by Nazeem Davids
This week week we showcase one of the oldest choirs participating in the upcoming Cape Malay Choir Board (CMCB) competition – Angeliere Sing Koor.
The choir was established in 1952 in Orphan Street, Cape Town, a part of the central city adjacent to the Bo-Kaap area, by siblings Ebrahim, Salie and Mogamat Saal, with Boeta Cassiem Canfield and the brothers Boeta Boy and Ismail van der Schyff breaking away from the then family choir, Jonge Sentrale SK.
In the first two years, the club rooms were opposite each other and I can only imagine what the atmosphere would have been like when it was time for competition.
The late Boeta Gamiet Coetzee told me: “There was no malice between the two choirs and they shared the same coach. On New Year’s Eve, the two choirs combined and shared one brass band for the parade.”
Angeliere members then moved to their new clubhouse in Amandel Street in the Bo-Kaap, technically making Angeliere a Bo-Kaap team.
From there they moved to District Six, where the choir really grew and became serious contenders and eventual winners in the Cape Malay Choir Board competitions in the 1960s.
The name Angeliere, of course, stems from the flower, the carnation. As a matter of interest, for some inexplicable reason, our forefathers named a number of the Malay choirs after flowers back then, such as Primroses, Dahlias, Roses, Rosebuds, Tulips, Morning Glories, Somerrosies and quite recently still, Strelitzias.
In November this year, Angeliere SK will celebrate 70 years of existence.
As a choir, Angeliere SK, with the well-known Saal family forming the nucleus, has always been blessed with an abundance of choral and musical talent and this really came to the fore when Angeliere won the coveted Silver Fez trophy for three consecutive years in the late 1960s.
One of the stars of the show back then was the Cape Malay Choir legend, the late Ebrahim “Braim” Saal. Boeta Braim was the musical genius behind Angeliere.
The only one I know of who achieved three first prizes on the same evening. First prize leading the comic song. First prize for the solo song and first prize leading the Nederlandse lied. In the heyday of Malay choir singing back then, Angeliere was synonymous with brilliant, prize-winning comic songs like Diere plaas and Die Wind, and I still know most of the lyrics I learnt as one of the juniors.
Cousin Naeem Saal was the youngest-ever musician to play for the CMCB demonstration choir when he accompanied them on a trip to Port Elizabeth at the tender age of 9 years old. I have been a member of the choir for 55 years. You simply do not leave a family choir without the risk of being ostracised!
Like virtually all the other Malay choirs, the forced removals under the apartheid Group Areas Act had a huge impact on Angeliere SK. With the members now spread far and wide across the Cape Flats, the choir struggled and lost many members, and was predominantly kept going by the extended family.
“With the new generations reaching adulthood, the choir was slowly rebuilt and started to perform competitively again. Angeliere is probably the only Malay choir that has never had to budget for a stage band.
The extended Saal family is blessed with a number of musicians who are naturally called up to play when the choir prepares for competition. “Daar is niks van hoeveel gaan ek betaal word nie!” We play for the love of the game and loyalty to the choir.
Angeliere SK, under the guidance of the executive team of Feizal Davids, Ebrahim “Hiemie”Saal, Agmat Carelse, Yagyah Canfield, Ismail “Boetie” Saal,
Shakier Saal, Rayaan Soeker, Ismail Samuels and Ronson Wessels, is in a rebuilding stage and has slowly been introducing a number of younger members to the choir.
As always, funding is a serious problem and chairperson Hiemie Saal says: ”We have lots of new, younger members who are very enthusiastic and love the singing, but the choir must fund their uniforms and collect them for rehearsals, otherwise they just cannot participate.
“Their families cannot afford their participation. So we are always trying to raise funds and out looking for sponsors to sustain the choir. We cannot allow these youngsters to get lost to the sport. Especially now that so many choirs are no longer competing.”
One can only admire the determination of the members of Angeliere SK to participate in this year’s competition. Many others have already thrown in the towel.
It is no secret that the Malay Choir culture is in crisis. The dedication shown by the members of this 70-year-old choir is a reflection of what is happening in most other choirs.
I will be joining my beloved choir on stage this year to compete.
Just by taking the stage already makes Angeliere SK winners.
* Nazeem Davids
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
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