Crowds gather on Swiss mountain for world’s largest alphorn festival

The hills were alive with the sound of music on Sunday (July 28) as 3,500 people braved the heights of Switzerland's Mount Tracouet to watch 150 alphorn players take part in the 13th world alphorn festival.

Originally used by shepherds to gather herds in the mountains from the 16th century on, as written works from the period testify, the wooden alphorn survived near-disappearance in the 19th century to attract players from all over the world. Today, Switzerland has around 4,000 alphorn players, 150 of whom are from the Valais canton.

These musicians traditionally gather for the world's largest alphorn festival in Nendaz, Switzerland, for an alphorn contest and three-day festivities, including a spectacular concert given simultaneously by 150 alphorn players in Mount Tracouet, whose 2200 metres can be scaled by cable car.

Players for the 13th edition came from Switzerland, France, Germany, Italy, England and Romania.

For one French alphorn player, Jean-Marie Cidler, the alphorn was symbolic of romance.

"It's a love story. I now only listen to alphorn music while I am in my car. I only listen to this music. And it's the same with Apensen's yodeler. I cried the first time I heard it...It evokes the mountain, it evokes a certain sensitivity," he said. Cidler has been coming to the festival for nine years, having bought his first alphorn in 2005.

For Swiss player Christophe Gillon, the appeal of the instrument lay more with the festivities that go hand-in-hand with playing.

"The goal of playing alphorn was eventually to leave [for rehearsal] at the end of the day, to clear our minds, each one of us would take his alphorn, plus a bottle of white wine, and we would go and play somewhere in the nature where the view is beautiful, we would play a couple of pieces, drink the bottle, and come back. It helps clear your mind," he said, sitting next to a member of his alphorn band who were attending the event.

Guest of honor in this year's festival was Romania, with a special focus on Avram Iancu, a "cradle" of the alphorn. The traditional "tulnic"—resembling an alphorn without the final upward curve—is still being played there.

Romanian player Argentina Floca, who has played the tulnic since her youth, said she enjoyed the international opportunities the festival permitted.

"We see a lot of things, meet a lot of new people and make contacts and we can share experiences between Romania, Switzerland, France, England, Germany and Italy," she said.

Tourists followed the call of the traditional instrument to join alphorn aficionados on the mountainside, despite the misty weather.

"Particularly when we had all the alpine horns together, that was very evocative, quite emotional really. And the location, it's such a fantastic location. And last night we were here so we enjoyed the partying down the hill in the tent when everybody's dancing and it was clear that participation was the most important thing," English tourist Jim Skeltan said.

Musician Karine Tosoni had come eager to discover the sound of the instrument but left with mixed impressions.

"It's difficult to play in tune! Some notes don't ring well, they're not in the same tune. And one always come to ask himself how they are going to deal with the fact that their instrument doesn't play in tune. Watching every competitor, you see different ways of dealing with this situation, or jump over certain musical notes, and that's what is also interesting," she said.

The festival provides a boost for the small city of Nendaz, which manages to attract thousands to celebrate the alphorn and other folk traditions. — Reuters