C'est le vent qui fait la musique

The new museum, which is officially Sounding collection / Center for historical musical instruments has a long history. Karl Burri (1921-2003) from Bern had been running a business selling and repairing wind instruments since 1945. From 1964, he began systematically collecting wind instruments, which he received from customers, bought from manufacturers or found at flea markets. His passion for interesting specimens of all kinds and his knowledge as a wind instrument maker led to an exceptional collection in terms of quantity and quality, which was exhibited in its own museum in Zimmerwald near Bern from 1970. Towards the end of the 20th century, it comprised well over 1000 exhibits, some of them of outstanding importance for the history of instrument making. The 19th century instruments from Switzerland, Germany and France are particularly well documented. However, Burri's collection differed fundamentally from the large collections of instruments in the museums of the European capitals. Most museums keep their treasures well renovated behind glass at constant temperatures, thus preserving them "for eternity", but at the same time removing them from practical musical life. Karl Burri, on the other hand, was always keen to demonstrate his instruments to interested amateurs and experts, or to have them played by musicians. He was even prepared to lend out playable historical instruments for months or even years, a thought that would normally make the hairs on the back of a museum curator's neck stand on end.

After Karl Burri's death, his children, now also working in their father's business, initially continued to run the museum in Zimmerwald. In 2008, the instruments were transferred to Bern and stored and exhibited in the basement of the store. However, various factors meant that the continued existence of the collection seemed to be seriously in doubt. There were already more or less concrete purchase offers from abroad, while no Swiss institution was able or willing to raise the funds to take over the collection and display it. However, Karl Burri had been keen to preserve the instrument collection as a whole. In an interview with Claude Delley in 1999, he stated that no rarities should be sold in order not to diminish the value of the collection.

This is where Guy Jaquet comes into play, a renowned doctor and at the same time a "passionate" music lover, both as a concert and opera-goer and as an amateur clarinettist. A visit to Burri's music store drew his attention to the huge collection of instruments and their precarious future rather by chance. From then on, Jaquet saw it as his mission to preserve the collection for Bern and to find a place where it could once again be accessible to the public.

The Burri Instrument Collection Foundation was established in 2014 with the aim of "to save the collection and preserve it as an important cultural asset in Bern". Adrian von Steiger had already done significant preliminary work with his dissertation published in 2013 The Burri instrument collection. Background and challenges which documents the collection and its history, places it in a larger context and deals in detail with the problems of a collection that could serve both practice and research.

Guy Jaquet, Chairman of the Foundation Board, succeeded in finding a main sponsor and other donors who provided the financial means for the acquisition of the collection, its conservation and museum presentation. Adrian von Steiger, a trumpeter and musicologist, is in charge of the collection.

The location of the new museum, just a few steps from the Zytglogge tower, one of the main sights of the federal city, is an advantage that should not be underestimated. Where until recently furs were cooled, older and newer wind instruments can now be seen on two floors in the basement. The upper floor offers an informative, beautifully designed exhibition entitled C'est le vent qui fait la musique The collection's focal points and some particularly impressive or noteworthy instruments are presented. Among the topics presented are the instruments of Berlioz' Symphonie fantastiquethe instruments and music books of the "Turkish music" from Hundwil in Appenzell, the history of the saxophone, the Hirsbrunner family of wind instrument makers from Sumiswald and Aarau and cyclists' music. Scenographer Martin Birrer was responsible for setting up the museum room, which also contains two "muffled" rondels with curtains in which visitors can blow on specially designed instruments. If you like, you can find out about the instruments on an iPad and watch numerous original films.

The lower floor, which can only be visited with a guided tour, houses the rest of the collection. Hundreds of woodwind and brass instruments can be seen in display cases, on shelves or on stands. Those who know their way around or are made aware of them will discover numerous rarities and curiosities: a musette de cour, an oboe by Van Aardenberg from Amsterdam, natural horns by Haas and Haltenhof, keyed trumpets by Schuster and Beyde, a slide trumpet by Courtois, transverse flutes by Grenser and Walch, a Rothfono basso, a Sudrofon or the prototype of an alto saxophone by Sax, to name but a few.

What makes the unmistakable character of Burri's collection and, fortunately, the Sounding collection is the fact that instruments in a good state of preservation can be played by specialists and, in the case of justified requests, can also be borrowed. A list of instruments that can be played on site or borrowed can be found on the museum's homepage (www.klingende-sammlung.ch).

The Sounding collection is located at Kramgasse 66 in Bern (basement) and is open Wednesday to Saturday from 11 am to 5 pm. Guided tours of the collection and workshops on selected themes can now be booked for groups, music societies and school classes (details at www.klingende-sammlung.ch).

The Sounding collectionwhose operating costs are only covered for the next few years, needs further funding to establish the museum in the long term. There are various ways to support the collection: becoming a member of the Friends of the Klingende Sammlung association, sponsoring an instrument to enable it to be cleaned or restored or joining the exclusive Club des Mélomaneswho is the Sounding collection with large annual contributions. Volunteers are also needed to look after the exhibition during opening hours (reception, cash desk, supervision) and can contact the head of the collection, Adrian von Steiger (kontakt@klingende-sammlung.chTel. 031 311 01 37).