“Picturesque” is the only word I can think of to describe the events in Dagmersellen at the 56.Zentralschweizerisches Jodelerfeest. Although the day started with rain, the clouds broke and the sun started shining for the rest of therfect and authentic. We started by meeting my email contact Marie-Theres Knusel Kronenberg who (along with her committees) organized the entire event. She gave us our official passes and a booklet of activities.
We saw several events, but none more unique than the parade through the town bycowbell ringers. GIANT cowbell ringers. A group of men marched down the main street of Dagmersellen ringing (clanging) cadences with their bells on their legs as they marched.
Each cadence was signaled by the leader as they marched, much like a drum major for the marching bands at the 4th of July parade in Crown Point. At one point they swung the bells behind them (all in sync) as they marched along. It was fantastic, but it’s not like anything I’ve ever heard or see before.
The first events of the day were the Alphorn players. (think about the“Ricola” commercials on tv) They performed as solos, duets, quartets and even a whole choir of alphorns. It was beautiful. There were dozens of them just walking around the town with alphorns over their shoulders. There’s a sight you don’t see very often.
Flag throwing is another folk tradition in Switzerland. These intricately choreographed movements included passes (waves) around the body and high tosses, in a calm, flowing and graceful manner Specific moves (compulsory for the competition) with strength and grace seemed to be valued parts of the competition. Men, only (that we saw), competed as solos or as pairs.
The Jodeling began at 7PM in four different locations in town. First up at our location was the Jodlerchorli Geuensee. The group’s leader, Marie-Theres von Gunten will be giving me my yodel lesson on Sunday. They were outstanding.
Next, came a girl’s duet from Kerns. Their parents sat right behind us and because they saw that I was taking pictures, they asked us to email them a copy. Happy to do it. The girls were about the same age as Jill and Meredith, so that was cool. After several more jodeling soloists and ensembles, we headed to the Sportshalle (large gymnasium) for a change of pace.
This part of the festival was not part of the competition – just for fun – with food and drink and different styles of music. We walked in and the first group was an accordion orchestra playing John Mellencamp! (R.O.C.K. in the USA) No kidding. After that, they played the Swiss classic “I found my thrill on Blueberry Hill” and finally the “Tritsch, Tratsch Polka” The crowd loved them. So did we.
We also saw a very sweet children’s yodel choir. I was in love! Several other types of groups performed: The Dagmersellen alphorn quartet, an young accordion (button box) duo with sort of a rock and roll feel (they were young and cute - the girls loved them) and finally a harmonica choir. Lots of different sizes of hand-held harmonicas. That was interesting, but it was enough for one day for both of us. Back to the train station and a short trip to Lucerne (about 45 minutes)
Guten nacht. More later.
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