This chapter examines how issues of place and gender, specific to German East Bavaria, aremediated through song imagery. Taking the arena of choral music as a locus of social and musicalproduction, I also analyze how singers' musical narratives and memories of music makingembody and reflect their emotional relationships with this region. The physical and emotionaleffects of singing raise questions about differences between male and female German choral singersas they narrate their bodily experiences of music making. I ask, how do gender roles determine maleand female experiences of singing in a choir and to what extent does singing offer an experiencecapable of transcending the constraints of gendered expectations?

This analysis is based on ethnographic research conducted with an amateur choir in East Bavariabetween 2004 and 2005. Bavaria has a distinct regional identity within Germany, characterized by itsown dialect, a conservative government, the predominance of the Catholic Church, and the strength oflocal customs and tradition. The market town of Deggendorf in East Bavaria is known as the gatewayto the Bavarian Forest. Its inhabitants express a strong sense of belonging and pride about thearea, which they refer to as Heimat (home). The concept of Heimat and theassociations it evokes are central to understanding how a sense of belonging emerges in this region.Peter Blickle asserts that Heimat is the outcome of living in small communities where“everything in the locality is known.”