Alphorns
have been used throughout the history of the Alps to communicate
between the valleys and to celebrate the mysticism of the scenery. The
tradition is not only still alive today but contemporary musicians
have used the instrument in their search of innovative sounds.
Two Swiss horn players, Jean-Jacques Pedretti and Robert Morgenthaler,
have combined archaic melodies of the traditional horns with innovative
jazzy grooves—and stretched the boundaries even further by
developing a project that bridges the gap between the traditional
instrument and high technology.
Updating the musical tradition
In their compositions and improvisations, Pedretti and Morgenthaler play the “Alpflyinghorn” made
of carbon fibre, the same material that composes the ultra-light hulls of the
Swiss sailing yacht, Alinghi, which brought the America’s Cup to Switzerland.
The Alpflyinghorn is a lightweight, telescopic horn that has not lost any of
its acoustic qualities. It was awarded the Silver Medal at the 1999 Inventors
Show in Geneva. Created by a Swiss engineer, Roger Zanetti, with the collaboration
of Jean-François Burkhalter (a constructor of prize-winning tournament
sailing yachts piloted by Pierre Fehlmann), they were both motivated by the
idea of creating a new generation of sound. Zanetti, a musician, was tired
of the hazards and inconveniences of transporting an oversized and delicate
instrument, especially when travelling by air.
From entertaining the Federal Council on the Swiss National Day, to welcoming
the Alinghi Sailing Team on their return with the America’s Cup in Geneva,
Pedretti and Morgenthaler have explored all the facets of their two instruments,
dramatically unfolding their carbon alphorns in a gesture to surprise the audience
or dismantling the wooden alphorns to rub them together as percussion instruments.
A never-ending search for new musical horizons
Their exploration of new musical horizons never ends. The two musicians, with
their group Traces (which also includes Anna Grichting, a talented Swiss-Irish
vocalist), elaborated in 2000 the Sufi-Moon Project, a Swiss-Pakistan exchange
project, which has become a cultural and musical laboratory exploring music
around the universal symbolism of the Moon and merging Eastern and Western
sounds.
No doubt, a musical group—and unique instruments—to keep your eye
on and your ears open to … |
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