Toot and blow

Hans U. Alder, a photographer and filmmaker from Zurich who worked for Swiss television for many years, moved to Schwarzenberg in the canton of Lucerne after his retirement. He knew little about the local brass band tradition. Alder was fascinated by the musicians' motivation and commitment to their association. He was also impressed by the musical quality of the village brass band in his new home. This resulted in a photographic and film documentation of the Brass Band MG Schwarzenberg over the course of a year. This work was presented at the new uniform in 2016.
The beautiful, expressive photos and short, one-and-a-half-minute films of nine members of the Musikgesellschaft are worthy of being presented in the Willisau Musical Instrument Collection, as they are also representative of many other formations.

Where does the rich brass music tradition come from? How did the ensembles develop? These questions are explored in a small exhibition that complements the photos and films by Hans U. Alder. The uniforms still in use today show the direction. The name "Feldmusik", which many clubs still bear, also refers to the military roots.
Even in the late Middle Ages, the Swiss stood out as particularly talented military musicians. Drummers and pipers from our country were popular throughout Europe. Trumpeters and timpanists also played at the royal courts. The French King Louis XIV, the "Roi Soleil", revolutionized military music. The "Hautboist ensembles" later gave rise to so-called Turkish music or "Bandes Turques" with cymbals, triangle and jingle tree. This is where the history of our village brass bands begins.

The exhibition documents this development using objects as well as audio, film and image documents that can be accessed on tablets.
In addition to instruments from our own collection, attractive objects were borrowed from the drum collection of Hans Ebersold in Sarnen, from the newly opened "Klingende Sammlung" (Karl Burri Collection) in Bern and from the Solothurn artillery band on horseback.

The next public tour will take place on Sunday, February 25, 2:15 pm.