A festival in Altdorf shows what folk music is all about

The aim is for the audience to experience the musical diversity of Switzerland, as Markus Brülisauer, the festival's managing director and program manager, told the Keystone-SDA news agency. Over 40 formations will perform on various stages in Altdorf.

For Brülisauer, the music of the Gotthard region is a prime example of the different traditions that develop in Switzerland in a small area: while the focus on the Ticino side is on stringed instruments such as the mandolin and often all members of a formation join in with melancholy singing, in the canton of Uri, the Schwyzerörgeli and hand organ can be heard in a lilting Stubete style.

Preservation and modernization

Keeping the folk music heritage alive: This is the aim of the House of Folk Music, which is mainly funded by the cantons of Central Switzerland, the municipality of Altdorf and the Dätwyler Foundation. "For the further development of music, it is important to know its roots," says Brülisauer. It's not about preserving it in a supposedly pure form: "Folk music gives you the freedom to shape it as you wish."

She has also experienced modernization, says Brülisauer. Although this is "gentler" and somewhat slower than in pop music, folk music is also "on the move" and in turn flows into pop, as Trauffer and Gölä show. More typical folk music groups such as Rusch-Büeblä and Genderbüebu are enjoying commercial success, which in turn is leading to an upswing in the amateur sector. "In recent years, folk music has gained in prestige in society at large," summarizes Brülisauer. There is also no lack of young talent.

From the music camps to the stage

This is demonstrated by the performance of the Gontner Loft band on Saturday morning. In the Lehnplatz marquee, the young quartet will be performing Central Swiss dances, Oberkrainer sounds and the music of their native Appenzell. Brülisauer has known the winners of the 2023 Folklore Young Talent Competition for a long time. As children, they took part in the House of Folk Music summer camps. They now perform regularly and are on a par with established names such as the Uri formation Echo vom Poschtsack or Traktorkestar & Harmonie Lausannoise at the folk music festival.

Demonstrating continuity

But does the brass music of Traktorkestar & Harmonie Lausannoise even count as folk music? For Brülisauer, the answer is yes. What constitutes folk music in general, however, is difficult to answer. "We don't have any criteria on paper," he says with a smile. As a guideline, the music must have a "certain tradition", it must tie in with earlier forms of folk music. To demonstrate this continuity: This is what the House of Folk Music should also be there for in the coming years.

Despite all the commitment to date, Brülisauer believes: "We could do a lot more." Possibly at a different address in future. Because the space at the current location in the Zeughaus is limited. "We're bursting at the seams," says the Managing Director. For Brülisauer, the fact that the Haus der Volksmusik 2026 still has such "development potential" shows one thing above all: "The tradition is alive."