My fascination with the alphorn began several years ago, as I started reflecting more deeply on my relationship to Switzerland and my own Swiss identity. Though born in Canada, I am Swiss on my mother’s side; my mother immigrated to Canada in her late 20s and my Dad is Canadian.
An album I released as L CON in 2023, The Isolator, was an exploration of complex feelings around Swiss identity, and my first foray into composing for alphorn, incorporating experimental electronic processing and manipulated tape loops, and working with Jim Hopson in Vancouver (son of Bill Hopson) and the Alpine Sisters in Zurich. As it was the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, work was done remotely, emailing scores and recording files back and forth.
In 2024, I was awarded a research and creation grant from the Canada Council for the Arts to continue exploring and learning about alphorn composition through direct work with alphorn players in Switzerland. This involved some designated time working with the Alpine Sisters again, though in-person, as well as Mike Maurer in Koniz, and attending the Alphorn Seminar Diemtigtal as a recordist and observer / researcher.
In July 2024, I worked with the Alpine Sisters in Zurich over about a week. I arrived with a number of score sketches, which we worked on together in smaller groups in their rehearsal space. After gathering feedback in our work sessions, I would edit and revise the scores further each evening. Working directly with instrumentalists is always illuminating as a composer, as one can unintentionally write motifs that are awkward or exhausting to play without realizing it. This is particularly true with a unique instrument such as the Alphorn, where breath is of the utmost consideration, and so many playing conventions and traditions are passed along orally.
During our time together I also experimented with close-miking techniques, attempting to get a more “intimate” and less-conventional alphorn tone. We would regularly improvise together using electronic processing (primarily Max4Live in Ableton Live). As the alphorn originated as an improvisatory instrument – the kuhreihen began as improvisations – it felt fitting to experiment with the instrument in this way again.
We also ventured outside, right in the city of Zurich, in search of the urban echo. Environmental reverberation or the “echo” as many players call it, is a foundational and essential element of the alphorn playing tradition, sometimes even written into very old melodies and scores. This is an instrument that was born in the mountains, and has always resonated through valleys. So what does it mean to hear the alphorn in different contexts, such as in an urban soundscape? How do we perceive and receive the urban echo, the sound waves reflecting off of concrete structures and moving trams?
It was a wonderful gift to work with Annette, Yui, Jessica, and Kumiko so closely – I learned an incredible amount from them. Thank you to the Canada Council for the Arts for funding this project. Thank you also to Mike Maurer and to Benno Weber for their generousity in sharing so much knowledge openly with me, as well as the Alphorn Seminar Diemtigtal. This feels like just the beginning of a longer creative journey – a first step in a deeper commitment to the alphorn and new possibilities.
Photos and videos by Raisa Durandi. More about the Lisa Conway: lconofficial.com
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