Grietje Sprot

Grietje Sprot are a traditional Fishwives Choir from Hindeloopen in the Netherlands and base their outfits on the traditional costumes worn there around 1920. Their repertoire consists of a wide range of Frisian and Dutch songs about the sea, sailors, fisherman and fishermen’s wives.

For more than 30 years, the Grietje Sprot fisherwomen’s choir has been popular at festivals and events at home in The Netherlands and abroad, but also in retirement and nursing homes.

The repertoire consists of a wide range of Frisian and Dutch songs about the sea, sailors, fishermen and fishermen’s women, among others.

The origin of the name? In the city of Hindeloopen, where they sell fish, there lived a girl named “Grietje Sprot”

The Biography of the choir

By attending a performance by the Harlinger shanty choir “Windkracht Tien” in community centre “de Foeke” on October 15, 1993, a number of Hindelooper women became so enthusiastic that they decided to also found such a choir, but differently.

And one thing was certain: they didn’t just want to sing, the choir had to become something special. They added deeds to the words and soon after fisherwomen’s choir, Grietje Sprot was founded.

The women did not have to think long about the name of the choir: fisherwoman Grietje with the nickname Sprot really existed, there was a translated song about her already – Molly Malone’s Cockles and Mussels, this song was somewhat expanded and modified and a Grietje Sprot performance invariably begins with this song.

It was decided to wear work clothes that were worn around 1920 in the Dutch fishing villages on the North Sea, Wadden Sea and then Zuiderzee.

Museum curator Caroline Hack, one of the founders, went on to collect information about this in order to be able to recreate the work as close to the original as possible. For this, the members visited several museums and bought old worn clothes. Most members made their own attire.

If the choir consisted of 10 members at its founding. The number was soon expanded to 17 and currently the choir has 20 members. The members not only come from Hindeloopen, but also come from the surrounding cities and villages. Every Thursday evening there is practice in building Irene in Hindeloopen.

Repertoire: The broad Dutch-language and Frisian repertoire consists of songs about the sea and sailors, fish and fishermen, love, joy and sadness of fishing girls and women. Each choir member imagines a place, not only in clothing, but also in name. Places and names like Jochine from Paesens – Moddergat, Sijtje van Marken and the like come back to life at Grietje Sprot.

Performances at home and abroad:

The members of Grietje Sprot perform at port and street festivals, fishing days and events, but are also welcome guests in retirement and care homes. Street performances are a bit more cheerful in tone, with indoor performances there is a balance between songs and theatre. During the performances, among other things, the traditional costumes are told. In this way, a piece of cultural transfer is provided.

Many garments are original and actually worn by fishermen’s wives, other things are authentically copied. Spakenburg, Marken, Volendam Paessens Moddergat, Arnemuiden, Scheveningen etc. are all places where the traditional costumes are unique and the clogs also particular to the outfits. For example, one pair is round, the other pair pointed, painted or not

Not only does the audience enjoy the songs and the game, the fisherwomen do the same. They do not have a conductor, but they do use the knowledge of a singing coach. There is singing by heart, the accompaniment consists of accordion, sometimes a melodeon and concertina, flute and rhythm instruments.

“Return of the fabulous Grietje Sprot who wowed us all back in 2016 and 2017 with their engaging performances. They are a traditional Fishwives Choir from Hindeloopen in the Netherlands and base their outfits on the traditional costumes worn there around 1920. Their repertoire consists of a wide range of Frisian and Dutch songs about the sea, sailors, fisherman and fishermen’s wives.”

[Harwich Shanty Festival Notes 2024}:

[The choir is reported to have released two CDs, although it was not possible to obtain information on these at time of writing.]