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Alphorn players in the Entlebuch, Canton Lucerne (LU)
The alphorn originated in northern Asia and was brought to Europe by nomadic tribes. Originally a call and signal instrument, it was first used to play tunes at the end of the 18th century.
Picture: © UNESCO Biosphäre Entlebuch
www.biosphaere.ch
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The alphorn, an instrument more than three metres/ten feet long made of a fir tree with a naturally curved root, has hardly changed over the centuries. Among minimum changes in the 20th century was the introduction of a wooden mouthpiece instead of the simple blowing hole featured by older instruments. The new mouthpiece made the transmission of the lips’ vibration to the air trapped inside the alphorn and, consequently, the creation of natural notes easier. And instruments are today no longer made of firs with a natural curve but of high-quality wood which is pieced together and then carved in the shape of an alphorn. But the alphorn-maker still halves the raw tree lengthwise and hollows out the two parts with a specialized plane and chisel down to a thickness of a mere 3 millimetres; he then glues the two halves together and winds weatherproof cane around the horn.
What has, however, changed considerably are the functions of the alphorn. Up to about 1800 it served the Alpine population as an instrument for sending out acoustic signals and for calling home the cattle. Then it gradually metamorphosed to become a tourist attraction – and Switzerland’s national instrument. In the 20th century the alphorn and its smaller cousin, the trumpet-like Büchel, grew popular with amateur musicians. In the 1970s it found its way into the world of art music as a solo instrument, accompanied by symphony orchestra, wind ensemble, piano, harp or organ. It was also used in pop, rock, ethno-jazz, in the so-called natural note movement and in experimental folk music.
In canton Berne, where the growing number of cheese factories located in the valleys had made Alpine cheese-makers redundant as early as 1800, the alphorn was no longer of much use as a means of acoustic communication in the mountains. Thus, the instrument had already become a rarity by the time the first Alpine sport and music competitions known as the Unspunnen Festival (named after the meadow near Interlaken where it was held) were organised. At the first festival, in 1805, two musicians participated in the alphorn contest, three years later there was only one single contestant. The painter Franz Niklaus König addressed an open letter containing «Proposals for the promotion of the alphorn» to the Bernese government which ultimately reacted by twice, in 1826 and 1827, donating six alphorns to the mountain village of Grindelwald and by offering good singers free tuition in the art of playing the alphorn.
Alphorn competitions took place in 1869, 1876 and 1881, always in rural areas of Central Switzerland. But it was only much later – as of 1921, when alphorn players were given the opportunity to perfect their technique in proper courses, and after 1941, when alphorn players began to join forces with the powerful Swiss Yodeling Federation – that alphorn playing was promoted in a systematic way.
Nowadays alphorn players (both male and female) compare their skill in regional, cantonal and national competitions, the latter of which is held every three years. The musicians perform as soloists, duos, trios or quartets; the criteria on which they are judged include quality of tone, technique, intonation, accuracy of rhythm, ensemble playing and choice of the music performed.
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