00:00Wolfgang Mescher has a busy day ahead.
00:03In just a few hours his choir will perform here in Berlin.
00:07Its members are mostly people with hearing impairments.
00:10On the program tonight are Advent songs in sign language.
00:14Mescher has directed the ensemble for more than 20 years, but the nerves never go away.
00:21I never show that I'm nervous.
00:23I put up posters, then rehearse so that nothing goes wrong.
00:27I hope nothing will go wrong.
00:29But we're not perfect.
00:35A few days earlier, in the rehearsal room, the choir is discussing the correct gesture
00:39for holy.
00:40It can vary according to dialect.
00:44In a world designed for hearing people, the choir has had to fight for its place.
00:50In the past, I often saw Advent concerts advertised at the church for hearing people.
00:55So why don't we, hearing-impaired people, have the opportunity to attend one, too?
01:03They're performing a song in which the believers receive Jesus.
01:07But how does that work in sign language?
01:09Come, we'll show you standing up.
01:12How we imagine it.
01:16The reception.
01:18How?
01:20How does he arrive?
01:22In sign language, poetry is more expressive and melodic than day-to-day sign language.
01:27All together, yearning.
01:32Thomas Kuber has been in the choir for over 10 years.
01:35He's found a community here that supports him.
01:40Deaf people are eye people.
01:42They look at the signing hands, the beautiful movements being made.
01:48They take that in visually.
01:52From ears to eyes.
01:54Translating the songs into sign language isn't easy.
01:59We might need two or three sessions to correct and improve the material to perform it.
02:04We'll notice something and discuss it.
02:08It's important that deaf people can understand what we're doing.
02:17By day, Wolfgang Mescher is a carpenter, where he relies on other senses.
02:25I use my hands to feel the machine starting up.
02:28You can't work immediately after you turn it on.
02:34He can tell by vibration when the machine is ready.
02:41Mescher is the only deaf person in the company.
02:44He uses a translation app or gestures to communicate with colleagues.
02:53When foreign colleagues come in, it works better.
02:56Because their German isn't that good either.
03:01Foreign colleagues feel comfortable working with me, as it's typical for hearing people
03:05to formulate long, complicated sentences, which are harder to understand.
03:12Evening has fallen, and the guests take their seats.
03:15Lively conversations are held largely in silence.
03:19The lights dim for Glory to God in the Highest, from Bach's Christmas Oratorio.
03:34I found it impressive how you can begin to understand the signing when you read along
03:40with the lyrics.
03:42I'm amazed at how many deaf people take part.
03:46The event is with deaf people like me, and that resonates in my heart.
03:52The audience can also get involved.
03:55Thirteen songs later, the choirmaster is happy.
03:59I'm very pleased.
04:00It went great.
04:02Wolfgang Mescher will perform again with his choir at next year's Advent.
04:06Silent, yet full of meaning.
Comments