THE ALP-HORN

Wairarapa Times-Age, 11 March 1941, Page 9

THE ALP-HORN

CALLS SWISS CATTLE HOME. OLD CUSTOM STILL OBSERVED. An old custom still practised byherdsmen on the mountain pastures of Switzerland, writes Ethel R. Adamson in an American journal, is the biowing of the alp-horn at sunset to call the cattle home and announce the vesper hour of prayer and worship. As the golden sun ball sinks behind the western ridges, the "senn” will take up his huge horn and send pealing along the snowy summits the first few lines of the old Psalm tune; "Praise ye the Lord! Praise the Lord, God." Herdmen on neighbouring alps reply’ in like manner, and the strange, stirring music, as it echoes through the vast silences of the rugged ranges in solemn melody, produces an almost weird effect. Mingled with the sound of tinkling cow bells and roaring waterfalls on Alpine pastures, far above any town or village, it makes a never-to-be-forgotten impression on solitary j wanderers who hear it from a distance] for the first time. The throbbing tones I are prolonged for several minutes and then, when all is silent once more, the herdsmen bend the knee in prayer and praise, the cattle are gathered in. and ri:c men retire to their huts for the short summer night. ANCIENT ORIGIN. The alp-horn, typically Swiss, is oi: very ancient origin, being mentioned, in chronicles as far 'back as the' ninth century, it is said. It bears some resemblance to the shawn or reedpipe of the Middle Ages, only it is of much larger dimensions. Another remote ancestor is the Roman "lituus," a long, straight pipe with a curve at the end; and, it is interesting to note that the alp-horn is still called "liti” in the Swiss canton of Underwalden. The alp-horn is a wood-wind instrument usually made of well-grained mountain spruce or fir cut in half lengthwise, carefully hollowed out and then bound together with willow twigs. The hooked end for the sound box is made from the root. In early days the body of the horn was covered with bark, chiefly birch, or with hemp yarn Soaked in tar or pitch. Later on, roots of young fir trees, as thick as a pencil, were used, and sometimes rattan cane, as covering for the most expensive ones. Show pieces of this soft, made mostly for tourists and collectors, may be seen in the Bernese Oberland and cost the equivalent of 5 dollars to 6 dollars.

MASTERING THE NOTES. A good trumpeter has no difficulty in mastering the notes of the alphorn, which has the same range as the ordinary trumpet without stops or valves. But it has a special characteristic tone, uniting the metallic quality of a brass instrument with the' softness of the bass clarinet. As the octave scale is not complete, ordinary music cannot be played on it, and attempts to produce the missing notes are bound to be a failure. In more recent times this ancient instrument has fallen somewhat into disuse, but its revival is now taking place, but largely to the efforts of Swiss musical societies and to individual leaders in the musical profession. Courses of study in the art of alpborn blowing are now conducted each summer in several centres in the Oberland. On occasion these horns, tuned to a common pitch, have been successfully used to play Alpine melodies in three parts according to the yodelling method. At rural festivals alphorn playing is a popular feature, and Swiss musical magazines frequently print articles or write-ups about the successful performers, and announcement of competitive tryouts on this unique instrument. Wherever else in the world it may at times be heard, the alp-horn belongs especially to the Swiss Alps, and its plaintive notes wafted an echo in the mountain dweller’s heart, an echo that calls him "homeward, homeward to the mountains,” wherever he may be.