Sigrid and Marina's 2012 Autumn Outing (Mass Included)

By Tom Faber
CSMR Editor

CHICAGO, USA -- Sigrid and Marina have had an active summer, hitting #1 for four straight weeks on SWR 4 radio's "White Blue hit parade" with their new single Sommerwochenende (Summer weekend).

Sigrid and Marina in January 2012

And there's a big weekend coming up right now for fans of the traditionally conservative Austrian schlager sisters.

Beginning tomorrow night, they'll join their fans for a "Kerzerlfahrt" boat ride on Lake Traun, in the
Salzkammergut resort region of their native Upper Austria. The event will feature a 3 course dinner and, of course, entertainment by Sigrid and Marina.

The following evening, they'll repeat the nautical excursion, this time with the addition of the celebration of the Catholic Mass on the shores of the beautifully pristine waterway. Sigrid and Marina will provide vocal accompaniment to the Eucharistic service and will undoubtedly perform their lovely paean to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Wenn ich ein Glöcklein wär (If I were a bell.)

Then on Saturday evening, Sigrid and Marina will headline their annual Autumn concert at the Freizeithalle in the same beautiful Austrian resort town.

Winter promises to be every bit as busy for the Upper Austrians as from December 5th through the 22nd Sigrid and Marina will headline the Melodien der Berge, Weihnacht tour with numerous stops throughout Germany.

They'll be joined on the tour by Switzerland's family group, Oesch's Die Dritten as well as Zellberg Buam and Die Ladiner.



Here Sigrid and Marina perform their lively big summer hit Sommerwochenende (Summer weekend) on Immer Wieder Sonntags, Stefan Mross' Sunday schlager TV show:



Here you can get a taste of the upcoming boat performance as Sigrid and Marina perform Die Küsse der Sonne (The kisses of the sun) aboard a boat on the Traunsee:





Here singing the title song from their latest CD is Sigrid and Marina with Lieder sind wie Freunde (Songs are like friends):



More info on the Austrian schlager stars, Sigrid and Marina can be had at their website: http://www.sigrid-und-marina.at/

Oesch's Die Dritten 2012: Update on Switzerland's Happy Family Singers

By Tom Faber
CSMR Editor

CHICAGO, USA -- We're a bit overdue for an update on Oesch's Die Dritten, the happy family group from Bern, Switzerland who have proven to be among the most popular of the many acts that we have profiled to date.

Oesch's Die Dritten have emerged as headliners on
the schlager tour circuit as this June 2012 poster indicates

They are particularly popular in the Swiss-American community with its many vibrant cultural organizations, particularly in Wisconsin and the Pacific Northwestern states.

In an era where the traditional family structure has been under almost constant cultural assault in the US and abroad, more than a few have found encouragement from their ebullient familial cohesion.

As one woman wrote in "They have to be the happiest family in Europe, if not the entire world."

The quite engaging, distinctively Swiss schlager group put out a new release this past year, Unser Regenbogen (Our Rainbow).

Below are a few cuts from that CD, which, as always are punctuated by daughter, Melanie Oesch's trademark yodeling.


Here's Oesch's Die Dritten with their 2012 release, Jodeln ist cool (Yodeling is cool):



Here they are in a televised performance from earlier this year with Ich schenk' dir einen Jodler (I'll Give a yodel out to you). They seem to be having a lot of fun, with it despite it having been an obviously bad hair day for Melanie:



As usual you can read more about Oesch's Die Dritten and obtain downloads via their website: http://www.oesches.ch/

The Beautiful, Multitalented Ella Endlich

By Peter Wilde
CSMR UK Correspondent

MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND -- Berlin-based singer, songwriter, actress and all around performer, Ella Endlich, was born Jacqueline Zebisch, behind the Iron Curtain in 1984. The daughter of producer Norbert Endlich, she was born with showmanship in her blood and over the years she has honed it into a fine art, becoming one of Germany's major show business stars.

Ella Endlich at a Berlin recording studio in November of 2011

She signed her first recording contract at the age of 14, and as the teen star, Junia, she recorded four singles. The first of these, 'It's Funny', was the most successful and reached number 17 in the German charts.

After finishing high school, Jacqueline began honing her craft, studying music, drama, theatre and dance at the Bavarian Theatre Academy in Munich.

Taking the name Ella Endlich for a new adult performing career, she released the single Küss Mich, Halt Mich, Lieb Mich in 2009. The pretty song is in the form of lyrics set to the music composed by Charles Svoboda for the Czech fairytale film, Drei Haselnüsse für Aschenbrödel (Three Hazelnuts for Cinderella).

The film is traditionally shown at Christmas in Germany and I recall an English-dubbed version having been shown in the UK, as well.

The popularity of the film led to success on the pop charts as well, for Ella Endlich, as it peaked at #12 in Germany. It remains a perennial favorite, and at the time of this writing, her video performance of it has garnered an astonishing 4.1 million plays on YouTube.

It earned her a gold record (Goldene Schallplatte) and a 'SMAGO' award (from a German schlager magazine).

Take a look at her German pop classic, Küss Mich, Halt Mich, Lieb Mich (Kiss me, hold me, love me):





I thought at first that Ella may just have been a one hit wonder and would only reappear every Christmas for a reprise of the song but in 2010 she released the album 'Da' and in 2011, a follow up 'Meilenweit' , both of which attained significant success.

She has made regular appearances featuring what are usually lively renditions of songs from both albums on the German language schlager entertainment shows such as Andy Borg's Musikantenstadl and Wilkommen bei Carmen Nebel . Nebel, incidentally became her stepmother, after marrying her father, Norbert.

In these appearances, she shows her true range as a charismatic performer, not merely a powerful singer. Here she performs her Streisand-like Hier ist mein Herz (Here is my heart) before a live audience:



Ella Endlich has professed a love of 60s/70s music and this is genuinely reflected in much of her work. She has covered Gordon Lightfoot's 1971 hit If You Could Read my Mind (with the German title Wär' ich ein Buch, literally, If I were a book to read):





And here is a really cool 60s retro video of Ella Endlich performing Woodstock - an original German language song, not Joni Mitchell's American pop classic of the same name:



In a true testimony to Ella Endlich's versatility, in January 2012 the eastern German regional TV channel, MDR, broadcast Ein Großstadtmärchen (A Big City Fairy Tale), a 45 minute film written by her and featuring her songs in various settings around Berlin.

It has subsequently been released on DVD.

Ella Endlich has not given up on her theatrical work either, having just completed a month of performances with the Hamburg Kammerspieler theatrical troupe in a play entitled Sylt - Ein Irrtum Gottes.

This coming winter, Ella Endlich will be appearing in concerts with schlager legend, Bernhard Brink as part of his 40th anniversary tour.