Barockbläser Ensemble Leopoldskron | © christkindlmarkt.co.at - Neumayr

The sound of Christmas

Anyone who is at the Christkindlmarkt on a Thursday or Saturday evening will observe a very special event: around 6:30 p.m. the lights on Residenzplatz are dimmed, an almost inexplicable silence ensues. People stop staring into their mobile phones, locals smile knowingly. The tower brass musicians play Christmas tunes for half an hour, creating an even more festive atmosphere.

The tower brass musicians in Advent

The atmospheric tower brass music at Salzburg's Christmas market on Domplatz and Residenzplatz, which takes place every Thursday and Saturday at 6.30 pm, harks back to a centuries-old ceremonial custom. For the first time in 1950, Tobi Reiser senior sounded the trumpets on Residenzplatz to set the mood for the Adventsingen performance he founded, the pre-Christmas event that attracts up to 36,000 visitors a year in the Grosses Festspielhaus. Today the trumpets, horns, trombones and alphorns sound from the cathedral arches, from the terrace of the Salzburg Heimatwerk and from the Glockenspiel tower. The groups of musicians take turns playing from these unusual locations, including courtly music combined with tower music, folk tunes and Advent and Christmas carols.

The roots of the custom

Historically, tower brass musicians were employed at many European courts to warn the population of danger or to accompany special occasions. This arrangement also existed in the town of Salzburg. From the Middle Ages, court and cathedral music as well as court and field trumpeters belonged to the court of the prince-archbishops. The trumpeters' tasks were many and varied: in addition to warning from danger, they accompanied the princes at public appearances, took part in court festivities and funeral ceremonies, and were drafted into the army in the event of war. Until about 1800, their music was purely utilitarian. Usually only one part was handed down orally, the others were improvised according to certain rules. For this reason, there are hardly any compositions for this instrumentation. The archives of Nonnberg Abbey still have pieces of music preserved for festive marches.

Trumpet sounds all year round

In Salzburg, the tradition of the tower brass musicians is not limited to Advent. Even when walking through the town centre on Sundays at 11.45 a.m., you can hear the distant sounds of the trumpeters from Hohensalzburg Fortress. As early as 1465, a trumpet tower was erected there, from which the melodies can still be heard to this day, which – depending on wind and weather – are clearly or almost mysteriously perceptible in the Old Town.

A very special tip

If you have the opportunity to be next to the musicians while enjoying the stunning view over the Christkindlmarkt, you're in luck: every Thursday evening, after a guided tour through the Christmas exhibition of the DomQuartier, there are delicacies from the Christkindlmarkt on the Cathedral Terrace and the chance to experience the tower brass musicians up-close. Be quick, the number of tickets is limited!