Sounds of Alps a festival highlight (From Witney Gazette)

Sounds of Alps a highlight of Chipping Norton Music Festival

5:40pm Wednesday 20th March 2013 in News By Tom Jennings

FAMILIES were able to try out an unusual instrument as part of Chipping Norton Music Festival.

Alphorns are made from and take the natural shape of pine trees and have been used to herd cattle in the Swiss valleys.

Classical musician Frances Jones visited Chipping Norton Town Hall to explain the alphorn’s history and let people have a go.

The festival, which, featuring a range of instrument classes, concerts and workshops, ends on Saturday evening in traditional fashion with a festival highlights concert in the Town Hall, at 7.30pm Rita Perry, 41, of Chipping Norton, and her eight-year-old son Jacob had a go on the alphorn.

Mrs Perry said: “The nice thing about the music festival is that you get the opportunity to see and share things you would not normally be able to.

"They always try to have things that are family-friendly and hands-on. Jacob was so inspired by the experience and being able to touch and blow the horn.”

Jacob said: “It was awesome to have a chance to blow all the different horns and make different sounds.”

Simon Mead, 49, of Hook Horton, attended with his 16-year-old daughter Esther.

He said: “The alphorn was remarkably easy to play. It looked like it should be really difficult but it blew beautifully.”

Festival secretary Rose-mary Wilson said: “The alphorn was excellent, and Frances was full of information about how the alphorn first came to be.

“It was just amazing, because it’s such a loud noise and when she held it up it seemed to reach the Town Hall’s ceiling.”

Tickets for Saturday’s concert are priced £5 and £4 for concessions and are available from the Jaffe & Neale bookshop in Middle Row, Chipping Norton.

For more information about the festival, see cnmf.org.uk