May 31, 2015 Schrammelmesse at Stift Zwettl

On the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of the founding of the Austrian Section of the International Organization of Folk Art www.iov.at, the UNESCO Club Vienna in collaboration with Vienna Music-& Orchestra Management www.music-vienna.at and IOV Austria proudly supports the performance by the Original Wiener Donauschrammeln of the Schrammelmesse conducted by the composer Herbert Prikopa www.prikopa.com

Schrammelmusik is a style of Viennese folk music originating in the late nineteenth century and still performed in present-day Austria. The style is named for the prolific folk composers Johann and Josef Schrammel who composed more than 200 songs and music pieces in just seven years. So great was the Schrammel brothers' popularity that some earlier folk music forms, such as the Wienerlied dialect song, came to be known as Schrammelmusik as well. A typical Schrammelmusik ensemble consists of two violins or fiddles, a double-necked contraguitar, and a G clarinet (also known in Austria as a picksüßes Hölzl). Often a button accordion, called a Schrammelharmonika, is included. Performers strive for a melancholy, "crying", but melodious sound. The style is influenced by folk music from Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, Moravia and Bavaria.