Guggenmusik (also known as "Guggemoseg", "Guuggemusig" or "Chatzemusig") is a term widely used in the Alemannic region of Switzerland, Austria and southern Germany to designate both a Carnival marching band and the type of music it plays.
Guggenmusik (also known as "Guggemoseg", "Guuggemusig" or "Chatzemusig") is a term widely used in the Alemannic region of Switzerland, Austria and southern Germany to designate both a Carnival marching band and the type of music it plays.
Guggenmusik is played during Fasnacht, the Swabian-Alemannic carnival season (Swabian–Alemannic Fastnacht), which is celebrated in various localities as the Basler Fasnacht, Luzerner Fasnacht, Eis-zwei-Geissebei in Rapperswil, and many other terms. The most common explanation of the word "Gugge" is that it may derive from the Alemannic "Sack/Tüte", meaning "bag". Other unsourced explanations include the word used for a small children's trumpet, a (Swiss German) word for "scream", or the cuckoo's call. [1] A "Guggemusik" band thus refers to a group of people playing loud music and typically wearing costumes and masks in a uniform style.
It is a strongly rhythmic music of distinctive style played with brass instruments, pipes and drums. Although melodies remain clearly recognizable, they are at times played "off-key", intentionally and often quite skillfully. Driven by a dominant rhythm section, the music sounds twisted and thrilling, very danceable and perfect for spontaneous street concerts during the "wild days" of Carnival. Today there are many types of Guggenmusik to inspire carnival celebrants. Bands usually play well-known pop songs but also folk tunes and children's music.
It is hard to arrive at a single definition of Guggenmusik, as various regions have their own carnival traditions. Besides the traditional brass instruments like trumpet, tuba, trombone, and/or sousaphone as well as drums, today almost any other "loud" instrument may be in use: steel drum, bagpipe, piccolo, clarinet, saxophone, etc.
First explicitly mentioned in 16th century A.D., this type of music has its origins in the folk custom of chasing away the 'spirits of winter' by blowing cows' horns. To this end, the music of the carnival season also needed to be sufficiently loud, weird, and frightening. Rattles, tin pails, drums, cow bells, or whistles came into use. Imaginative masks and costumes to frighten away the spirits of winter were initially fashioned of towels and old rags. In 1874, a brass marching band was part of the Fasnacht celebration in Basel for the first time. The term "Guggenmusik" is first documented at the Basel carnival of 1906. Since 1934, Guggenmusik has boomed and is performed usually on Shrove Tuesday, known as Guggetag. In the 1950s, "Gugge fever" spilled over from Switzerland into southern Germany, Italy and Austria.
There is a similar music and costume carnival tradition in some parts of the Netherlands and Belgium called nl:Dweilorkest
At present, the world's largest "international Guggenmusik" gathering is a two-day event held annually in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany, bringing together bands from Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, Great Britain, and Switzerland, attracting 60,000 to 100,000 visitors.
Carnival is a Western Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide. Carnival typically involves public celebrations, including events such as parades, public street parties and other entertainments, combining some elements of a circus. Elaborate costumes and masks allow people to set aside their everyday individuality and experience a heightened sense of social unity. Participants often indulge in excessive consumption of alcohol, meat, and other foods that will be forgone during upcoming Lent. Traditionally, butter, milk, and other animal products were not consumed "excessively", rather, their stock was fully consumed during Shrovetide as to reduce waste. This festival is known for being a time of great indulgence before Lent, with drinking, overeating, and various other activities of indulgence being performed. For example, pancakes, donuts, and other desserts are prepared and eaten for a final time. During Lent, lacticinia and animal products are eaten less, and individuals make a Lenten sacrifice, thus giving up a certain object or activity of desire.
Switzerland has long had a distinct cultural identity, despite its diversity of German, French, Italian, Romansh and other ethnicities. Religious and folk music dominated the country until the 17th century, with growth in production of other kinds of music occurring slowly.
Alemannic, or rarely Alemannish, is a group of High German dialects. The name derives from the ancient Germanic tribal confederation known as the Alemanni.
Basel German or Baseldytsch is the dialect of the city of Basel, Switzerland. The dialect of Basel forms a Low Alemannic linguistic exclave in the High Alemannic region.
The central and eastern Alps of Europe are rich in folklore traditions dating back to pre-Christian times, with surviving elements originating from Germanic, Gaulish (Gallo-Roman), Slavic (Carantanian) and Raetian culture.
The music of Himachal Pradesh includes many kinds of folk songs from the area, many of which are sung without accompaniment.
The Basel drum is a two-headed rope-tension drum. It takes its name from its origin in Basel. This percussion instrument is best known from the Carnival of Basel, where it is played by more than 2000 drummers. They are called Tambouren in Swiss German or Tambourins in French. There is no typical number of players for marching-bands including this instrument. Anything between three and fifty drummers may be seen in such a formation.
Frevo is a dance and musical style originating from Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, traditionally associated with Brazilian Carnival. The word frevo is said to come from frever, a variant of the Portuguese word ferver. It is said that the sound of the frevo will make listeners and dancers feel as if they are boiling on the ground. The word frevo is used for both the frevo music and the frevo dance.
The Swabian-Alemannic Fastnacht, Fasnacht or Fasnat/Faschnat is the pre-Lenten carnival of Alemannic folklore in Switzerland, southern Germany, Alsace and Vorarlberg.
The Carnival of Basel is the biggest carnival in Switzerland and takes place annually between February and March in Basel. It has been listed as one of the top fifty local festivities in Europe.
The cobla is a traditional music ensemble of Catalonia, and in Northern Catalonia in France. It is generally used to accompany the sardana, a traditional Catalan folk dance, danced in a circle.
Karnataka has a variety of traditional arts, including folk dance and puppetry.
Top Secret Drum Corps is a drum corps based in Basel, Switzerland. With 25 drummers and colour guard section, the corps became famous for its demanding six-minute routine performed at the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo in 2003. With its invitation to Edinburgh, Top Secret became one of the first non-military, non-British Commonwealth acts to perform on the Esplanade at Edinburgh Castle.
The Music Museum is located in Basel, Switzerland and houses the country's largest collection of musical instruments. The museum is one of three components of Historisches Museum Basel. It presents five centuries of music history with three areas of emphasis: the history of music-making in Basel; concerts, choral music and dance; parades, festivals and signals.
The karna or karnay is a metal natural trumpet. The name is first mentioned in the biblical book of Daniel, used in the Middle Ages to the Persian military bands and in the Indian Mughal Empire to the representative orchestra naqqāra-khāna and which is still used by this name in ceremonial music in Central Asia and northern India.
The carnival in Bern, Switzerland is an annual pre-Lenten festival in the Swabian-Alemannic tradition.
A Samba band or samba is a musical ensemble that plays samba music. Samba styled music originates from Brazil.
A variety of customs and traditions are associated with Carnival celebrations in the German-speaking countries of Germany, Switzerland and Austria. They can vary considerably from country to country, but also from one small region to another. This is reflected in the various names given to these festivities occurring before Lent.
Fastnacht Day is an annual Pennsylvania Dutch celebration that falls on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. The word translates to "Fasting Night" or “Almost Night” in English. The tradition is to eat the very best foods, which are part of the German tradition, and much of them, before the Lenten fast. Fastnachts are similar to doughnuts. There are three types of Fasnacht, one made with yeast, one made with baking powder, and one made with potatoes and yeast. All are slightly crispy on the outside and not as sweet as doughnuts.
A horn is any of a family of musical instruments made of a tube, usually made of metal and often curved in various ways, with one narrow end into which the musician blows, and a wide end from which sound emerges. In horns, unlike some other brass instruments such as the trumpet, the bore gradually increases in width through most of its length—that is to say, it is conical rather than cylindrical. In jazz and popular-music contexts, the word may be used loosely to refer to any wind instrument, and a section of brass or woodwind instruments, or a mixture of the two, is called a horn section in these contexts.
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