The sound of alphorn music

The smell of sea salt, the views of the bay, the feel of the breeze…and the sound of the alphorn. That’s what residents of Sleepy Lagoon experience every day when Ursula Abplanalp is in town.

Abplanalp, 60, who divides her time between Immensee, Switzerland and Longboat Key, began playing the Swiss instrument in 1996 for guests at the hotel her family owned. She hoped to begin playing in 1995, but waited a year because she was pregnant, and playing the alphorn involves heavy exertion on the stomach and mouth.

"You have nothing to make the tunes with but your mouth and tummy," Abplanalp said. "If you don't play for two weeks, your stomach is sore. I understand why my doctor had me wait to play."

It took Abplanalp three years to teach herself to play the 11-foot instrument well enough that was comfortable playing for others.

Early alphorns, which date back to 1400 or earlier, served a practical purpose: Shepherds used the instrument, which could be heard more than three miles away, to calm the cows. Farmers in Switzerland also used it to communicate with each other.

Abplanalp has played her alphorn for a variety of occasions, performing for churches, the opening of a Swiss Congress, weddings and funerals.

“It’s an instrument you can use for joyful occasions but also sad occasions,” Abplanalp said. “You can use it for a wedding, and you can use it for a funeral.”

Last year, Abplanalp played the alphorn at her father’s funeral.

“Every time I play now, I have a special contact with my dad,” she said. “It was very special, and whenever I play that piece, I feel a special connection to him.”

Abplanalp’s father came to Florida in 1985 and owned a condo on Lido Key. She bought her home on Longboat Key in May 2012. 

When Abplanalp was traveling between Switzerland and Florida, she would always bring her alphorn with her.

“On every flight, before arriving in Switzerland, they wanted me to play the alphorn to welcome Americans to Switzerland,” she said.

After Sept. 11, 2001, Abplanalp had to check her Alphorn. When her alphorn arrived in baggage claim in five pieces, she decided to keep an alphorn permanently in Florida.

When she is in town, she plays the instrument every day for half an hour on her patio.

“It’s incredibly unique, to be sitting here watching palm trees sway and hear the sound of the alphorn,” said Celia Edmundson, Abplanalp’s neighbor. “To be listening to a different world, thinking how they were used in the Alps, is an amazing thing. I find it very calming.”

Edmundson first heard Abplanalp's alphorn almost three years ago.

"I thought someone was learning to play the trumpet and not doing a very good job," she said. "I heard it again the next day and realized it wasn't a trumpet, and my neighbor told me it was an alphorn. I was amazed."

Although Abplanalp only plays for half an hour each day in Florida, she plays much more in Switzerland.

“My neighbors in Switzerland like it until 11 p.m.,” she said. “But of course, I don’t do that here.”

Above all, Abplanalp’s alphorns bring her happiness and relieve her stress.

“It’s like running,” she said. “Even if you are in a bad mood or sad, it puts all the sorrows out of your mind. Music should be there to cheer up other people with sound, and I think I do. It makes me happy and makes others happy as well.”