Swiss Musicians Set World Record for Largest Alphorn Ensemble

Over 1,000 alphorn players gathered in Zermatt, Switzerland, to perform the feat at an altitude of 1,600 meters

According to the Swiss Yodeling Association, the original plan to break the world record for the largest alphorn ensemble was to gather around 550 musicians. However, 1,006 players signed up from around Switzerland and abroad. 

The group’s goal was to play together for five minutes with different choral melodies in order to break the previous world record in the Guinness Book of Records from 2013 when 508 wind players played together on the Rohrberg ridge near Zermatt. 

Further, the record held in 2009 for the largest alphorn ensemble was with 366 wind players who played together on the Gornergrat in Switzerland, reported the Süddeutsche Zeitung. 

An integral part of Swiss culture, the alphorn is a wooden instrument measuring over three meters long and was once used by shepherds to call the cows from the pasture to the stable when it was time for them to be milked. To change the sounds from the pipe, the player would vibrate their lips at different levels.

Organized by the Swiss Yodelling Association and the Beckenried-Emmetten mountain railroads, the large gathering and performance was attended by the Energy and Environment Minister Albert Rösti, as well as a delegate from the Guinness World Records company.