Alpine sounds

Traditional music is a reflection of our time: audible, multi-voiced, contradictory, and vibrant. The exhibition explores the fascination it exerts, the trends and clichés accompanying it, and new ways of approaching it. Why is there no such thing as Swiss traditional music? How have music and society evolved in ways that define what we do to keep heritage alive or take pleasure in experimentation? What role does the landscape play – and how do the mountains and valleys contribute?

Alpine Sounds is an experience for the body, the heart, and the mind. In the first soundspace, visitors will tune in to their own memories, feelings, and prejudices about traditional music. Then the exhibition goes into further depth: how has traditional Volksmusik come to symbolize Swiss identity? And why do folksy pop hits have mass appeal?

Sensational, stunning, and hands-on
Continuing on our journey, we get to know various musicians and discover ourselves with well-known traditional songs. Other soundspaces allow visitors to access the musical world at an immersive sensory level, in rooms filled with images of landscapes and the sounds of nature or stunning man-made imitations. All those who enjoy playing music or just making sounds are welcome to put their skills to the test on the stage, for instance if they take a tour that introduces them to the ALPS-Jutz, which uses a form of yodelling without words.

Alpine Sounds aims to surprise visitors, using means that transcend the realm of the familiar. And what we’ve discovered is that traditional music is not what we thought: it’s so much more.