Emder Shanty-Gruppe

The Emder Shanty Group is one of the oldest and best-known shanty choirs on the North Sea. In 1969, when fifteen sailors from the Emden Sailing Club put their boats together when the Ems was calm, they wanted to make a virtue out of necessity. They intoned maritime songs and quickly realized that apart from the first verse of a song there was hardly any repertoire. They decided to shorten the evenings during the winter months by rehearsing shanties. What nobody suspected at the time: this relaxed singing community became one of the most well-known shanty choirs in northern Germany.

But of course a lot has happened in the more than 40 years since this choir was founded! The Emden shanty group has understood how to develop further since it was founded and is now one of the most demanding interpreters of this music. The ambition to stand out from the inevitable crowd of shanty choirs has prompted this choir to go its own musical way. Shantys are the work songs of the seafarers who had to do their heavy work to the beat of these songs.

The “slightly different shanty sound” is reflected in the polyphony of the rewritten old shanties and allows the Emden shanty group to retain the originality and spontaneity of the songs. The selection of songs relies on brisk rhythms that not only grip the choir, but also captivate the audience. The shanty group is not only a guest at national and international shanty festivals, but is also one of the musical representatives of the city of Emden. Whether at maritime conferences, major events or in churches, the Emden shanty group knows how to put the audience in the right mood and give the event a special setting.