In Lavey-Village, at the south-eastern tip of the canton of Vaud, François Morisod has been making his alphorns for over twenty years. Michel Gaugaz from Aigle(seen here in a TVRL video) had asked the carpenter and wood sculptor for assistance at the time and then initiated him into the basics of the alphorn. This opened up the world of music for François, which was completely new to him. The production of wooden sculptures, as well as general carpentry, has remained a mainstay throughout the years – you can feel this artistic streak when you meet him in his showroom.
François makes most of his alphorns by hand. Because of back problems, he recently purchased a small CNC machine that he uses to do the rough milling work. But he stresses that he still planes out the last few millimeters by hand. To illustrate his work steps, he has alphorns of varying degrees of completion on display in his showroom. François works on an alphorn for a good two weeks in total. The wood comes from the Pay d’en Haut or the arc of the Jura between Neuchâtel and the Forêt de Risoux. François values lunar timber; he laments that much timber is no longer cut in winter for commercial reasons.
The coiled Morisod horns look visually traditional. I noticed how the cone of the tube increases significantly in the lowest part – he also carves this “bend” into the bore. To relieve the neuralgic point at the connection on the cup, he has made his foot particularly massive. The other details such as cup rings and barrels present themselves simply. The horns are painted inside and outside. Depending on the wood and the customer’s wishes, François builds his alphorns with a different wall thickness. He has designed the connections of his unwound alphorns in an unconventional way: between two milled double rings he wraps a short piece with pedigree cane (see photo below). François likes to decorate his cups very much; besides fine paintings with different motifs, he also applies elaborate carvings (see here).
During my April 2023 visit, I tried four of his alphorns (three unwound and one wound). The instruments were very similar in behavior and intonation. One of the wound horns had bushings from the 3D printer on a trial basis – maybe that’s why it sounded a bit drier. I could not find any major problems with the intonation. The speech was neat. Compared to thinner-walled alphorns, they need a little more pressure, but are stable in tone over the entire dynamic range. Ties succeed very well on these instruments, fast staccato passages somewhat less so. At the end, I tried two of his games: the Trombobüchel (a buechel in the shape of a trombone) and the Susacor (an alphorn in the shape of a susaphone). Especially the Susacor was very amusing to play with. François emphasizes, however, that this instrument, which is complicated to manufacture, can hardly be sold at a profit.
A Morisod horn including mouthpiece and carrying case, but without ornamentation, costs CHF 3,500. Francois sells about 15-20 instruments per year, mainly in French-speaking Switzerland, but also occasionally overseas. His son is a skilled carpenter and is considering going into the alphorn making business. On the website of François Morisod you can find more information about his alphorns, sculptures and woodwork, as well as several videos. Below are my own impressions.
Verdict: A good-natured all-around alphorn that stands out especially for its ornate decorations.
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