Alpine folk music

The tradition & historical record

Alpine folk music (German: Alpenländische Volksmusik; German's Volksmusik means "people's music" or as a Germanic connotative translation, "folk's music") is the common umbrella designation of a number of related styles of traditional folk music in the Alpine regions of Slovenia, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and South Tyrol (Italy). It tends to be dialect-heavy and invokes local and regional lifestyles, cultures and traditions, particularly, those of the Alpine farmers and peasants. Originally transmitted by oral tradition, the oldest historical records like the Appenzell Kuhreihen by Georg Rhau (1488–1548) date back to the 16th century. Alpine folk is characterized by improvisation and variation, uncomplicated major key melodies and simple harmonies. Typical instruments range from alpenhorns to hackbretts, zithers and acoustic guitars, and even violas and harmonicas. Harmonized singing is frequent, but other pieces may require yodeling, while instrumental arrangements are particularly frequent for fast dances or brass pieces. Alpine folk continues to be performed by many local ensembles and bands throughout the European Alps and should not be confused with Volkstümliche Musik, which is largely to be found in broadcasting media and on ancillary merchandise. Since the 1970s, artists of a Neue Volksmusik genre, such as Werner Pirchner or Biermösl Blosn, attempt to combine traditional styles with jazz, folk, electronic music, rock et al. as a kind of world music.

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Alpine folk music”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence.

Alpine folk music is folk music that has been handed down mainly in the German-speaking Alpine countries of Bavaria, Austria, Switzerland and South Tyrol, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ¹

The source record links this tradition to 3 external registers, which can be verified through the citation. ¹