks become redder, the body language freer and the light intensity in the eyes stronger as the minutes in the company of the conductor, Hans Christian Jochimsen, progress. This at first glance ordinary man is the secret of their gradual redemption ”Hans Christian has an enormous ability to bring us all together. He does it so fantastically well that you want to be with him again and again. It's a weekly injection of joy of life and energy,” says Birte Gruner enthusiastically. At 72, she is among the choir's age presidents. Hans Christian himself says that he conveys joy in life. But the 40-year-old conductor and composer does more than that. In his company, one instinctively senses from his energy and charisma that it is far from a coincidence that he has achieved international recognition as both conductor and composer. ”He sends an energy into space that makes me feel like he sees me every time. I think everyone feels that they are seen by him,” says Birte Gruner's daughter Karina Arnskjold, who together with her mother sings at Hans Christian's every week. And the main character himself also has a mission with his music. ”Through my music, I would like to help bring both hope and joy into people's lives. And also self-esteem. It is in the gospelmusikkens being that we as humans have value,” he declares. Everything meets in gospelHans Christian has known since childhood that he wanted to be a musician. At the age of 18, he was admitted to the Jutland Conservatory of Music, and in 1993 he was a fully qualified classical pianist. Already during his studies, Hans Christian recognized that he was too outgoing for a life as a professional pianist with many daily practice hours in private rooms. As a student job, he therefore began to conduct up to several choirs, and when he occasionally intertwined some gospelnumre in the repertoire, he noticed that something special was happening both inside and around him. ”It got even more fun and there was a good response”, he says. ”There was never any plan for gospel to make a living. It just happened and took up more and more of my time while I was at the conservatory,” reports Hans Christian, who has not played classical music since his studies. ”Gospel is for me a kind of comprehensive package. The music part itself means a lot because I am a musician. At the same time, gospel means a lot to me because I am a believer and in gospelmusikken can put into words some things that fill me in that part of my life. Also, I can be with other people and use my humor. Everything meets in that field.” Irony as a tool That Hans Christian is a believer is evident exclusively from his lyrics. His sometimes coarse-grained ironic and sarcastic humor testifies to a man who is far from a paragon of virtue. All voice groups in the choir take turns getting a rough hit, which, however, only causes roars of laughter both in the attacked party himself and in everyone else in the room. Everyone knows that the direct manner of the conductor covers a deep respect for the individual person. ”I try to be very present when I teach. And I try to be honest and humorous. But I think one of the reasons I'm good at teaching is because I love doing it. Often I think that a rehearsal night is much more fun than holding a concert. At the concert, you sing to the audience, and there is applause. But when we practice, I have this ping pong with the choir. And moving a choir from a to b itself is a great satisfaction when it succeeds. It's also one of the reasons why I think it's much more fun to work with amateur singers than with professionals,” says Hans Christian. He himself describes his teaching style as more group dynamic and psychological oriented than musically oriented. For example, he can easily call the tenor group up to him on stage for a ”time-out” – a kind of pep talk from himself to the choir's men, after which he asks them to turn around and sing – in front of all the women who are always significantly outnumbered. ”Getting a good musical result with professionals is expected. But getting a good result with a chorus of amateur singers is much more satisfying. Making people believe that they can sing is about getting beyond the Danish jantelov, which is deeply rooted in us. Although we are intellectually opposed to it, it still characterizes our entire way of going about life.” It is okay to fire the Janteloven is not only an opponent in his interaction with the choir but also in his relationship with himself. ”If I stood down in the choir, I would be much more inhibited than when I stand in front. Up front I have the role of the conductor and the one who will lead the way, so there I have an excuse to lead myself forward. But in another context, I am more aware of fitting into the framework,” he says self-knowingly. He therefore understands that it can be borderline-crossing for people to get carried away by the music and sing in the wild. Especially if they have