A new songbook for Leiden’s 3 October festival: why you should come to the singsong in the park
After a long night of partying, hundreds of people head to Leiden’s Van der Werfpark early on 3 October for a good singsong. Lecturer in Dutch literature Olga van Marion helped compile the new songbook for the occasion. Which songs were left out and which new hits have taken their place?
For those of us who have never got up early in the morning of 3 October: Why should we come to the singsong in the park?
‘Singing together about misery, heroes and scoundrels fosters a spirit of unity and promotes integration. A city’s collective memory tells children and newcomers something about the local history. A city that sings together is a healthy community where people look out for one another and look forward to the next commemoration. I’ll be there and will definitely be singing at the top of my voice.’
And it was time for a new songbook?
‘We had run out of the old ones and they were very outdated anyway. So it was high time to make new choices. We did that together with 3 October Association committee members Laila Al-Zwaini and Josine Heijnen. And conductor Wim de Ru made sure the songs were not too hard to sing. There were nine heavily religious texts in the book that had not been sung for a long time. Nine other songs have taken their place.’
What criteria did you use?
‘First, we wanted to return to the time of the Relief of Leiden, so the oldest possible texts from around 1574. The poem Vruntschap by city treasurer Jan van Hout has now been set to music. He wrote it in 1575 so it really was hot off the press. We also wanted more contemporary songs such as “La La La Leiden” by Jochem Myjer and the children’s song “Pieter van der Werf”.
‘And the third criterion, was more women: there are now two songs about Magdalena Moon. I wrote one of them myself a few years ago, together with friends and colleagues from the university [Jaap de Jong, Laetita Smit and Van Marion’s husband Ton van der Wouden, Ed.]. It is set to the tune of Berg Op Zoom [a patriotic song celebrating the liberation of Bergen op Zoom, Ed.]: ‘Hé Valdez, wacht nou es, Wacht tot drie October.’ (Hey Valdez, wait a sec/ Wait till 3 October [Valdez was the Spanish leader, Ed.]).
Did you make any more changes?
‘Yes, there was very little information in the old songbook. We have now added the date, lyricist and composer of all the songs and for some we now provide the original text instead of later versions. In the afterword, I explain the songs’ context and how they came about.’
A song like De Zilvervloot, which is about Dutch West India Company admiral Piet Hein, is controversial nowadays. Why was this still included?
‘There was definitely discussion about it but in the end we decided to leave it in. It is a firm favourite of many people who come along to sing and you can’t change a tradition overnight. We didn’t want cancel culture. The songbook is a compromise between preserving the old and embracing the new.’
The songbook can be purchased for €4,50 at the 3 October Association service point at Pieterskerkgracht 20A in Leiden.
Lecture on 26 September
On 26 September, Olga van Marion will give the lecture ‘Vrouwen in de hoofdrol: de geschiedenis herschreven’ (‘Women in the lead: history rewritten’). In the lecture, she will also look at the role during the Relief of Leiden in 1574 of women such as Magdalena Moons and Elisabeth van der Werff, daughter of the famous mayor. Sign up or watch the live stream.
Text: Linda van Putten