Young bagpipers ring the changes at Sechseläuten Zunft zu den

Zug der Zünfte
Zunft zu den Drei Königen
Young bagpipers ring the
changes at Sechseläuten
With all due respect to brass bands and fanfares, other musical horizons do exist. In fact, the Sechseläuten March for Bagpipes will receive its
première at Sechseläuten 2016. The girls and boys of Davidson’s Mains
& District Pipe Band from Edinburgh will strike up the most masterly
Guild-March in the world.
The descendants of the
notorious clans, which once
filled the hearts of English
kings with terror, are
appearing as guests of the
Guild of the Three Kings.
The Guild has no hesitation
in welcoming this invasion
of Highlanders from
the north whose warlike
campaigns, heralded by
bagpipers, are legendary.
The youthful age of the
bagpipers from Edinburgh
might be deceptive: anyone who believes it is child’s play to strike the
right note for this bagpipe version of the Sechseläuten March, specially
arranged by two professional Swiss and Scottish musicians for the occasion, does not have a clue about the intricacies of blowing, squeezing and
droning. The chanter of the bagpipe can produce only nine notes. This
has nothing to do with the Scots’ proverbial reputation for thrift, but with
the construction of the bagpipe. The young musicians, with their nine
notes, faced the challenge of learning to play a piece with a broad tonal
range. So this meant practice, practice, and more practice. How does it
sound? Prick up your ears and prepare to be amazed!
The skirl of the bagpipes from far-away Scotland at Sechseläuten –
does that work? Part of the wonderful tradition of this festival is to share
the pleasure of the Guilds’ customs and conventions with guests. This year
the Guild of the Three Kings has looked beyond our country’s borders
to introduce a new perspective to this tradition: experiencing exciting
encounters between young people from Edinburgh and Zurich, cultural
exchange, the unifying power of music which can find expression in many
different ways – yes, that works!
Gründungsjahr:
1897
Wichtige Daten:
6. Januar. Der Dreikönigstag und damit Geburtstag
der Zunft: die heiligen Drei
Könige besuchen im Quartier Enge traditionsgemäss
Alters- und Kinderheime.
Zunftthemen:
– die heiligen Drei Könige
– die hablichen Engemer
Bürger aus der Zeit des
zweiten Rokoko
– in Erinnerung an die
Zürcher Kriegsmarine
(1335–1835) marschiert
die Schiffskompanie in
den blauen Uniformen
vor dem Kriegsschiff
Neptun
Zunftstube:
Dreikönigssaal im
Kongresshaus
Zunftmusik:
Musikverein Harmonie
Wädenswil in Kostümen
der Bleichergesellen um
1815 gekleidet
Wappen:
Die goldenen heiligen Drei
Könige mit Stern im blauen
Feld.
www.zunft-dreikoenige.ch
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