Sign choir

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Performance of the Ecumenical Sign Choir Augsburg in the St. Ulrich and Afra Basilica in Augsburg , 2015

A sign choir is a community of people who practice singing in sign language . While such special choir groups used to be composed primarily of deaf people and were mostly located in the field of deaf pastoral care , there are now several mixed groups of deaf, deaf , hard of hearing and hearing people. In addition, sign choirs today are partly ecumenically oriented or not confessionally bound. In some cases, poetic texts are also presented in sign language, for which the term sign poetry has become established.

history

Sign choirs existed from around the beginning / middle of the 1970s, initially in the USA and occasionally in some other countries, initially mostly as “school choirs” in schools for the deaf. For the most part, however, they did not emerge until the mid-1990s and later. The late advent is closely related to the history of sign languages . Sign language as such was outlawed for decades and educators had been banned from teaching in sign language since the late 19th century. The prevailing opinion in almost every country in the world was that deaf people should practice lip reading and articulating better . It was not until the 1980s that understanding began to slowly change in Germany too , after the US linguist William Stokoe in particular from 1960 and later other linguists had scientifically researched sign language and described it as being on a par with spoken language .

In the United States, sign language was used in classes as early as the 1960s, particularly at the then Gallaudet College for the Deaf in Washington, DC  - but also (and often under "Gallaudet influence") at various other deaf schools across the country. As a result, a number of sign choirs formed in the USA as early as the 1970s and 1980s. At the same time, the first songbooks for sign choirs were published there ( see section Literature ).

Practicing a song in sign language by participants of the Spring Festival 2012 in Willingen along with a sign language interpreter

In Germany, from the beginning of the 1970s, the linguist Siegmund Prillwitz at the University of Hamburg was primarily concerned with research into sign language and campaigned for its recognition. In the mid-1990s, the linguists Helen Leuninger and Daniela Happ founded the “Frankfurt Sign Language Research” at the Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main and focused in particular on German Sign Language (DGS). In cooperation with deaf, hearing-impaired and hearing employees from PAX , the so-called support association of the Catholic deaf pastoral care in Frankfurt at the time, a. DGS textbooks published, DGS courses held and sign language interpreters trained. In 2002 the German Bundestag passed the Federal Equal Opportunities Act (BBG), through which, among other things, the German Sign Language (DGS) was officially recognized as an independent language.

The PAX sign choir in Frankfurt am Main, founded in 1996 and operating until 2006, put the scientific findings of the Frankfurt DGS research into practice under the direction of Daniela Happ. The choir worked u. a. at more ZDF - worship with. He also gave “suggestions to other deaf communities to also found sign choirs”.

In the ev.-luth. Pastor Volker Sauermann (1939–2017) brought the idea of ​​sign songs and sign choirs from Switzerland and the USA to Bavaria for the Bavarian deaf pastoral care as early as the 1970s . Up to 2005 there were a number of “first attempts, new developments and groundbreaking traditions”, from which the meanwhile coordinated and strongly funded sign choir work in Bavaria developed. In 2005, the Bavarian Sign Choir was founded at the headquarters of the Evangelical Lutheran Deaf Congregation in Bavaria (EGG Bayern) in Nuremberg.Since 2007, several sign choirs have been set up across the country in various Bavarian deaf communities with the support of the now so-called Visual Sign Choir Choir of Bavaria .

The Dortmund music teacher Irmgard Merkt assessed the increase in sign choirs in Germany in 2010 as “a sign of increasing self-confidence ” among deaf people and as a “sign of awareness of the aesthetics associated with sign language”.

Description and forms of presentation

“Street concert” by the Lowestoft Signing Choir in Lowestoft , England, 2017

A sign choir accompanies sung texts as well as songs , pop songs and opera arias etc. with sign language:

“The text is translated into sign language beforehand and signed at the same time as the song. Since signing requires slower movements for singing than for spoken language, the dancing character of the sign suddenly becomes clear. A sign choir is an interdisciplinary, aesthetic experience: music, song, text, movement. Ultimately, signing for music can become its own art form. Musicians, dancers and users of sign language will certainly discover and develop this art form in the future. "

- Irmgard Merkt : Musikkultur inklusiv , Dortmund 2010, p. 46 

In addition to translations of selected songs and texts into sign language, there are also increasingly sign language songs and sign poetry that are composed directly in sign language by the deaf. In addition, some collections of songs for sign choirs are now available in various (phonetic) languages ​​and the common sign languages ​​( see section Literature ).

Australian sign choir perform on Australia Day 2009 in Wagstaffe, New South Wales

The songs and lyrics are by gesticulation of sign language and facial expressions presented, with some gestures choirs partly with music such as organ accompaniment work. The conductor of a sign choir conducts the various movements and coordinates the rhythm . Some choirs sign the songs synchronously, with others the members make different movements. Some groups combine movement and rhythm through to dance or performance with accompanying gestures and sometimes develop new artistic forms of expression for the deaf culture .

In Germany today, sign choirs almost exclusively use the German Sign Language (DGS), while individual choirs initially used spoken language accompanying signs (LGB).

The song or prose texts are now often projected at larger events - and, if the appropriate technical facilities are available or readily available, also for performances on a smaller scale - from the notebook or PC on a projector on a screen - or light wall surfaces are projected so that they can be used by the hearing impaired and listening spectators or worshipers can be read. In some cases, video walls are also being used.

Similar to singing choirs, sign choirs usually appear in uniform clothing , with dark colors and long-sleeved tops being preferred so that the gestures of the "light" hands are easily recognizable. In many sign choirs, the choir members also wear white gloves (see picture) . Long, intensely colored scarves , as known from gospel choirs or church conventions , are sometimes worn, especially in church settings.

Examples of sign choirs

International

Appearance of Cynthia and Julian Lennon , together with the sign language choir Liverpool at the inauguration of John Lennon -Friedensdenkmals in Liverpool, 2010

At Public School District of Saginaw in Michigan ( USA ), a sign language choir for elementary school students was founded 1977th

The Liverpool Signing Choir ( English "sign language choir Liverpool") in Liverpool , England, was founded in 2000 at the Knotty Ash Primary School founded by Catherine Hegarty and had ten years later, more than 100 deaf and hearing members aged 6 to 24 years old of a dozen Liverpool Schools. The sign choir uses a mixture of sign language and singing in its performances and has already made numerous appearances throughout England, such as a. 2009 at the commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster or in 2010 with Cynthia and Julian Lennon at the inauguration of the John Lennon Peace Memorial in Chavasse Park in Liverpool.

The Lowestoft Signing Choir in Lowestoft , the “easternmost city in Great Britain ”, was founded in 2003 and now has around 45 hearing-impaired and hearing members (as of 2017). The free choir sees itself as part of the local cultural offer and works in British Sign Language (BSL). He has already made numerous appearances at various events, mostly in town and the local region, and has popular songs, hymns and traditional songs in the program.

Germany

According to estimates by the Leipzig Vocational Training Center for the Hearing and Speech Impaired (BBW Leipzig) there were only about a dozen active sign choirs in Germany in 2011. Well-known sign choirs are or were among others:

  • Sign choirs of the Catholic deaf chaplaincy in Frankfurt am Main , whose support association was called "PAX" from 1996 to 2006 and then  renamed itself to "LUKAS 14" in 2006 - in the course of the change in the field of deaf work and increasing integration :
    • PAX sign choir in Frankfurt am Main
      founded in 1996 and active until 2006; Head: Daniela Happ. The choir was one of PAX's “pioneering projects” and supported the establishment of sign choirs in other deaf communities. He had numerous appearances, designed a. a. several church services broadcast by ZDF and published the DVD Sign Poetry with accompanying book in 2005 , which documented the 10-year work of the sign choir.
    • Integrative Sign Choir Liebfrauen / LUKAS 14 (IGeL) founded in Frankfurt am Main in
      2006; Direction: Sina Reulein (née Paluch) and Stefan Richter; about 10 members - hearing impaired and people with other disabilities (as of 2017); works with sign language as well as music and language; numerous internal and external appearances such as in the "Heimatgemeinde Liebfrauen " and other parishes as well as at congresses, concerts or other events.
  • Signsongs gesture choir at the BBW Leipzig in Leipzig :
    founded in 1996 by BBW trainees; Head: Claudia Winkler; about 20 members - trainees, alumni and some external interested parties (as of 2017); works with music in full playback and has meanwhile practiced around 60 German and English songs (“from popular pop songs to church music”) in sign language; numerous internal appearances at events of the BBW Leipzig group as well as external appearances in Norway and throughout Germany such as u. a. at the Expo 2000 in Hanover, at the Evangelical Church Days 2007 (Cologne), 2011 (Dresden) and 2013 (Hamburg) as well as in 2014 and 2015 in the Gewandhaus in Leipzig (“ Markus Passion ” with the GewandhausChor ).
  • Sign choir Visuelle-Gebärden in Nuremberg
    founded in 2006 by the Evangelical Deaf Community in Nuremberg ; Head: Brigitte Schmidt; about 25 deaf and hearing members (as of 2017); was called “Germany's largest sign choir” in 2012; has traditional and modern sign songs as well as sign poetry in its program and has also performed gospel songs with listening choirs; numerous appearances in Nuremberg and all over Bavaria like u. a. at the Ecumenical Church Congress 2010 in Munich in front of about 80,000 visitors.
Performance of the Ecumenical Sign Choir Augsburg in the St. Thomas Church in Augsburg at the church service of the deaf community, 2013
  • Ecumenical Sign Choir Augsburg in Augsburg :
    Founded in 2012 by the deaf community Augsburg and the surrounding area ; Head: Sonja Richter; around 15 hearing-impaired and hearing women (as of 2017); works in sign language and poetry as well as movement and dance; numerous appearances like u. a. 2015 in the joint Marien - Pilgrimage of all Bavarian dioceses to Augsburg for pilgrimage picture " Maria Knots ", also in 2015 at the festival worship and ceremony to mark the 25th anniversary of the Disabled pastoral care of the diocese of Augsburg in Augsburg Basilica St. Ulrich and Afra and 2017 during the World Day of Prayer in Munich.

There are other German sign choirs in:

As part of the 2010 Capital of Culture year and the RUHR.2010 project , a 30-member project choir of deaf people under the direction of the deaf sign language teacher and conductor Tomato Pufhan performed in the Veltins-Arena on the "Day of Song" - the day of the song on June 5, 2010 in Gelsenkirchen in front of 80,000 spectators and performed an opera choir in sign language. On the initiative of the Dortmund music teacher Irmgard noted and directed by Jonathan Eaton staged Pufhans sign language choir at the final concert Verdi and "presented Song of prisoners " from Nabucco .

Austria

The sign choir of the Urfahr parish in Linz - Urfahr was founded in 1999 on the initiative of Pastor Helmut Part and is so far (as of 2014) the only sign choir in Austria. It consists of deaf and hearing people, has around 10 members (as of 2017) and is headed by Martha Svoboda. The sign choir has already made numerous appearances, such as a. at the church services of the entire Austrian deaf pilgrimages and at the “Festival of Life” in the New Cathedral in Linz.

literature

General
German-language choir literature
  • PAX sign choir, conductor: Daniela Happ: Gestärdenpoesie. 50 sign songs and texts for the church year. Catholic deaf chaplaincy PAX, Frankfurt am Main 2005 (with DVD).
  • Christina Kupczak (Ed.): Send us angels. A song book with an introduction to sign language. Dehm-Verlag, Limburg 2012, ISBN 978-3-9812050-8-4 (with 2 DVD videos).
English language choral literature
  • Donna C. Gadling, Daniel H. Pokorny, Lottie L. Riekehof: Lift Up Your Hands. The National Grange, Washington, DC (USA) 1976 (ten songs in sign language).
  • Donna C. Gadling, Daniel H. Pokorny: You've Got a Song. National Association of the Deaf, Silver Spring (Maryland / USA) 1979 (nine songs in sign language).
  • Michael D. Wojcio, Gerilee Gustason, Esther Zawolkow: Music in Motion. Modern Signs Press, Los Alamitos (California / USA) 1982, ISBN 0916708071 (22 children's songs in Signing Exact English ).
  • Barbara M. Kannapell, Harry Bornstein, Karen L. Saulnier, Lillian B. Hamilton: Songs in Signed English. Gallaudet College Press, Washington, DC (USA) 1984, ISBN 0913580120 (eight children's songs in Signed English ).
  • Curt D. Keller (Ed.): Hymns for Signing. Abingdon Press, Nashville (Tennessee / USA) 1995, ISBN 0687431808 (600 hymns in American Sign Language ).

Web links

Commons : Sign Choirs  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c cf. for example: Annemarie Diehr: The poetry of hands. In: moz.de. December 15, 2015, accessed July 4, 2017 .
  2. ↑ a b c d See for example: Board of Directors and management of LUKAS 14 e. V .: How did LUKAS 14 come about? In: lukas14.de. July 2016, accessed July 4, 2017 .
  3. ^ Verlag Karin Kestner: Day of Equality and Recognition of Sign Language. In: kestner.de. March 1, 2002, accessed July 4, 2017 .
  4. ↑ Gebärdenkantorei - EGG Bayern. In: egg-bayern.de. Retrieved July 4, 2017 .
  5. ↑ a b c d Irmgard Merkt (Ed.): Music culture inclusive: 5 years InTakt sponsorship award from the miriam foundation , InTakt Dortmund (ConBrio / BoD), Dortmund 2010, ISBN 978-3-942325-00-4 , p. 46– 47.
  6. ↑ See for example: Vocational Training Center Leipzig: Signsongs sign choir. In: berufsbildungswerk-leipzig.de. Vocational Training Center Leipzig , accessed on July 4, 2017 .
  7. ^ Ruth Ann Knapp: A Choir for Total Communication. In: Music Educators Journal. Volume 66, No. 6 (February 1980), pp. 54-55 (English; JSTOR : 3395810 ).
  8. ^ Signing Choir continues to grow. In: news.bbc.co.uk. BBC , January 12, 2010, accessed June 29, 2017 .
  9. ^ Lowestoft Signing Choir. In: lowestoftsigningchoir.org.uk. Retrieved July 5, 2017 .
  10. ↑ (dpa / sn): Leipziger Gestärdenchor makes pop for the deaf. In: bild.de. February 3, 2011, accessed July 1, 2017 .
  11. ↑ a b c Board of Directors and management of LUKAS 14 e. V .: How did LUKAS 14 come about? In: lukas14.de. July 2016, accessed July 4, 2017 .
  12. ↑ Integrative Sign Choir Liebfrauen / LUKAS 14. In: lukas14.de. Retrieved July 4, 2017 .
  13. ↑ Vocational Training Center Leipzig: Sign Choir "SignSongs". In: berufsbildungswerk-leipzig.de. Vocational Training Center Leipzig , accessed on July 4, 2017 .
  14. ^ Johannes Angermann: Music is more than just notes - a portrait of the Leipzig Sign Choir. In: lvz.de. Leipziger Volkszeitung , June 28, 2014, accessed on July 4, 2017 .
  15. ↑ Judit Nothdurft: Deaf and hearing, gestures and gospel. In: rollingplanet.net. May 27, 2012. Retrieved July 4, 2017 .
  16. ↑ (pba): Festival service and ceremony: "Accessibility does not only mean lowered curbs". In: bistum-augsburg.de. Diocese of Augsburg , January 25, 2015, accessed on June 29, 2017 .
  17. ↑ See World Ecumenical Day of Prayer on March 9, 2017 on YouTube , March 12, 2017.
  18. ↑ a b c Sign Choirs - EGG Bavaria. In: egg-bayern.de. Retrieved July 4, 2017 .
  19. ↑ Judyta Smykowski: Interview: Ines Helke from the sign choir "HandsUp". In: Leidmedien.de. 2016, accessed July 2, 2017 .
  20. ↑ See the Singing Hands website . In: singendehaende.de. 2014, accessed July 2, 2017 .
  21. ↑ Anne-Dorle Hoffgaard: The "Singing hands" and their quiet songs. In: nordkirche.de. December 17, 2014, accessed July 2, 2017 .
  22. ↑ Annika Fischer: Gestärdenchor staged Verdi with her hands. In: waz.de. April 25, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2017 .
  23. ^ Martha Svoboda, Urfahr parish: Sign choir of the Urfahr parish. In: dioezese-linz.at. March 2014, accessed July 4, 2017 .
  24. ↑ a b c d e Books for Learning Sign Language , Section V. Sign Language Books - Music on the Clerc Center website at Gallaudet University (accessed April 3, 2012).