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The current group leaders will go all out for victory in their final match of the phase despite needing only a draw against the Koreans to be sure of qualifying for the next round. Finishing first will not only boost Swiss confidence, but would come with the probable added advantage of avoiding an in-form Spain…
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The conclusion supports calls by Swiss police to up the size of their forces, an increase they say is necessary due to mounting demands on law and order services. The study, commissioned by the Swiss Police Officers’ Federation, said there were certain duties that by law could only be performed by policemen or women, such…
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Cowherds have always used signal instruments out of material that was available to them. They produced sounds quite easily, for example by blowing on a single blade of grass held between the two thumbs. Another custom, dating from 1511, is to make music with a leaf (from either a pear tree or ivy bush). The…
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Flag tossing or flag throwing in Switzerland involves swinging a flag of a prescribed size and shape back and forth on a short staff and then throwing it into the air and catching it by the staff as it comes down. In the Middle Ages, this skilful activity was a privilege of urban guilds. It…
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Nobody can stake a claim on the art form of Swiss alpine music, which nowadays is both preserved and enhanced. Some yodelers and alphorn players look to their roots and choose to sound as “authentic” as possible. Others have tried to move this music forward: yodelers in traditional costume; rock musicians who have grafted this…
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After the re-creation of the yodel song in the 1920ies by Oskar Friedrich Schmalz (1881- 1960), who combined traditional one voice songs with yodel refrains, it was more and more accompanied by accordion. This score was presented in 1947 for the first time on an National yodeling festival, Since the 1933 yodeling festival it has…
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Yodeling is a form of singing that involves singing an extended note which rapidly and repeatedly changes in pitch from the vocal chest register (or “chest voice”) to the head register (or “head voice”), making a high-low-high-low sound. This vocal technique is found in many cultures throughout the world. In Swiss folk music, it was…
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The alphorn is an instrument which uses natural harmonics. The player has to vary the pitch without help from fingerholes, which make it possible to raise the fundamental pitch of a wind instrument, or from valves with additional tubing which can be opened to lower the fundamental pitch. It is by adjusting the speed and…
