Männerchöre: the German tradition of male-voiced choirs in the 19th century.
It's a tradition that generated so much repertoire by Schubert, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Bruckner and all. Too little performed these days, these drinking songs and ripping yarns for male-voiced choruses are part of a long tradition of what happens when groups of blokes self-segregate and raise their voices about wine, women and song.
A remarkable analogy in the contemporary musical world for such expressions of Männerchor-style togetherness is to be found not in concert halls or sporting stadiums, but deep in our oceans. I’m not talking about Jules Verne-style assemblages of underwater singers burbling through their scuba gear. I mean male humpback whales, who get together at nodal points of their vast migration routes that gird the globe, meeting with one purpose: to sing.
The songs span huge reaches of musical possibility
The songs that humpback populations perform – and it’s only the males who sing these extended songs, for reasons that researchers like Ellen Garland at the University of St Andrews speculate are to do with everything from mating rituals to socialisation to navigation – are an astounding bio-musical phenomenon. The songs span huge reaches of acoustic possibility, from high-pitched chirps and clicks to low-register moans. They can travel for dozens of miles through the ocean, and they can be performed in phrases that last from seconds up to half an hour.
What’s most fantastic about Garland’s research is that she has discovered that whole populations of male humpbacks share the same song, which they all learn, perform and repeat. That means that humpback whales have created a repertoire that they have probably been singing throughout their nearly million-year evolutionary history.
Male humpbacks perform an ever-changing song collection
And what is truly jaw-dropping is the mechanics of how whales share and change their songs. When an individual of one humpback population encounters a member of another, they might hear a new song and choose to incorporate elements into their own repertoire. The group decides on the shape of their new song at those get-togethers at key points of their global migrations.
In other words: male humpbacks are collectively composing and performing a precise yet ever-changing collection of songs. Are they continually trying to impress the females with performances of new repertoire? Are they competing with one another as individuals, or as whole communities to see whose song is the most powerful? Or are they simply singing for the sheer glory of being alive, and hearing the resonances of their songs in the unique acoustics of the open ocean? All of the above, very possibly, and for other reasons that cetacean science is still exploring.
The Männerchor tradition didn’t go away – it just went deep underwater.
Tom Service
Five more creatures that use music to communicate
1. Song Sparrows
Song sparrows employ structural rules reminiscent of a classical multi-movement suite. Males possess a large, memorized repertoire of distinct melodies and construct their performances using "long-term selection." Instead of repeating the same melody, they rotate through a diverse set of up to twelve different songs.
When a neighbour begins a song, they use a sophisticated social technique known as "song-matching," responding with either the exact same tune to signal rivalry or a complementary piece from their playlist to build a cooperative, overlapping dialogue.
2. Mexican Free-Tailed Bats
Mexican free-tailed bats use complex vocal structures to sing during courtship rituals. Males construct highly rapid vocal arrangements, stitching together distinct syllables into specific sequences that include buzzes, trills, and chirps.
Operating on remarkably fast timelines, these mammals adapt the rhythmic structure of their melodies mid-performance. If a female flies by, the bat will instantly accelerate the tempo and shift from a general broadcast melody into a highly intense, specialized arrangement designed to hold her attention.
3. Splendid Fairywrens
In their native Australia, male splendid fairywrens engage in a vocal behaviour known as "Type II singing." When a predator, like a butcherbird, lets out a terrifying hunting call, the male fairywren responds by unleashing a loud, hyper-precise musical trill. Rather than staying quiet to hide, the male uses the sudden silence of the forest to broadcast his own physical vigour. This ensures his melody rings out clearly to nearby females, using the high stakes of a predator’s presence to prove his bravery.
4. Slender Lorises
Slender lorises are nocturnal primates that use melodic vocalizations to maintain social bonds across the dark canopy. They communicate through a series of sweeping, frequency-modulated whistles that function as complex duets.
A lone loris will broadcast a structured acoustic theme across the trees, and a distant partner will reply by echoing the melody with subtle pitch adjustments. These musical exchanges allow the primates to navigate territory, identify individual companions, and reinforce community ties without revealing their exact physical locations.
5. Plain-Tailed Wrens
Plain-tailed wrens perform precisely synchronized vocal compositions. Breeding pairs cooperate to execute rapid-fire musical duets that sound like a single bird singing seamlessly. They alternate syllables so quickly that their coordination requires intense neuro-motor precision.
The male sings one phrase, and the female instantly drops in her specific notes within milliseconds. This continuous cooperative loop creates a complex, interlocking melody used to defend their territory and reinforce their lifelong pair bond.
