The Instrument - About the Alphorn

The alphorn used in this project is a natural wind instrument, approximately 3.6 metres long, acoustically equivalent to a modern horn fully uncoiled.
Its impressive length and pure, elemental sound highlight the instrument’s historical and acoustic roots, offering a unique visual and sonic presence in concert settings.

While the current repertoire is performed in F and F♯ /G♭, the instrument can accommodate different tuning extensions, allowing flexibility for future projects, commissioned works, or alternative keys.

For practical purposes, the alphorn can be dismantled into three sections for easier transportation and handling.

Fully adapted for professional performances, the alphorn is suitable for orchestral, chamber, educational, and site-specific contexts, combining authenticity with practical concert staging.

Did you know?

When observing the length of the Alphorn, it becomes easier to understand the familiar joke in rehearsals about the horn section “coming in late.”

The sound must travel through the entire length of the tube before it is projected outward. In the case of the modern horn, the bell is also oriented backwards, meaning the sound initially travels in the opposite direction to the audience, creating an even greater perception of delay.

Rather than a question of imprecision, it is simply a matter of acoustic physics.