Traditional music and dance
What could be more Tyrolean than yodeling? This form of singing, which consists of rapidly alternating passages in chest and head voices, has a long history in the European rural tradition and is still a staple of the region's folk music . In concrete terms, it is thanks to a guttural technique, using onomatopoeic syllables interspersed with high-pitched sounds, that the singers produce the famous "yodela-hihou! This song probably originates from the needs of shepherds to communicate from a distance, from one mountain or valley to another, thus linking a succession of syllables at different heights of scale to be heard in the wind.
The tyrolienne is usually accompanied by accordion and can be seen as a cousin of the French musette. Unlike its French cousin, however, the Tyrolean song is alive and well today, whether at folk festivals, on stage or even on Austrian television. The Tyrolean song is usually performed by groups in folk costumes, accompanied by Schuhplattlers
, dancers who also wear costumes and beat the rhythm by clapping their thighs and shoes, and who generously feed the image of Tyrol.Would you like to listen to yodeling? Everywhere in Tyrol it is common to hear it and some establishments, like theAlpenhotel Fernau
(in the Stubai valley), even offer it during meals. It is amusing to note that yodeling has long since crossed the borders of the Tyrol and that, historically, among the great performers of the discipline is an American, the country singer Jimmy Rodgers in the 1920s, or a Japanese, Takeo Ishii, still active (with a certain success).Apart from yodeling, the region is full of emblematic dances, the Folkloretänze (for folk dances). Starting with the Ländler, the most popular folk dance of the region. More or less equivalent to the French bourrée, it is traditionally performed in the round and associated with yodeling. Particularly bouncy, it seduced many composers such as Beethoven, Schubert, Bruckner or Mahler who introduced it in some of their works. Originally from Tyrol, we also find this derivative of the waltz, the Zwiefacher, a couple dance where the duo turns quickly and in a tight position. Less well known but just as authentic and picturesque is the Watschentanz, a men's dance in which men dressed in Bermuda shorts and suspenders perform jousts simulating a fight. The Schuhplattler
, mentioned earlier, is another very popular male dance in Tyrol, where men form a circle, clap their hands and feet and perform acrobatic figures to impress the women, in a sort of collective love parade in which individuals must distinguish themselves by their prowess.These dancers are usually accompanied by folk orchestras including accordionists as well as zither and hackbrett
players (a typical Germanic stringed instrument). The region is also known for the alphorn, although it is more often linked to Swiss folklore. These huge, elongated instruments, with the tip on the ground, produce powerful sounds that can also be used to communicate at a distance. During concerts, they are usually played in orchestra, with at least four choristers playing together, producing an impressive vocal volume! These long horns are generally carved from a single block of spruce trunks, which are then unwound. They measure between 3.60 and 4 meters in length, some reaching over 15 meters! Of course, the longer the horn, the more breath it takes to produce a sound, and the more powerful it is...The Tyrol is a festive region and offers many opportunities to experience its folklore. The best time is during the carnival, called Fasnacht, a set of very nice festivities inviting costumed parades and zany masks carved in wood, some of which are very old, are a joy to enjoy. On the other hand, in Zell am Ziller, one of the biggest festivals in Tyrol is held every first weekend in May, the Gauderfest, which can be translated as "Festival of the good people". This purely folkloric festival celebrating the coming of spring is a real festival of traditional costumes with Tyrolean dances and ranggeln (traditional wrestling) competitions. In the same spirit, the Pitztaler Schneefest
is another of the colorful Tyrolean folk festivals with a huge parade of traditional music. In the Italian Tyrol, more precisely in the Dolomites, we should note the work of the group Calicanto and the Dolomite Folk Orchestra, both of which have a similar ambition: to produce works aimed at preserving and reviving the local folk repertoire.Classical music
For any self-respecting classical music lover, Austria is a sacred land. A cradle for the genre that has seen some of its greatest geniuses (let's not be afraid of the word) born and flourish. The country's musical golden age corresponds to that of the apogee of Austrian civilization, i.e. the period spanning the reigns of Charles VI (1711-1740), Maria Theresa (1740-1780) and Joseph I (1780-1790). A crossroads of influences and the embodiment of Humanism, Austria at the time was the ideal breeding ground for great music.
A country of music lovers in every corner, Tyrol also has some fine dedicated events. These include the Tiroler Festspiele, a classical music festival held in Erl (Kufstein region), in an open-air opera house facing green expanses and inaccessible peaks, or the Innsbruck Early Music Festival, dedicated to the masterpieces of the 16th and 17th centuries, some of whose performances take place in the splendid Ambras Castle
