As a sideline of the official competition of the International Alphorn Festival, the « Off » competition has been created in a spirit of openness and a concern for exchange. It gives the opportunity to players and composers to express themselves musically without staying on the beaten track. It also offers the public a modern image of the Alphorn, this ancestral instrument.
The « Off » competition is not part of the official competition of the Festival and is open to any player of Alphorn or Büchel.
The competition takes place on the Saturday from 11:30am to 1:30pm on the place of the official competition of the festival.
The number of performances will be limited due to restricted time. Priority will be given to the participants of the official competition as well as to the first to be inscribed.
The order of performance of the competitors is drawn at random by computer, taking into account competitors performing several times and according to the inscriptions. It will be communicated the same morning, and displayed at the « Information » stand of the event. All participants are required to inform themselves of their order of performance. Those who are late will be disqualified.
Each player will present himself 15 minutes before his performance to the competition superviser. At no time is the name of the participant communicated to the jury, as the jury is a blind one.
A classification will be communicated and the winner will perform on the Sunday during the official part of the afternoon at Tracouet. Prizes for the first three places will be awarded at the time of the announcement of the results of the competition on the Sunday afternoon at Tracouet.
The following instruments are admitted:
The instruments as well as the mouthpieces must be made exclusively of wood or carbon, with the exception of the connecting sockets, the rattan binding and the tuning slide (for the Büchel).
These instruments can be of different shapes but must remain natural instruments, with a single air column.
Performances can be played with instruments having one or several different tones (instruments, piston system and modified cylinders are forbidden). It is possible to play Alphorn and Büchel in the same group.
The competition is open to all (Solo, Duo, Trio, Quartet, group) of Alphorn or Büchel. They also have the possibility of playing in several keys (Fa, Fa#, Mi,...). In case of numerous inscriptions, preference will be given to group performances (Duo, Trio, Quartet, group).
The performance must take place in correct traditional costume (minimum black trousers and white shirt). The groups are not allowed to be conducted. The performance can be played with music scores but with no lectern.
Players have the right to maximum two performances, but only with different pieces. Several performances with the same group are not authorised (according to the organisational possibilities). There is no maximum concerning the number of members composing the group.
Competitors have the right to play for 30 seconds of warm-up on the spot before executing their performance.
Time of the performance :
a) Alphorn performance - minimum 3'00'' - maximum 4'30''
b) Büchel performance - minimum 3'00'' - maximum 4'30''
Too short performances will be penalised by one evaluation point per slice of 5 seconds. If a performance lasts more than 4 minutes 30 secondes, it is interrupted by the president of the jury who rings the bell. If no musically convincing end is realised, that will give rise to a countdown.
For every 5 seconds of time exceeded, minimum or maximum, one point will be withdrawn from the classification.
The performances are judged according to the following criteria:
Participants in this competition must provide the organisation with 3 copies of the scores of the piece to be interpreted during the competition for the jury at the beginning of July at the latest.
The musician may leave the context of the score. The score is only indicative for the jury.
The jury, coming from the world of Alphorn, will make the judgment in the same manner as during the official competition, blind and with the aid of the musical score.
The OFF competition is composed of one single category.
Competitors who do not respect the technical regulations of the festival will not be able to qualify for any classification.
Participants playing intentionally close to the zone of the competition and disturbing the other competitors can also be disqualified.
The inscription deadline is mentioned on the inscription form and must be respected obligatorily. Any modifications needed to be made after this date can be taken into consideration until the sunday before the competition.
All competitors are obliged to inscribe themselves. Groups are obliged to add to their inscription a list with the names of all the members of the group. The title of the piece to be played must be mentioned upon inscription.
A supplement is payable by players participating in the official competition of the International Alphorn Festival. The amount is fixed each year by the organisation and is to be paid before the inscription deadline.
Players who participate in the competition « Off », but who do not participate in the official competition, pay the amount of the inscription for the official competition without supplement.
When inscribing themselves, participants declare that they will conform to the decisions of the committee of the International Alphorn Festival of Nendaz.