Yodelling, the echoing call-and-response singing long associated with Swiss herders and alpine choirs, has been inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, Switzerland’s culture ministry said after a UNESCO meeting in New Delhi.
“As the emblematic song of Switzerland, yodelling encompasses a wide variety of artistic expressions and is deeply rooted in the population,” the ministry noted, welcoming the recognition as validation of a living tradition passed down in families, clubs and music schools — and informally, voice to voice.
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UNESCO’s decision spotlights a technique defined by quick shifts between chest and head voice and strings of nonsensical syllables often tied to regional dialects. In its “natural” form, yodelling flows as wordless melody; in its song form, verses and refrains weave in lyrics that tend to dwell on landscape, seasons and everyday life. The style thrives solo, in small ensembles or full choirs, sometimes backed by accordion, and is often performed in regional costume at concerts, festivals and competitions across the country.
Choir director Markus Egli of the Burgerturner-Jodler club in Lucerne called the listing a timely lift for a tradition that depends on practice and participation. “This singing is part of our culture, of Switzerland’s identity,” he told AFP, adding that oral tradition holds it began “as a means of communication from one mountain to another.”
For 79-year-old tenor and longtime choir member Max Britschgi, yodelling is a way to feel “connected to the mountains.” Dressed in traditional attire and a felt hat, he described the draw as equal parts nature and community — “camaraderie and connection with others” that come from singing together.
The technique’s signature register-switching can be demanding, said soprano Yvonne Eichenberger, 35. The break from chest to head voice — made in rapid, expressive leaps — is “the most complicated” element and “requires time and practice,” she said.
While the precise origins of yodelling are unclear, the modern form was codified in the 19th and 20th centuries, according to ethnomusicologist Julien Vuilleumier, who advised the Swiss culture ministry on the UNESCO application. He told AFP there were “cross-influences” from southern Germany and the Tyrolean regions of Austria and Italy, a reminder that the sound now defined as quintessentially Swiss emerged from a wider alpine music ecology.
The practice has long resonated beyond the Alps. Through waves of emigration, elements of yodelling threaded into American folk traditions, including country music, where its fast flips in pitch became a recognizable flourish. In the 21st century, artists are pushing the form into new territory, blending it with jazz, pop and rock. One recent experiment, “yodelton,” fuses classic yodel motifs with reggaeton rhythms to unexpected effect — a signal that heritage can stretch without breaking.
The tradition is evolving institutionally as well as artistically. Since 2018, the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts has offered a master’s program in yodelling, formalizing training that once relied almost entirely on community transmission. The degree underscores a balance at the heart of UNESCO’s list: safeguarding practices as living culture, not freezing them in time.
For Switzerland, the inscription is both recognition and responsibility. Inclusion on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list does not confer legal protection, but it raises visibility, encourages education and transmission, and can spur funding and research. In practice, that often means supporting local clubs and festivals, helping young singers find teachers, and ensuring regional styles are documented and shared.
For Egli and his choir, the global spotlight may simply affirm what they already know: that the call over a valley, whether sung alone or braided through a chorus, carries more than melody. It carries memory, place and the rhythms of daily life. With UNESCO’s nod, Switzerland’s yodel is now formally recognized for what its practitioners have long felt — a living voice of the mountains, still ringing, still evolving.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
