Ranz-des-vaches in L'écho des armaillis

I used several ranz-des-vaches melodies in the composition L'écho des armaillis, for alphorn & live electronics. I sourced the melodies from the compilation Sammlung von Schweizer-Kühreihen und Volksliedern (Collection of Swiss ranz-des-vaches and folk songs) - mostly the third edition (1818) and the fourth edition (1826).

In the composition, you can hear the ranz-des-vaches from:

  • Appenzeller
  • Ormonds (Gruyère)
  • Oberhasler
  • Emmenthaler
  • Ormonds (other melody)
  • Entlebucher

I also used this litany of cow names collected in the French Alps: Noisette, Jonquille, Pervenche, Reine, Violette, Papillon, Fleur de Lys, Paulette, Gentiane, Rosalie, Bleuette, Pivoine, Rosette. You can read them in this excerpt from our performance score:

To know more about the alphorn and its use by composers, read Frances Jones's dissertation: The alphorn in western art music : a cultural and historical study.

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