Milestone in folk music research

Publications on Swiss folk music are rare, which makes this book on Engadin folk music, published by folk musician Jachen Erni from Tschlin together with journalist Anna Miller and historian Markus Brühlmeier, all the more welcome. In the first part, written bilingually in German and Romansh, Erni describes the life of his father Anton Erni (1913-1980), who worked as a farmer, folk musician and brass band director in the Lower Engadin, as well as the development of the Erni family band, thus painting a vivid picture of Engadin musical life from the 1920s to the disappearance of folk music from the dance halls and its shift to the concert stage in the 1980s. In the second part, Erni provides a wealth of pieces, names, pictures, anecdotes and an overview of the most important handwritten music collections in the Engadin in the 19th and early 20th centuries, based on his father's musical legacy. He has thus created a standard work for Engadin folk music.

The book clearly shows two things: firstly, folk music was a very diverse affair. It ranged from self-taught musicians playing by ear to classically trained instrumentalists, and the repertoire and playing styles were just as varied. These were personal styles that could differ greatly in the individual villages. The second insight also provides the title of the book: Engadin folk music was strongly influenced by the Randulins (Rhaeto-Romanic for "swallow"), those emigrants who had spent part of their lives in northern Italy and then returned. These Randulins, who had lived in Florence, Siena, Milan or Bologna and in some cases had also studied music, brought back music from Italy and thus had a significant influence on Engadin folk music. Engadine folk music thus also received decisive impulses from the classical music of northern Italy, whereby pieces from Austria and Germany can also be found in the collections copied in Italy. In this way, a very international repertoire became native to the Engadin.

The book is accompanied by 26 dances from the music book of Rinaldo Franci from Siena, arranged for three voices by Ueli Mooser, which came to the estate of Anton Erni via the Randulin Cla Genoa. There is also a CD with recordings of the pieces with the Chapella Erni, now in its fourth generation.

Jachen Erni, Anna Miller, Markus Brühlmeier: Las melodias dals randulins: Pioniere der Engadiner Volksmusik, 159 p., illustrated, with music booklet, poster and CD, Fr. 79.00, Somedia-Buchverlag, Chur 2020, ISBN 978-3-7298-1212-3