A sought-after multi-instrumentalist with many stints as a stage and session musician for countless bands to his name, he calls himself a “journeyman musician”. He is a professionally trained double bass player and clarinettist. After graduating from teachers’ college, Ueli Mooser, who was born in Birmensdorf near Zurich in 1944, went on to study both instruments at the Conservatoire in Zurich, followed by a career as a freelance musician. He discovered his passion for Ländler through Thomas Marthaler’s and Josias Jenny’s ensemble “Zoge-n-am-Boge” and, later, through Peter Zinsli’s work. As a performer, Mooser soon developed extensive skills and knowledge that at times extended to a more experimental exploration of Ländler, as evidenced by productions such as “Wundertüte – Rocktümlicher Volk-n-Roll”, “Ueli’s Rasselbandi” and “Dirty Ländler”, which were also influenced by his appreciation of international folklore. In his current work with the Hanneli-Musig ensemble and with his eponymous stage and dance band Ueli Mooser, he mainly focuses on the more traditional side of Ländler music.
Until his retirement, Mooser worked as an editor and producer of folk music broadcasts for Swiss Radio DRS 1 (now SRF 1). His manual, titled “Instrumental Folk Music” and first published in 1989, has long been a foundational text within the discipline. In 2010, he received the highest accolade in Swiss folk music, the Golden Clef, for his long-standing contribution to the industry. Throughout his career, Mooser has been compiling his own extensive collection of music scores.
David Koch, Music Library Subject Specialist
Wysel Gyr (1927–1999) was an editor and presenter with Swiss public broadcaster SRG (now SRF). The tabloids called him the “Pope of Ländler” for his tireless and effective promotion of Swiss folklore within the SRG. In his spare time, he was a keen amateur filmmaker, he loved to travel, and he collected, among other things, penguins, carnival masks, bells and—most significantly—vinyl records. As a journalist, he enjoyed a steady supply of free review copies from Swiss folk music producers, but he also bought endless stacks of records of international music productions on his many trips around the globe. He would seek out instrumental music across all genres except pop music. Back home, he would write the date of purchase on the sleeve and organise the records on his shelves by travel destination. Gyr is said to have owned between 30,000 and 40,000 records. I was aware of his collection.
When he died, I managed to convince my boss Heinrich von Grünigen (then head of programming with Swiss Radio DRS 1) to buy the Gyr collection and move it to the basement of the Zurich studio. I was tasked with managing the collection, that is, to produce broadcasts that featured music from the collection. I was delighted to oblige. Of course, I first had to reorganise the LPs in in what proved to be a tedious process. Previously organised along holiday destinations, I sorted them by genre, region, instrumentation, style, etc. I called my music broadcasts “Sounds from the right side of the second basement floor” or “Sounds from Wysel Gyr’s archive”. Selecting the titles was both amusing and instructive. Wysel Gyr graded some of the records from 3 (poor) to six (excellent), in quarter-point increments. He often added remarks such as “Sadly with vocals” or “Sadly with vocals, but still good.” I often disagreed with Gyr’s judgement.
After a few years, the basement space in the Zurich studio was needed for something else. What now for the Wysel Gyr collection? I made a proposal to the head of programming to buy the records and to integrate them into my similarly sizeable private vinyl archive. They agreed on the condition that I continue to produce broadcasts until my retirement. So, I went and built some additional sturdy shelf space for the collection. I gave records of little interest (such as run-of-the-mill Schlager records) up for sale on the flea market, while some of the classical records went to my music editor friends and some were picked up by the Swiss National Sound Archive in Lugano. What remained were records across genres including conventional popular music, light classical music, international folklore, Jazz, brass music, Swiss folk music and folklore.
Since retiring in 2007, I have only used the record collection occasionally, as a source for information. In 2020, Nadja Räss (lecturer for Yodel and Head of the Specialisation in Folk Music at the HSLU) asked me whether I would lend her some records for her classes. Originally, my plan had been to donate the Swiss folk music LPs to the Swiss National Sound Archive in Lugano. However, after careful consideration, I decided that the HSLU’s archive would be a better and more easily accessible home for them. On one hand, the “Helvetika Vinyls” can serve as an information and learning resource and on the other, students and other enthusiasts (the latter through digital audio) will be able to enjoy the records both as physical objects and as a source of great music.
Ueli Mooser
Birmensdorf, October 2021
