Swiss seek recognition from Unesco as yodelling tradition turns modern

Yodel teacher Nadja Rass yodels in Lucerne, Switzerland (Michael Probst/AP)

Switzerland’s government is looking for a shout-out from UN cultural agency Unesco to include the tradition of yodelling on its list of intangible cultural heritage.

A decision is expected by the end of the year.

Modern-day promoters emphasise that the yodel is far more than the mountain cries of yesteryear by falsetto-bellowing male herders in suspenders who intone alongside giant Alphorns atop verdant hillsides.

For me, actually, in Switzerland we have four languages but I think really we have five languages. We have a fifth: The yodel

It is now a popular form of singing.

Over the last century, yodelling clubs sprouted up in Switzerland, building upon the tradition and broadening its appeal – with its tones, techniques and tremolos finding their way deeper into the musical lexicon internationally in classical, jazz and folk.

US country crooners prominently blended yodels into their songs in the late 1920s and 30s.

About seven years ago, the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, or HSLU by its German-language acronym, became the first Swiss university to teach yodelling.

“For me, actually, in Switzerland we have four languages but I think really we have five languages. We have a fifth: The yodel,” said HSLU professor Nadja Rass, alluding to the official German, French, Italian and Romansh languages in Switzerland.

Yodelling exists in neighbouring Austria, Germany and Italy, but Swiss yodelling is distinctive because of its vocal technique, she said.

In its early days, yodelling involved chants of wordless vowel sounds, or “natural yodelling”, with melodies but no lyrics.

More recently, “yodelling song” has included verses and a refrain.

Yodel teacher Nadja Rass at the Music High School in Lucerne, Switzerland (Michael Probst/AP)

The Swiss government says at least 12,000 yodellers take part through about 780 groups of the Swiss Yodelling Association.

In Switzerland, Prof Rass said, yodelling is built on the “sound colours of the voice” and features two types: one centring on the head – with a “u” sound – and one emanating from deeper down in the chest – with an “o” sound.

And even within Switzerland, styles vary: yodelling in the northern region near Appenzell is more “melancholic, slower”, while in the country’s central regions, the sounds are “more intense and shorter”, she said.

What began as mostly a male activity is now drawing more women in a country that adopted universal suffrage in 1971.

The Appenzell-Innerrhoden region only gave equal voting rights to women in local elections in 1990, following a high court ruling.

Julien Vuilleumier, a scientific adviser for the Federal Office of Culture who is spearheading the Swiss request, said it is difficult to trace the origins of yodelling, which factors into the imagery of the Swiss Alps.

Some say it's a means of communication between valleys, using these very distinctive sounds that can carry a long way. Others believe it's a form of singing

“Some say it’s a means of communication between valleys, using these very distinctive sounds that can carry a long way. Others believe it’s a form of singing,” he said.

“What we know is that… yodelling has always been transformed and updated.”

Unesco’s government-level committee for Intangible Heritage in New Delhi will decide in mid-December.

The classification aims to raise public awareness of arts, craftsmanship, rituals, knowledge and traditions that are passed down over generations.

Also among the 68 total nominations this year are traditions such as Thanakha face powder in Myanmar; Ghanaian highlife music; the fermented Kyrgyz beverage Maksym; and the El Joropo music and dance tradition in Venezuela.

The list is different from the Unesco World Heritage List, which enshrines protections for physical sites that are considered important to humanity, such as the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt.

Yodelling students practise with teacher Nadja Rass, second right, at the Music High School in Lucerne, Switzerland (Michael Probst/AP)

Last year, Japan’s famed sake – the smooth rice wine – was one of more than 60 honorees on the intangible heritage list, alongside things such as the Nowruz spring festival in parts of central Asia, and the skills and knowledge of zinc roofers in Paris.

Prof Rass says that candidates for the intangible heritage list are asked to specify the future prospects of cultural traditions.

“We figured out some projects to bring it to the future. And one of those is that we bring the yodel to the primary school,” said Prof Rass, who herself grew up yodelling.

She said 20 Swiss school teachers know how to yodel and are trying it with their classes.

“One of my life goals is that when I will die, in Switzerland every school child will be in contact with yodelling during their primary school time,” Prof Rass said.

“I think it’s a very good chance for the future of the yodel to be on that (Unesco) list.”