Alphorn

History of the Alphorn

The alphorn is a wooden wind instrument that has several similar ancestors in the didgeridoo and wooden trumpet but probably developed all of its own as a method of communication for mountain dwellers in central Europe. The first known written records that mention an alphorn describe shepherds using it as a way to round up animals and also beg on the streets when times were difficult. The alphorn was made entirely of two pieces of wood bound together with a curved bell at the end of a very long air chamber. The alphorn became a symbol of folk festivals and alpine traditions, particularly during the overthrowing of Napoleon at the turn of the 17th and 18th century. German composer Johannes Brahms famously heard an alphorn being blown and used some notes of the melody in his Symphony No 1. Referring to the instrument as a “shepherd’s horn”. The instrument fell out of popularity soon after but experienced a renaissance in the 19th century as Switzerland and other alpine areas in Europe sought to revive the instrument and connect with their traditional heritage. Nowadays, there are contests and gatherings of alphorn players in these regions.

Inventor: Unknown