Divine thunder

Grootkoor Holland thrills the crowd with the songs that celebrate the everlasting friendships of both kingdoms.

Manote Tripathi

The Nation

   Grootkoor Holland's recent 40-minute performance in the garden of the Netherlands embassy was probably the biggest choral concert ever given in Bangkok. With 153 singers, this felt more like an institution than a choir. Their function was clear - to celebrate the centuries of friendship between the two kingdoms by giving voice to Dutch musical heritage.  

 The afternoon show - held in the lush surroundings of the embassy grounds - also featured a performance by the 35 singers of Bangkok Wattana School choir, adding to the delight of the audience of mostly Dutch expats.

 The choirs delivered an east-meets-west repertoire that ranged from Welsh hymns and African spirituals to toe-tapping Thai folk numbers, each group of singers impressing the other with its unique musical heritage.

 The slow surge of divine melody gave way to a flow of more rollicking tunes that got the crowd swaying in time.  

 Both choirs flooded the garden with a full-throated rendition of the Thai national anthem to get the afternoon underway. Grootkoor had obviously done its homework, delivering a word-perfect version that nailed the rise and fall of Thai intonation. Then, under the eloquent hands of director Nan Van Groeningen, the Dutch took centre stage for the first half of the show.

 Grootkoor (meaning "big choir") is indeed one of the biggest in the Netherlands, with more than 2,000 singing members. Founded in 1990 by the current director, it has sung in Belgium, Austria, Germany, Italy, Croatia, Russia, South Africa and the United Kingdom, where its proud voices almost lifted the grand dome of the Royal Albert Hall. Another royal -- Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands - is a big fan of Grootkoor's big sound.

 Before their date at the embassy, the 153 singers toured the country, performing at the Holy Redeemer Church in Bangkok, at the Cemetery of Honour in Kanchanaburi, Ayutthaya's Bang Sai, Sukhothai's Historical Park, the Mae Tang Elephant Camp and schools in Chiang Mai.

 Unique to Grootkoor is the span of its repertoire, covering musicals, operatic works, gospel, country and pop music.   

 After the Dutch national anthem, it thrilled the crowd with five pieces of music, starting with the Welsh hymn "Deus Salutis". Then the choir unleashed its mighty voice on the universal themes of "Anthem for the World" and "Friends Forever". The latter was well chosen: the two kingdoms enjoy a warm 400-year friendship that originated in the Ayutthaya period.

 For the second half of the show, the Wattana School choir, which has performed in several European countries but not the Netherlands, treated members of the Grootkoor to the authentic flavour of Thai music and culture. The group began with gospel music before launching into its own arrangements of Thai folk songs, bringing traditional dance steps to the fore. The rhythm of Isaan was infectious, with every Grootkoor member moving to the beat of lamwong.

 More cultural introductions came in the form of "Sawasdee", a real crowd-pleaser that had Europeans joining in by putting their hands together for a traditional Thai welcome. The school kids showed they had learnt a thing or two about other musical cultures as well, surprising the audience with the African spiritual "Hiyahamba".

 For many present, the songs of heaven that rang out for an hour were proof of the transcendent power of music. For an hour in the Bangkok embassy garden, east joined west in a celebration of the best of world culture.