C’est le vent qui fait la musique
The «Playing Collection» comprises far more than thousand wind instruments and drums from 300 years. It is based on the collection of Karl Burri (1921–2003).
Burri was a skilled brass wind instrument maker and had a business of selling and repairing such instruments. Interested in their history, he became an enthusiastic collector of historical instruments. Over the years, more and more instruments accumulated. He displayed them from 1970 in his private museum in Zimmerwald near Bern, and he showed them there to innumerable school classes, wind bands and specialists.
In 2015 the Foundation Instrumentensammlung Burri took over this treasure. Their aim is to preserve these cultural goods as a Playing Collection, to complete it, to research it and to make it public accessible.
It is the wind that makes the wind instrument sound. The instrument itself is only the envelope which embraces the tone. From prehistoric times, many forms of instruments are reported: a conch became a horn, a hollow bone became a flute, a tube became a trumpet.
The sounds of past eras are mostly not passed down. But there is evidence from music which has long ago faded away: scores, illustrations, reports – and the instruments themselves! They tell us varied stories: about their makers, about their owners, amateur and professional, and about their sounds, their music.
The exhibition «C’est le vent qui fait la musique» presents selected instruments and shows, how they and their music has developed: stories of technical innovations, inventions, fashions and unique characteristics.
Last but not least, instruments are available to be played: C’est le vent qui fait la musique !
For which occasion did Karl Burri build this «Smallest trumpet of the world» ?
The beloved Swiss Clown Dimitri (1935–2016) required special instruments for his shows, one very long and one very tiny. (more...)