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Stimmhorn Intro


Three valleys, Mosscall, Waterfall, In the valley below, Empty sky, Windy Weather, Autumn wind, and On the ridge are alternating titles of classical pieces for both shakuhachi and traditional alpenhorn. They show striking parallels and highlight the importance of the landscape in both cultures, recalling the frequent use of instruments under an open sky.

Balthasar Streiff, several Alpenhorns, Ueli Derendinger , Shakuhachi master

The shakuhachi is closely linked with Zen, but today is ranked at the same level as Japanese chamber music. In contrast with the position of the alpenhorn in the European musical tradition, the shakuhachi always had a place in Japanese elite music. It is an instrument whose written music is highly complex. In putting together the CD sanshi/Purple mountain, this relative tightness was broken by spontaneous playing; at the same time, the alpenhorn experimented with a hitherto unknown chamber musicality.

The music on the CD sanshi/Purple mountain results equally from design and improvisation. Over two and a half years it crystallized into a delicate form and left many spaces free. Orchestrating these free spaces is a central part of the performances of Streiff and Derendinger, during which they incorporate local acoustics, architecture, public and event.

CD release:
sanshi/purpurberg, Jun 2001

Balthasar Streiff