Almost every Swiss village, town and city in Switzerland has its own wind band. They come in all shapes and forms, and they boast widely diverse repertoires - from "Harmoniemusik" to traditional brass band music, right up to fanfares (brass) and "fanfare mixte" (wind and brass) – which ensure that they continue to attract younger generations to their ranks. The tradition of wind bands dates back to the end of the 18th century and has its origins in the army. Before long though, a growing number of civilians fell under the charms of this musical practice and began to form their own bands. Prior to the proliferation of youth music schools which began in the 1960s, wind bands in Switzerland tended to be part of local music societies offering children and teenagers the chance to learn to play a musical instrument. In 1862 Switzerland became the first country in Europe to establish a national wind band federation, the "Eidgenössischer Musik-Verein", or the "Schweizer Blasmusikverband" (Swiss Wind Band Association), as it is now known. Founded in Olten, it coordinates the activities of its members, totalling some 2,000 wind band clubs and societies. Every five years it stages the "Eidgenössische Musikfest" (national wind band contest) which attracts more than 20,000 musicians from across Switzerland.
2011 Eidgenössisches Musikfest, St. Gallen: street music. © swiss-image.ch/Andy Mettler
2011 Eidgenössisches Musikfest, St. Gallen: a solitary trumpet player awaiting the arrival of his fellow musicians. © swiss-image.ch/Andy Mettler
2006 Eidgenössisches Musikfest, Lucerne: a welcome relief for tired feet. © swiss-image.ch/Andy Mettler
2006 Eidgenössisches Musikfest, Lucerne: greeting spectators. © swiss-image.ch/Andy Mettler
2006 Eidgenössisches Musikfest, Lucerne: crowds of onlookers gather. © swiss-image.ch/Andy Mettler
2006 Eidgenössisches Musikfest, Lucerne: marching music. © swiss-image.ch/Andy Mettler
2006 Eidgenössisches Musikfest, Lucerne: an orderly procession during the marching music contest. © swiss-image.ch/Andy Mettler
2006 Eidgenössisches Musikfest, Lucerne: marching music with choreography. © swiss-image.ch/Andy Mettler
2006 Eidgenössisches Musikfest, Lucerne: the bedrock of music. © swiss-image.ch/Andy Mettler
2011 Eidgenössisches Musikfest, St. Gallen: a sea of flags © swiss-image.ch/Sebastian Derungs
2011 Eidgenössisches Musikfest, St. Gallen: on stage. © swiss-image.ch/Jolanda Flubacher
An impromptu jam session. © swiss-image.ch/Sebastian Derungs
2011 Eidgenössisches Musikfest, St. Gallen: a semi-circle formation. © swiss-image.ch/Sebastian Derungs
2011 Eidgenössisches Musikfest, St. Gallen: standing at attention © swiss-image.ch/Sebastian Derungs
2011 Eidgenössisches Musikfest, St. Gallen: a young conductor at work. © swiss-image.ch/Sebastian Derungs
2011 Eidgenössisches Musikfest, St. Gallen: what a joy! © swiss-image.ch/Jolanda Flubacher
Open-air performance by the Swiss Air Force military band at the Kornhaus, Bern. © Centre of Competence for Military Bands
Open-air concert by the TerReg 2 military band during the Patrouille des Glaciers in Verbier. © Centre of Competence for Military Bands
The 11th armoured brigade military band on parade, Wangen an der Aare. © Centre of Competence for Military Bands
Fanfarabrigatafanteriamontagna 9 at a concert in Lugano © Centre of Competence for Military Bands
The Fanfare of brigade infanterie 2 in concert, Cossonay (canton of Vaud). © Centre of Competence for Military Bands
Young wind ensemble © Siegfried Aulbach
Detailed description
Blasmusik (PDF, 443 kB, 31.05.2018)Ausführliche Beschreibung
Category
Canton
Connected traditions
Links
Multimedia on-line
Publications
Brigitte Bachmann-Geiser: Die Volksmusikinstrumente der Schweiz (Handbuch der europäischen Volksmusikinstrumente Serie I, Band 4). Leipzig, 1981
Walter Biber: Von der Bläsermusik zum Blasorchester. Geschichte der Militärmusik und Blasmusik in der Schweiz. Luzern, 1995
Robert Blaser-Egli: Das Blasmusikwesen. In: Schweizer Musikbuch (Band 1). Ed. Willi Schuh. Zürich, 1939, p. 281-298
Walter Bossard et al.: Nachwuchsprobleme in Schweizer Blasmusikvereinen. Ed. Hochschule Luzern. Luzern, 2004 (www.hslu.ch/download/m/forschung/nachwuchsp_blasmusik_ch.pdf)
Brass Band. Internationale Fachzeitschrift für Brass Band und Blechbläser. Wiedlisbach, 1988– (http://www.bb-zeitschrift.ch)
Gabriela Mattmann: Die Roten und die Schwarzen. Die Gemeinde Rain und ihre Musikvereine (Zürcher Beiträge zur Alltagskultur 11). Ed. Volkskundliches Seminar der Universität Zürich. Zürich, 2002
Dieter Ringli: Musikverein. In: Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz. Bern, 2011 (http://www.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/d/D11894.php)
Schweizer Blasmusikverband (Ed.): Unisono. Die Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Blasmusik. Aarau, 1911-
Wolfgang und Armin Suppan: Das Blasmusik-Lexikon. Kraichtal, 2009 (5. Auflage des Lexikons des Blasmusikwesens)
Otto Zurmühle: Das schweizerische Blasmusikwesen. In: Musica Aeterna (Band 2). Zürich, 1949, p. 289-307
Keywords
Contact
Schweizer Blasmusikverband