Folk Festival Lenzburg
The Lenzburg Folk Festival was a music festival that took place from 1972 to 1980, usually on the last weekend in June, at Lenzburg Castle in Lenzburg in the canton of Aargau . It was the first and most influential folk festival in Switzerland .
Music was mainly made with acoustic string instruments , amplified on the stages in the castle courtyard and in the knight's hall with microphones, occasionally with pickups from a semi-acoustic guitar or electric bass . Folk rock and dialect rock bands with drums were rare guests. On the one hand, this was due to the self-image of the Lenzburg Folk Festival as a festival and showcase for the folk scene. As many active musicians as possible should be able to perform, albeit every quarter of an hour and without a fee . There were no breaks for renovations and sound checks . Second, access to the castle was difficult with heavy equipment. Everything had to be hauled up the Schlossweg with a handcart and then pulled up to the entrance gate with the cable winch .
history
The initiator was Daniel Perret from the British & American Folksong Club Zurich . Together with Dick Watts and Ueli (Chita) Fricker from the Folk Club Bern , he organized the first folk festival on the Lenzburg in June 1972.
After its success, it was agreed that the festival should be continued and expanded over the next year. The organization committee was set up as an association with the help of the treasurer Helmut Marschall and the radio editor Benno Kälin. Members of the folk clubs acted as helpers. As the festival grew, a voluntary organizing committee with activists from the Folk Clubs Zurich, Bern and St. Gallen was formed.
1972
The first folk festival in 1972 took place from Saturday noon until 10 p.m. in the knight's hall. In addition, music was freely played outside.
The founder Dani Perret opened with his bagpipes , after which bands and individual musicians from Zurich , Bern , St. Gallen , Basel and Lausanne performed with short programs. a. there was also an American street music band.
1973
In 1973 the festival was a bit bigger, but still one day. Now there was also a stage in the courtyard, and thanks to the good weather, more visitors could get in. In an effort to unite the Swiss folk music with the folk music exponents were the folk music invited: The young accordionist Carlo Brunner and the historian and Folk Song Artist Hans Peter Treichler occurred. Bluegrass and country bands began to integrate Swiss melodies.
International guests were John James from Wales as well as Roy Bailey and Johnny Handle from England .
1974
Two-day festival, exceptionally on 6./7. July. In addition to the main stage in the palace courtyard and the Knights' Hall were Stapferhaus and keep involved for workshops and small concerts. For the first time, the highlights of the Lenzburg appeared on a double long-playing record (LP). With on it u. a. an old Swiss Anabaptist song ( Dr Haslibacher ) and the Politsong D Ballade by dr Münschter-Fähri .
The festival was now known far beyond the Swiss borders. One reason for this was its unique atmosphere in the medieval castle. This uniqueness did not only have advantages. The limited space on the Lenzburg became a major problem in view of the rapidly growing folk scene. 900 tickets in advance sale (bad weather variant), if the weather is good, 1500 tickets at the box office - that was not enough. Because many thousands of ticket orders were received, and the trend was rising, the entries had to be raffled off.
International guests were Planxty and Na Filí from Ireland, Leon Rosselson , Roy Bailey, Pete Stanley and Roger Knowles and the pianist Paul Millns from England and again John James from Wales.
1975
At the fourth folk festival on the Lenzburg in 1975, not only foreign bands but also exponents of Swiss folk music were invited. This time the Valais Brothers Volken with their four-handed dulcimer and the Mythenholz chapel . Their bass player Dominik Marty was the attraction of the festival. A bearded 100 kg man who jumped over the fazenettli (handkerchief) he was holding in the «Gäuerle», a wild advertising dance.
A lively songwriting scene had developed in Switzerland and southern Germany . Some bands dedicated themselves to local songs and dances or developed their own forms of acoustic music (best known: Pfuri, Gorps & Kniri ).
The Lenzburg was still primarily a meeting of folk musicians. The program consisted of 70 to 80 short appearances. No fees were paid out, only travel expenses and food for those who performed and accompanying them. The picturesque surroundings of the medieval castle with its limited space, castle rental instead of sponsors, did not allow events with stars and large fees. No crowd pullers were necessary either. The crowd exceeded the space available several times over.
International guests from the USA were the innovative banjoist Bill Keith , the fingerpicking guitarist Eric Schoenberg and (the Antwerp-based) Derroll Adams , Hannes Wader and Christof Stählin from Germany, rum from Belgium, An Triskell from Brittany, Pierre Bensusan from France , from England Martin Carthy , Roy Bailey , and the Etchingham Steam Band .
Photo gallery 1975
Christof Stählin
Toni Vescoli
Los Kusis from Bolivia
Guy Magey and Ficht Tanner
Original Appenzell string music Hürlemann
Hannes Wader
1976
In 1976 the folk song collection Im Röseligarte was reissued, the well-known singing books from the beginning of the 20th century. Folk had also become commercially interesting. Folk bars and groups as well as folk festivals increased strongly. Around 140 bands and soloists applied to perform at the Lenzburg. The variety was great.
The festival weekend of July 3rd and 4th 1976 was very sunny and hot. Some weather stations even recorded a heat record. Small concerts in the stone keep and workshops in the Stapferhaus were popular, some of them disappeared under the shadows of the trees, while the scorching sun in the courtyard led to over forty heat strokes among the visitors. String instruments on the main stage were out of tune after a few minutes , despite the canopy , and the sounds became increasingly cacophonic. Only after dark was music played and danced again with vigor. Due to a lack of usable material, only a single instead of a Lenzburg double LP was pressed this year.
International guests included the permanent guest John James, the Newgrass band Southbound , the ensemble Catalin Tarcolea from Romania, Lillebjørn Nilsen and Steinar Ofsdal from Norway, Le Claque Galoche from France, the twins Hein and Oss Kröher from Germany and Almanacco Popolare from Italy.
A highlight of the festival was the performance of the Im Bode Band around the Graubünden song poet Walter Lietha on Sunday evening .
1977
In 1977, on the first weekend in July, the folk festival was held on the Gurten near Bern for the first time . There was almost unlimited space. Lenzburg and Gurten had different faces, but worked together. The international guests were able to perform at two festivals, and the many customers who did not get a ticket for the Lenzburg now had a real alternative.
A highlight of this year's festival was the Husmusig Jeremias . That was the old violinist Märku Hafner , a folk musician for many years and an excellent connoisseur of this music, who had teamed up with younger people from the folk scene. The ' Parsenn shot ' became the new anthem of the Swiss folk scene.
Simultaneously with the Lenzburg Folk Festival, a national demonstration against the Gösgen nuclear power plant (which is under construction) was announced on Saturday, June 25th . The march on Gösgen should end on the site of the nuclear power plant. The access road should be blocked by a tent village and marquee. Gösgen was only 20 km away from the Lenzburg. Many young people would have liked to have attended both events. This also affected musicians who had agreed to join the Lenzburg, especially the most famous nuclear power plant protest singer Aernschd Born . He made a virtue out of necessity: He organized shuttle buses between Lenzburg and Gösgen. These would drive interested musicians and visitors to the festival in Gösgen on Saturday evening, also to stay overnight, and back to the Lenzburg on Sunday morning.
The demonstration on Gösgen was stopped on Saturday afternoon by a large intercantonal police presence and routed. There was no festival or camp there. Aernschd Born had to cancel his shuttle offer. He was also outraged by the tough police operation and made it known. When he interrupted the performance of Husmusig Jeremias in the knight's hall, he received whistles from the dancing people and came into conflict with the audience. This made a journalist the headline, whereupon representatives of the canton Aargau demanded a political statute from the Lenzburg Folk Festival.
Downpours on Saturday afternoon and changeable weather on Sunday led to numerous program changes. On Sunday the main program took place in the knight's hall, while the more flexible street and dance music groups played in the castle courtyard during the lightening.
International guests were the northern English acappella group The Watersons , reinforced by the guitarist and folksinger Martin Carthy . Roy Bailey was back. Kolinda from Hungary, Gerd Schinkel , Moin and the sound shooters from Germany. The double LP was released as a joint venture with the Gurten Festival.
1978
At the seventh Folk Festival on the Lenzburg in 1978, immigrant groups were the main topic. Italians, Turks, Yugoslavs, South Americans and Tibetans living in Switzerland were invited to the Lenzburg.
For the first time ever, the weather at this festival was consistently nasty. Heavy downpours made the meadow and gravel area swampy, even if the sky brightened up again at times. That became a problem for the ensembles from Turkey, Bosnia and Croatia, who had brought all dance groups with them. The changeable weather ruined planned dance sessions several times, until they only came to brief appearances during dinner time in the knight's hall.
International guests were Anna-Liisa Arakangas (FIN), the Teatrogruppo di Salerno (I), La Lionetta and Prinsi Raymund from Turin), Ina Deter and Klaus der Geiger (D), the Fraunhofer Stub'nmusi and the Tonusser from Munich, An Triskell and Dan Ar Braz from Brittany and the Albion Band from England. The latter two were the first folk rock bands on the Lenzburg after Skibbereen and the Basler Saitesprung. The Albion Band, which played in very different formations for decades, was shaped by the melodeon player , songwriter and singer John Tams .
It is worth mentioning that a number of Swiss groups had meanwhile reached a considerable level and enriched the festival - still free of charge: Walter Liethas Im Bode Band, Adrian Naef, Aernschd Born, Mandala, Tobermit, the Trio Grande, Linnenzworch, Maria Kägi, Martin Heiniger , Werner Widmer, Hoity-Toity, Hostettler / Diem / Mentha, Zupfgyge; Bazoche, Sarclon and Tetralyre from French-speaking Switzerland and a dozen others. The pioneer bands of primeval folk times had also developed further and remained loyal to Lenzburg: the Country Ramblers, the Bluegrass Blossoms and Skibbereen.
In 1978 the organizing committee rejected the plan by the music editors of Swiss television to come to the Lenzburg Folk Festival to shoot ten clips by Swiss bands and songwriters for use as required in gaps in the program. Opportunities for cooperation were discussed at a workshop, but television was unwilling to change the concept and withdrew its offer.
1979
The international guests were: Caterina Bueno , the Gruppo Emiliano, La Puddica and again La Lionetta from Italy, Wunderwald, Holzrräder, Espe (with Yiddish songs), the Eresinger Stub'nmusi and the guitarist Peter Finger from Germany, Pijper Cruid from the Netherlands , Le Folk de la Rue des Dentelles from Alsace, Folkvind from Sweden.
1980
1980 was all about the youth movement . From Zurich, the youth and cultural revolution spread to the other Swiss cities. The movement wanted to bring culture into the streets. Music behind castle walls was no longer popular.
The organizers had planned more dance music than in previous years, and traditional folk music was also well represented with the Rundum band, the Bärnbieter Spiellüt and the Oberbaselbieter Ländlerkapelle . The knight's hall should become a dance stage parallel to the main program in the castle courtyard. Double bad luck: In view of the events in the Swiss cities, carefree dancing to country, Celtic or Ländler melodies was not appropriate. It also rained all weekend. 1500 visitors were admitted, not so few since 1973, and yet very many. Every covered room was overcrowded, dancing was out of the question in the crowd.
International guests were again Pijper Cruid (NL), Peter Finger (D) and La Lionetta (I), new Muisca (CO), Vizöntö (H), Cork Pipers (EIR), Jenny Beeching (GB), Antonio Breschi (I) , the Jürgen Slopianka Trio , Troublemaker and the instrument maker Tibor Ehlers (D).
The committed songwriter Walter Mossmann from Freiburg was invited for the second time. It had already been on the program in 1977, but preferred to take part in the simultaneous demo to the Gösgen nuclear power plant. Now he had another problem with the Lenzburg. A festival with a lot of dance and tradition in the midst of the youth revolt was unbearable for him. He broke off his performance and wanted to discuss current events instead. There was a commotion. Some showed solidarity with Mossmann, others wanted to continue listening to music, dancing and having parties. The organizers decided at a hastily called crisis meeting to let the program continue. Walter Mossmann left Lenzburg Castle under protest, and with him a group of sympathizers.
The festival lacked enthusiasm. Some musicians did not appear, four out of nine organizers resigned. A continuation at the castle was not possible anyway. The Lenzburg was renovated over the next three years, after which events were only possible in the knight's hall. So the ninth Folk Festival on the Lenzburg was the last.
aftermath
The sound technicians on the Lenzburg, Beat and Egmont Hohmann, recorded all performances on the main stage (castle courtyard or Rittersaal) parallel to the sound on tape. Excerpts from these recordings were used for LPs and radio broadcasts. The original tapes were reused and thus copied. The workshops in the Stapferhaus that were recorded by Swiss radio have all been overwritten and thus deleted.
About 125 hours of the concert excerpts have been preserved. These Lenzburg tapes were cataloged after the festival and handed over to the Swiss Folk Song Archive (SVA) in Basel.
In 2018, the SVA had the tapes digitized at the Swiss National Sound Archives .
A digital catalog will be created, from 2020 the Lenzburg recordings will be available online at Memoriav and on the website of the Swiss Society for Folklore (SGV).
Discography
- 3rd Folk Festival on the Lenzburg (6/7 July 1974), Oversea FL 67741/2 (2 LP, Switzerland, 1974)
- 4th Folk Festival on the Lenzburg . (Sampler), CLAVES; Cla DPF 700; LP11090
- 5th Folk Festival on the Lenzburg . (Sampler), CLAVES; Cla DPF 1000
- 6th Folk Festival on the Lenzburg / 1st Folk Festival on the Gurten , Voxpop 4006 (Sampler, 2 LPs, Switzerland 1977)
- 7th Folk Festival on the Lenzburg / 2nd Folk Festival on the Gurten , Voxpop 40069/4010 (Sampler, 2 LPs, Switzerland 1978)
- 8th Folk Festival on the Lenzburg / 3rd Folk Festival on the Gurten , Voxpop 4018 (Sampler, 2 LPs, Switzerland 1979)
Literature and Sources
- Urs Hostettler: About the Swiss folk movement . In: Schweizer Volkskunde 71 (1981), 73–77.
- Urs Hangartner: people with 'F . In: Schweizer Volkskunde 71 (1981), 78–82.
- Daniel Karbacher: The song scene in Switzerland 1972-1982 . Licentiate thesis. Zurich 1982.
- Christine Burckhardt-Seebass: "Gang, get d'Gitarre ...": the folk festival on the Lenzburg 1972-1980 and the Swiss folk movement: a sketch. In: Swiss Archives for Folklore. 1987, pp. 154-168. ( Online )
- Programs and sound recordings of the folk festivals on the Lenzburg in the Swiss Folk Song Archive.
Web links
- Urs Hostettler : Lenzburg Chronicle (memories)
- Swiss television: Folk Festival Lenzburg 1975 (16 minutes) , broadcast in: Report before June 8, 1975, 7:30 p.m.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Christine Burckhardt-Seebass: "Gang, get d'Gitarre ...": the folk festival on the Lenzburg 1972-1980 and the Swiss folk movement: a sketch. In: Swiss Archives for Folklore. 1987, p. 156. ( Online )
- ↑ The organizing committee: Daniel Perret, Zurich (1972-1978), Ueli (Chita) Fricker, Bern (1972-1979), Richard (Dick) Watts, Zurich (1972-1975), Benno Kälin, Bern (1973-1976 ), Helmut Marschall, Bern (1973-1980), Silvio Ballinari, Bern (1974-1980), Urs Klauser, Bühler AR (1974-1980), Peter Maurer, Grub AR (1974-1975), Peggy Moser, Zurich (1975 ), Christof Koch, St. Gallen (1975-1977), Urs Hostettler, Bern (1976-1978), Urs Eschmann, Zurich (1976-1980), Charly Kästle, Zurich (1976-1977), Doris Ballinari-Gerber, Bern (1977-1979), Bernhard Anliker, Bern (1978-1980), Mario Senti, Luzern (1978-1980), Marcus Caluori, St. Gallen (1979-1980).
- ^ The act July 8, 1976 - e-newspaperarchives.ch. Retrieved July 22, 2019 .
- ^ Lenzburg on Memoriav. Retrieved July 10, 2019 .
- ^ Folk festival on the Lenzburg. Retrieved May 8, 2019 .
- ↑ 4th Folk Festival on the Lenzburg. Swiss National Sound Archives, accessed on May 8, 2019 .
- ↑ 5th Folk Festival on the Lenzburg. Retrieved June 7, 2019 .
- ↑ 6th Folk Festival on the Lenzburg 1st Folk Festival on the Gurten. Retrieved June 7, 2019 .
- ↑ 7th Folk Festival on the Lenzburg / 2nd Folk Festival on the Gurten-Bern. Retrieved June 7, 2019 .
- ↑ Folk Festival 8th on the Lenzburg 3rd on the Gurten. Retrieved June 7, 2019 .