A visit to Heidi

Let's say you want to visit Heidi and you live in Plan-les-Ouates. You have several options. You take your car after programming your GPS to Maienfeld. It's simple, but not very environmentally friendly. Or you can open the CFF app. Plan-les-Ouates/Maienfeld. First take the T18 towards Cornavin, then Genève-Zürich HB, Zürich-Landquart and finally Landquart-Maienfeld. Ecologically sound, but still 5 hours 07... Well, you can ask Zône franche for directions. And it's worth it. Because there, for the duration of a recording, you'll really be traveling. To Japan first, since the little girl from our mountains was brought back into fashion in the 1970s by a Japanese cartoon whose credits open this CD. From Mount Fuji, we'll go straight to Säntis with a ranz of Appenzell cows, before heading off to Graubünden with a detour through Emmental.

As much as Heidi is a literary emblem of Swissness, the ranz des vaches is Switzerland's musical standard-bearer. The ranz des vaches? Contrary to what many Gruyère choristers think, the ranz des vaches has ancient roots and was not "invented" by Abbé Bovet. Zône franche (François Mützenberg, Jean-Luc Manca, accordion and Olivier Destéphany, double bass) strings together ranz de perles, whether traditional or dreamt up by Romantic composers (in this case, Franz Liszt). François Mützenberg himself transcribed or arranged the pieces on this journey to suit these instruments. On the wings of different recorders, thanks to the amusette of the musette or even the C of the chalumeau, to the tune of waltzes and other schottisch, a journey full of surprises, emotions and humor.

So... are we boarding?

Heidi. A subjective anthology of traditional Swiss music. Zône franche: François Mützenberg, recorders, musette, chalumeau, harmonic flute; Jean-Luc Manca, accordion; Olivier Destéphany, double bass. f.mutzenberg@infomaniak.ch