Zurich in choir fever

A cold December evening just before Christmas. 25, maybe 30 hooded figures slowly make their way down the narrow staircase from Lindenhof towards Rennweg, some of them humming Conquest of Paradise by Vangelis as if they need to give themselves courage. More and more passers-by stop, the insiders have already pulled out their mobile phone cameras as the formation takes up position. Sweet clouds of mulled wine and tense anticipation fill the air. For a moment, you could be forgiven for thinking that the Singing Christmas Tree from Werdmühleplatz has taken flight. Then: the first guitar chord, the voices gradually join in. "You are my fire, the one desire ..." resounds through the old town. By now at the latest, most people are probably aware that the gathering is not in praise of the infant Jesus. Hardchor is the name of the choir that belts out boy band classics instead of Christmas carols during the festive season.

"The performance in December was the highlight so far." Oliver Saiger's eyes light up when he talks about the surprise concert in Zurich's Old Town. The idea for the choir had come to him a year earlier. "I'd wanted to sing for years, but I couldn't find anything suitable among the choirs in Zurich." So he founded the choir himself. Together with two friends, he got the project off the ground last spring. Since then, they have been rehearsing every fortnight in a car garage in Obere Letten.

In the beginning, there were just under twelve willing singers who tried their hand at songs by Lana del Rey and Bruce Springsteen between motorbikes and engine oil; now you can add a zero to the end. "After the performance before Christmas, there was a real hype, more and more people wanted to join in," comments Oli on the rapid increase in members in the chat through which the singing group organises itself. Around a quarter of them end up turning up at rehearsals. Many more would barely fit in the car garage.

"It's about having fun singing - and not about getting every note right," says choir member Orazio, describing his motivation for stretching his vocal chords together. Seraina, who joined the choir after the Altstadt performance, can only agree: "I like that it's uncomplicated, that the songs are cool." And Oli? He explains the choir boom by the fact that, as he says, it just feels really good to sing. Science would put its tick behind it. Music therapy has been proven to be successful for stroke and dementia patients, and music is even used for therapeutic purposes in neonatology at Zurich University Hospital.

Car garage, rehearsal room - or therapy room? You name it. "Nacht ader Langstrass" and "Don't stop me now" are currently on the programme. Not exactly the easiest song material - but songs that are fun. The fact that the soprano sometimes sounds almost a little shy, the alto occasionally forgets the melody, the handful of tenors tend to miss their cue and the bass is chronically understaffed: no problem. In the end, it does sound good. Really good, in fact.

PS: If you want to see the Hardchor live and in action, you should mark Saturday 15 June in your diary. That's when the next big performance at the Stolze Openair is on the programme.

PPS: In addition to the Hardchor, there are plenty of other choirs in Zurich that would be delighted to welcome listeners and/or new members, including the following: Abelimento Chor, Akademischer Chor, Cantata Nova, ChorgassChor, Chor-Rosa, CoroVivo, Nota Bene, Quartierchor für Erwachsene, Singsation, SOFA Choir, The Singing Ship, The Generations, Vocalino, Xang&Klang.