I’d seen many photos before, but today was the 1st
time I’d ever heard an “alphorn” played. The occasion was Swiss National Day,
the 1st of August, inspired by the Federal Charter of 1291, regarded
as the foundation of Switzerland.
The alphorn is traditionally played by mountain herdsmen and
has even called soldiers into battle. Composers such as Bach, Mozart, and
others wrote the instrument into their works.
In the 16th century, the uptight fundamentalist
John Calvin disapproved of instruments, and many alphorns were destroyed,
except in the cantons which did not succumb to Calvinism.
Philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau later wrote that it was
forbidden “on pain of death” to play the alphorn among mercenary troops because
it caused the Swiss who heard it “to burst into tears, to desert or to die, so
much did it arouse in them a longing to see their country again.”
An alphorn is traditionally about 3.4 meters long. The
musicians create the sound by buzzing their lips together, much like a brass
instrument. They alter the pitch with the embouchure (use of facial muscles
and the shaping of the lips) and
the tongue. By tightening the lips and raising the tongue in the mouth, they
can narrow the airstream and play higher notes. By loosening the lips and
lowering the tongue, they can widen the airstream and play lower notes. The
alphorn is a long horn and therefore requires a lot of air to create a good
sound.
We were treated to the mini-concert at a brunch hosted by
the German ambassador to the United Nations agencies in Geneva. The ambassador
kindly invited the entire village of Corsier, and how could we resist such a
gracious diplomatic invitation (proceeds of donations went to charity). The
serving staff was comprised of local volunteer pompieres (firemen).
No comments:
Post a Comment